BY JYOTHSNA HEGDE

The movie needs no formal introductions. Karan Johar has shifted gears and is focused on producing and directing more serious cinema and ‘My Name is Khan’ (MNIK) is an honest and heartfelt effort in that direction. In fact the sincere intentions of the movie almost cover up the clumsy climax (flood in Georgia) and rather unrealistic sequences (a man with Asperger’s Syndrome and hardly any money traveling cross country). Well, almost. The movie however has a message and delivers it successfully, thanks to Shah Rukh Khan, the actor and not the superstar. 

Rizwan Khan (Tanay Chheda plays young Shah Rukh Khan) is intelligent and a very practical young boy. He manages to drain water with a bicycle and some bottles but he is different. He has Asperger’s Syndrome that causes him to shy away from hugs or touching of any kind, an aversion to loud noises, the color yellow and such. His ammi (Zarina Wahab), amidst the 1983 riots teaches Rizwan that the only way to differentiate between people is to classify them as either good or bad. Rizwan carries the message with him even after she dies. He moves to the US with his brother Zakir Khan (Jimmy Shergill) and sister-in-law (Sonya Jehan) where he is appointed to sell beauty products. On his job, he meets Mandira (Kajol), falls in love and asks her to marry him at the oddest of times. Mandira, a Hindu single mom with a son, Sam (Yuvaan Makaar) welcomes Khan into her life with open arms and even changes the last name of her son to Khan. Post 9/11 her decision to change her son’s last name results in a tragedy that leaves Rizwan on his own. Rizwan embarks on a journey to win back his love. His mission is to meet the President of the United States and deliver the message, “My name is Khan and I am not a terrorist”

Step aside Raj, Rahul, Rizwan is here. Shah Rukh clearly steals the show. Rizwan triumphs in conveying the message of humanity through his odyssey. This is one of Shah Rukh’s most endearing performances to date. Kajol’s Mandira does not have a lot of meat to bite into, and she gets through the movie either being completely energized or totally devastated. There are some sweet moments between Kajol and Shah Rukh, be it the way he proposes or she accepts. However there is a sense of forced chemistry between the two rather than a natural progression. Zarina Wahab returns to the big screen after a while and delivers her best. Jimmy Shergill and Sonya Jehan are natural. Sumeet Raghavan, Navneet Nishan, Vinay Pathak in their short appearances give their best.

Karan Johar is comfortable through the some parts of the movie, but falters towards the second half. Karan has an inherent, almost compulsive need to please the masses. And this proves be his strength in the first half of the movie which deals with romance but also works against him in the latter half when the story shifts over to political mode. Karan even wants his characters to be happily settled in before they face adversities, so Kajol, a woman running a hair salon is able to afford a comfortable home in a San Francisco suburb. Writer Shibani Bhatija tries hard to elevate Rizwan’s innocent character to celebrity status and that results in unrealistic situations and sequences created with undue cinematic liberties such as Rizwan managing to get a hateful Muslim doctor arrested by the FBI or save folks of a flood hit village in Georgia. The climax and sequences leading to it seem rather rushed. The special effects of the flood scene are amateurish, at best and quite embarrassing for a Dharma production banner. Editing by Deepa Bhatia, moving the story in flashback and cinematography by Ravi K Chandra deserve special mention as they conjure some memorable scenarios and wonderful images. Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy's music is melodious and carries the movie forward with no lip synching. ‘Sajda’, ‘Tere Naina’ and ‘Noor-e-Khuda’ are soulful. 

The movie does have some powerful one liners by Niranjan Iyengar and Shibani Bathija. When Rizwan is refused entry for not being Christian to a Christian fund raiser attended by the President, he leaves a 500 $ behind telling her “This is for those who are not Christians in Africa”

The movie is not without faults, and some glaring ones at that. However, there is an earnest effort to convey a humanitarian message that the only way to distinguish people is by their actions, good or bad. The simplicity of thought unfortunately never trickles down to its execution. MNIK does carry one of Shah Rukh’s most restrained performances. It is Kha Kha (from the epiglottis) Khan’s show all the way. If you are a Shah Rukh fan, MNIK is a must watch, however the movie itself falls short of its own and our expectations.