My first impression was: WOW! This doesn’t look like a Bollywood at all. The pictures are great, the casts are superb, the story is so strong and no one is dancing in the rain with thin saris.
I actually watched this before I watched “3 Idiots“. To tell the truth, I avoided watching Bollywood movies because most times they were too long, overstuffed with unnecessary drama and the actors/actresses are always the same people. “My Name Is Khan” is basically turning my skeptical upside down and I would love to see more of this and 3Is kind of Bollywood production which is smart, entertaining, loaded with good messages.
Riswan Khan (Shahrukh Khan) suffers from Asperger’s syndrome that makes him unable to comprehend and respond the full spectrum of social interactions. In short, he cannot understand jokes, but he’s good doing one thing at a time because he’s very focus. After the 9/11, Khan’s life in San Francisco was deeply affected because many people are judging him by his religion. He himself was married to Madira (Kajol Devgan), a Hindu Indian. As hatred is rising against terrorism, Khan and his family are also starting receive harsh treatments from their community, so bad that their genuine love and compassion are put on trials. It’s long due that Shahrukh Khan pairs again with Bollywood sweetheart Kajol. They are always perfect!
As expected, I cried a lot during the movie, as if I am part of it, watching the naive man trying to clear his name without understanding why people hate him and his name. All he knew, he needs to meet the president of the United States and tell him his not a terrorist. This is the man who does his will and intention with full determination. He doesn’t do joke, he doesn’t understand cynical, he sees only one thing in front of him which is his mission.
The movie may not be popular with the US audience, but I hope they would give it a chance. Terrorism and Islam are just small components of this film. The main message is humanity, and humanity does not take sides. There are good people and bad people out there. No matter what religions they have, everyone deserves justice and fairness. To help others is to help without seeing their religions or races. Great movie! It takes guts to re-watch this, let alone keep playing it like I do with 3Is. I wouldn’t probably do that. Kudos to everyone involved in this production :)
My rating: 5/6
