We’ve never really been huge fans of Karan Johar films – Kuch Kuch Hota Hai was good, K3G was okay, KANK was terrible. Hence we were slightly cynical about My Name Is Khan.
But the film is special for several reasons; it has one of the biggest stars in the country playing a not-so-perfect character and two, SRK and Kajol return for what could be their last outing together. Do they recreate on-screen magic with MNIK? Read on to find out.
Rizwan Khan (Shahrukh Khan) suffering from Asperger’s syndrome, moves to San Francisco after spending most of his life in Mumbai. Here he comes across Mandira (Kajol), a charming lady who steals his heart away. They get married and start a business together. Everything that’s happy and perfect suddenly turns upside down and turmoil starts creeping into his life after the 9/11 attacks. Muslims, now seen as idols of evil, devastates the life of Rizwan. Confused and upset of loosing his dignity and love, he embarks on a touching journey to win back his love.
What works for My Name Is Khan
- MNIK is inarguably Karan Johar’s best work to date. Its the simplicity of his narration that works for the film. There are times when certain scenes get over-dramatic, but Karan can be forgiven, simply because he gets it right more often than not.
- The Asperger’s disorder that Karan’s protagonist suffers from, works big time in favour of the film as you cheer for Rizwan Khan all through. Its the character’s innocence, charm and niceness that you willingly let your heart go out to him.
- Aided by the magical chemistry that SRK-Kajol share, the love story works like a dream.
- The music is good, Tere Naina and Noor-e-Khuda are the best tracks in the album. Karan has sensibly avoided lip synced song and dance routines.
- The dialogues (Shibani Bathija and Niranjan Iyengar) are effective and funny when its meant to be.
- Cinematography is excellent. Ravi K Chandran has captured San Fransisco very well.
Scenes to watch out for
- Almost all scenes involving Rizwan Khan – him selling products, first meets Mandira (Kajol), hospital scene, after the wedding – to name a few, all exceptionally well executed and equally well performed.
- Scenes following the tragedy.
- SRK – Kajol romantic portions in the first half are cute.
Some negatives
- While Karan in MNIK has tried his best to break away from the so-called filmi formula, he does succumb to the temptation on more than one occasion. (More on this later)
- The climax doesn’t work.
- The character actors don’t get much scope.
Performances
- Khan is King and he proves just why with a performance comparable to some of his best – Chak De and Swades. In MNIK, SRK the star is hardly visible, its Rizwan Khan all through. We think, its the greatest compliment you could ever give to an actor.
- Kajol is fantastic. She effortlessly slips into Mandira, her character and stays there through the film. The chemistry she shares with SRK is electrifying, not that we expected anything less anyway.
- Child Artistes : Both Tanay Chheda (young Rizwan Khan) and Yuvaan Makaar (Sameer) do well.
- The rest – Jimmy Shergill, Vinay Pathak, Sonya Jehan, Zarina Wahab – don’t get enough scope.
Overall, My Name Is Khan is an entertaining film that makes you laugh and shed a couple of tears. Its a journey that’s worth the price of your ticket and a bit more.
Rating: 
3 for the film, 1 for SRK and Kajol, they were brilliant!
Dipin Sen ur rite these media however supporting MNIK so its a small favour to show as big collection who knows v r not counting i dont think so afterall with bomb blast in pune film has not runned successfully on saturday night show and sunday
these media is creating a big issue for MNIK shame for indian media
@ Dipen sen
Thanks yaar Good news
i m very happy
@Haris
my name is khan FLOP not a super hit OK
dipin are you sure that your information is correct
plz tell me hoping for mnik to be great flop atleast average
NACHGAANA.COM
A Crushing Bore…Sandy’s review of MNIK
What happens when you try to take a leap higher than what one’s legs allow? You obviously fall. With My Name Is Khan, Karan Johar tries his hand at a subject that he is clearly not equipped to handle. But like an overzealous eater who orders too much without judging well his appetite and constitution, Karan decides to go to the radical extreme of the fluffy entertainers he’s done so far, and packs in every weighty theme out there. The result is a half-baked film that is neither serious in its tackling of political issues nor entertaining. In fact, MNIK is naively propagandist, made with the single-minded purpose of portraying its lead actor as a messiah for the humankind.
