In what is arguably Karan Johar’s most anticipated film yet, a simple man with Asperger’s Syndrome becomes an international media hero and does extraordinary things on his way to meet the President of the United States, all in the name of love.
Set in the unsteady political climate of the 9/11 attacks in America, the spritely Rizvan Khan (Shah Rukh Khan) soon realizes that this is the worst time to be a Muslim.
Audiences still treasure the Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol romance in Johar’s first film Kuch Kuch Hota Hai (1998) and will be pleased to see all three being pushed to their professional limits over a decade later in My Name is Khan.
My Name is Khan is a little less love story, a little more insight into the unconventional mind of an intelligent man afflicted with a peculiar social condition. Rizvan’s trembling awkward demeanour, attention to meticulous detail, unruly honesty and childlike fear of the colour yellow makes him all the more charming.
Watch how a man with autism copes with heartbreak, death and discrimination. Oh, let’s not forget imprisonment and state-approved torture.
Khan’s portrayal of the disability was nothing short of genuine. He was socially anxi0us and unaware, yet playful, alluring, and oblivious to the racial hatred and talk of terrorism surrounding him.
Spectators in the theatre were in awe, instinctively applauding Khan’s stuttering one-liners. Kajol, playing his Hindu love interest Mandira, exuded raw maternal passion convincingly, which contrasted well with Rizvan’s textbook emotions.
Everything about the film is of epic proportions. Grandiose helicopter camera angles matched the intricate, multi-faceted plot. New characters, situations and sub-plots continually surfaced in the troubled multicultural hub that is America.
From the hue-drained hurricane sequences in small-town Georgia to the vivid red-white-and-blue President’s rallies in DC, no stone is left unturned in the two hours and 40 minutes of My Name is Khan.
Johar successfully fuses Bollywood cinematic extravagance with arthouse minimalism in My Name is Khan. The art direction and epic cinematography made for spectacular visual moments. Scenes showing Rizvan hitching a ride at the back of a white ute full of ripe, orange pumpkins or Mandira releasing multicoloured balloons in a field of green are as much for visual pleasure as they are symbolic.
Bollywood produced films often fall victim to over-stylisation, but letting go of this fact makes for a more enjoyable view. Yes, the film is cheesy. Yes, it is very much over the top and unrealistic. Yet it is another Khan-Kajol-Johar partnership that fans will love.
* Manisha Anjali is a double major BA graduate of Film, TV, Media and English from the University of Auckland
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