My Name Is Khan Movie Review

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!