For the kind of epic film that MNIK hopes to be, it had to be emotionally moving and inspiring. The incidents needed to be organically born out of the story, the romance needed to be more rooted and real. This is not the case, as both scriptwriter Shibani Bhatija and Johar indulge in heavy narrative bullying, creating contrived situations to meet their ends. It’s almost like these two people smugly assume the audience to be on the same page as them, even when they are not. This is especially true in the second half, where the film’s autistic hero, Rizwan is put through all kinds of grueling trials to show him as the paragon of virtue and humanity. So even as all the characters in the film cry buckets seeing him saving katrina victims on television, or go misty-eyed when he finally gets to meet the US President (how cringe-worthy this scene is!), you sit there in the audience feeling bored and non-plussed. The only thing worse than emotionally manipulating your audience is to be caught doing so.
Still,the first half is somewhat tolerable. You never know why SRK has aspergers or what its larger significance in the film is, but the actor works his charm in some of the scenes with Kajol. Their brief courtship and marriage is not a very plausible scenario, but there is something touching about the way Kajol accepts him into her life. She marries him not because she is in love, but perhaps because she believes a man like Rizwan deserves his share of love and happiness. The film is not bad till this point and if this relationship would have been explored further, it might just have made for an interesting story.
But then 9/11 strikes and the film derails completely. There is no depth in the conflicts that arise from hereon. Why would Kajol shun her husband for his religion at such an emotional point in her life? Racism was not born after 9/11. Yes, the situation grew worse, but when a liberated Hindu woman marries a Muslim man, one fairly assumes that she is mentally prepared for the same. In any case, this basis of Rizwan’s long journey is unclear and unconvincing. Since the motives are weak, you are not emotionally moved and the film starts to seem incredibly lengthy and tiresome.
While the story itself doesn’t quite work, it is the 9/11 and American backdrop that induces a great deal of ennui. It says nothing that has not been said before. We’ve had Khuda Ke Liye and New York – both superior to MNIK and in America itself there have been several films made on the subject. So why make something on a similar theme when you have nothing new to say?
Again, looking at the amount of English used in the film and the backdrop used, obviously Karan is looking at a global audience. But what can be taken home by any audience in any part of the world from so simplistic a film. It does not even pose the right questions, forget offering solutions.
As for the performances, SRK is earnest and tries to infuse his character with some life. But it’s not a role that entirely makes sense, and he’s put through some really awkward situations in the film. The actor is one of our most charismatic stars and when he’s cast in a good role and film, he’s very effective (Chak De India!, Devdas). But in this case, the script lets him down and he must take some blame for green-lighting a project such as this.
Kajol is loud, over-excited and constantly screeching. She is on a different pitch and level from the rest of the film.
Karan, you are great with light stuff or even ones looking seriously at relationships (I think KANK was an interesting failure) , but keep away from the activism. Classics happen, they can’t be manufactured.
@Naaz
You can check out site IBOSNETWORK.COM
Now it is clear that it is sure shot flop in India .
Its impossible to make 75 Crores nett in India .
I dont think so mnik has got 30 cr its all fake at maximum it is crossed 24 cr
all media is fake in india i dont know y these media is creating big buzz
dipen sen:
u r trying hard to make MNIK a flop…dont u hav any other job my frend… box office result hav not yet been officially declared and u people r making report frm ur imagination…pity on u my frend…
@abroxy
plz yaar box office report dhek MNIK super strong in box office
my name is khan first clen hit & first blockbuster of 2010
@dipen sen
tum boxofficeindia.com par ja kr dkeh
@ Dipen Sen
Thanks for d biggest news of 2010.
Now wer r adiii, fathiya n all dat telling Veer ko Veergati mili thi. But VEER ko to SAHADAT mili hai(coz has to fight with critic).
MNIK ki to dhaziya ud gayi hai even though dis much supported by critic, media.
All the MNIK lovers plz refer to the rediff.com news here it is clearly mentioned that MNIK has a gr8 slump in collections nd it will not be able to recover its invested money.
So nw its clear that the initial collection is due to the cheap publicity by SRK nd nw a bad film lyk MNIK facing its fate.
