My Name is Khan

There are a lot of jokes floating around the internet about how all of us netizens, who made a hue and cry about the MNIK controversy, should tender an apology to Bal Thackeray. Because the man was just trying to save us from the exasperation – and the feeling of a need to strangle someone - when watching the latter half of My Name is Khan. Karan Johar may be going around the town (actually make it the world) shouting that this is his most realistic work to date, but it is actually his most hair-tearingly frustrating work to date.

All the talk about intent and heart-in-the-right-place counts for nought when you are forced to wait excruciatingly for a movie to end. Three times in the second half, you think the movie has come to an end, only for it to move further along, for needless subplots and time waste. Remember Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gham - the scene in the mall where Hrithik gets everyone face to face? It would have been a good enough ending if the movie had finished there with some simple apologies, but Karan Johar had to add a needless scene between Hrithik and Amitabh, and then the crappy final scene between Amitabh and Shahrukh. My Name is Khan does the same, only much crappier !! A good 30 min could be easily lopped off from the end and it would improve the movie enough to earn a recommended review from this blog.

Because even in its present form, My Name is Khan has a very commendable first half. Shahrukh Khan puts in one of his better performances – cleverly making use of his natural ability to bob his head - to fit in the Asperger’s Syndrome frame. The character has drawn inspiration from a lot of sources – his Rizwan Khan is a combination of Rainman’s Dustin Hoffman and Forrest Gump’s Tom Hanks. Brilliant at solving mechanical problems and puzzles, innocent and very endearing – Shahrukh gets us rooting for his character quickly. His scenes with Kajol in their courting phase are a joy to watch – especially watch the proposal scene

However, all this good work is thrown down the drain by the ultra melodramatic second half. When 9/11 results in a personal loss, Rizwan Khan sets on a journey across the country (like Forrest Gump) – and movie goes to the dogs. It seems difficult to believe that the same director who made the first half with much more sense, suddenly tosses all logic out of the window and becomes heavy handed with the sentimental stuff. And its not even good emotional stuff – very tacky. And it just doesn’t end …

Also, unlike Taare Zameen Par, My Name is Khan doesn’t really educate the people about Asperger’s Syndrome – except that they cant express emotions. Rizwan Khan has random allergies like yellow color, hugging and loud noises – so its not exactly clear what Asperger’s Syndrome is.

The talk of Kajol-Shahrukh chemistry, I think is just bunkum. What you love to see is just Kajol only – she is charming & radiant on screen – a treat to watch. Although she too cant escape the scourge of the second half – she becomes a dull, pathetic shadow of herself. The one other performance that is worthy of praise is Sonya Jehan – who plays Rizwan’s caring sister-in-law. The other performances are adequate, nothing outstanding.

There are plot holes the size of trucks in the movie, but then logical storylines has never been Karan Johar’s forte. It’s a shade under three hours long, but feels closer to four. Shahrukh Khan fans (and they are much more numerous than I would like) would no doubt flock to the movie, irrespective of what I have to say. For the the others, my recommendation is to stay away from the theatres and wait for it to show up on tv – and make sure even then you don’t watch more than 60-80 minutes of the movie.



PS – Another internet joke floating around
Why did Ashutosh Gowariker love My Name is Khan ?
Because someone made a movie longer than him