A BIG FLOP.
guys the movie is heading for a flop., as the single screens are reduced to 25 – 30 % and multiplexes will not be able to hold for more than a couple of days as the hype and curiosity is over..
the biggest drawback is that it lacks entertainment and repeat value, and recent pune blasts are shocking, which may also impact further collections
1 thing i can say about mnik that it is not that bad some r saying.srk did his part very well.the film deservs 3.5/5 stars only for srks best act.but other sucks in the film.though 1st half reminds me of forrest gump n a beautiful mind.this time haters should also support him,otherwise he will return to his crap romantic films.so best of luck for mnik…..:)
mnik takes the biggest overseas opening weekend ever, in the history of bollywood.
yep !
despite getting mixed reactions from people, mnik has actually beaten all other films including three idiots and taken the biggest weekend (3 days) ever in the overseas market.
so, the first 3 days, it has earned more money than any other bollywood film has in first 3 days. so in that regard it is the no.1 bollywood film ever when it comes to the first 3 days takings.
i saw MNIK on sunday, the movie was very disaponting…i am a big fan of SRK…SRK acted well,but after 15 min in the movie his acting gets irritated ..second half drags,the biggest negativiity of the film is it’s screenplay.the movie tries to tell us just one thing,”MY NAME IS KHAN AND I’M NOT A TERRORIST”.the story looks interesting but when u see the movie u get bored due to it’s screenplay… karan johar is best in making candy floss family entertaining movies but he has to grow in direction to make such a sensitive based movie ..my rating would be 2.5/5..3 idiots was way better than MNIK…i don’t understand why they r comparing 3i and MNIK…even a flop movie like veer was entertaining in parts…ON THE WHOLE I CAN SAY THAT mnik WAS VERY VERY disaponting and boring…the movie is just for film festivals.
This is for all SRK fans
Cheap publicity ke piche maat bhago warna success bhag jayegi
Excellence ke piche bhago phir success apne aap kadam chumegi .
I am telling you from 1st day its not impressive movie to watch this movie first thing come in mind yar end kab ho ga.:)
Mnik is rocking nd has broken the record of Gajni first weekend nd fell short only two crore behind 3idiots. So it would have broken record of 3idiots as well but due to shive sina 3idiots lucky to save its record.
aWake up @AR dream doesnt come true.
Rishab: they’re comparing MNIK with 3 Idiots because they’re just.. idiots!!!! Aamir Khan should take these idiots with them in his part2 of the movie 3 Idiots and name it: 100 Idiots!!! haha.. crazy ppl
@Fathiya….funny how u guys throw insult round really all because of a film?
Lol…Poor Aamir!
if 3 idiots can do 200 core then 100 idiots will do easily around 6666.67cores.fathiya wants another record to be broken by aamir khan.but srk needs it more………….:)
can u plz update actuall fig of mnik not from media
SALAAM 2 all
@fathiyaa
after watching 3 idiots whole globe had well understand and even change there feels of saying idiots ….
it is clear in 3 idiots that idiots were excellent = they do every feels with understandings
salute to 3 idots guru aamir khansaab for change the globelised thinking for idots with such a wonderful messages to yesterday generations, today generations and tommorow to come generations SUBHAANALLAAH
Taran Adarsh is such a mischievous person that he is showing Veer as flop in his ratings and unnecessarily showing MNIK weekend collections as 33.5 crores… This is d limit of biasing… Just because he is paid so mch by SRK,he is actually contradicting with BOI. And Salman nd Veer makers dint even pay him a buck nd Salman bashed him too badly,he is again contradicting wid BOI(which says below average).What a paidcow..
Just one word for him….SU***K IT Idiot
Today is Amish’s Birthday so plz wish him
Amish Happy Birthday to You …….
wish u best of luck
@Amish Jee ..Wish u a very very Happy BirthDay :) Many Many Happy returns of the Day..
Bad news for all SRK fans
Indore Barometer Monday My Name Is Khan
Tuesday 16th February 2010 12.30 IST
Boxofficeindia.Com Trade Network
My Name is Khan crashed badly at Indore multiplexes on Monday. The film is showing a 80% drop from Friday to Monday at Indore multiplexes. Below are the Monday numbers with Friday figures in brackets.
PVR
My Name Is Khan – 1,58,553 (4,37,779)
Inox Sapna
My Name Is Khan – 72,561 (2,13,678)
Big (Adlabs)
My Name Is Khan – 69,167 (2,68,842)
Velocity
My Name Is Khan – 57,299 (2,20,602)
Inox City
My Name Is Khan – 54,012 (2,13,678)
Satyam Cineplex
My Name Is Khan – 47,483 (2,05,688)
Total
My Name Is Khan – 3,16,055 (15,60,267) -79.74
MNIK is a very boring movie, heading for a flop
where goes ADII, Nauman , Megha, fathiya , Ar, Unknown , Amit & sami
Sab milkar AMISH bhai ki birthday celebrate kar rahe ho kya ?
Mnik ki FLOP hone ki GAAM mein .
he.he…….he…….he…..
@amish,happy birthday n best of luck. @dipen,no we are clebrating his birthday because veer is bigger earner than sawan.he he he….:)