A drama about Rizwan Khan (Shahrukh Khan), a Muslim from Mumbai, who suffers from Asperger syndrome. As an adult, he lives in San Francisco, where he marries a Hindu single mother, Mandira (Kajol).
After 9/11, Rizwan is detained by authorities at Los Angeles airport who mistake his disability for suspicious behavior and his relationship with Mandira falls apart. Rizwan then begins a journey to meet US President Obama to clear his name, in addition to winning back the woman he loves.
Anyone looking for a starting point in Indian filmmaking could do worse than to check out this release. It’s not an all-singing, all-dancing Bollywood spectacle but an epic that spans drama, comedy, social commentary and even an intermission (with the total running time clocking in at 161 minutes).
The first half is played like a romantic-comedy meets Rain Man, a strange premise that turns out to be surprisingly endearing, with hoary old situations given a unique twist. At the same time, it seamlessly throws some intricate and elaborate camerawork into the mix, showing off high production values.
Post intermission, the action isn’t as successful as it warps into something resembling a Muslim Forrest Gump. Its message of tolerance is hammered home in an overly blunt fashion and a reliance on perpetual melodrama soon hits the law of diminishing returns, despite some tear jerking scenes. It also raises the prominence of the supporting cast who can’t match the quality of performance from the two leads, Shahrukh Khan and Kajol.
Still, the film’s strong emotional quotient and universal themes make it an accessible and enjoyable watch.
By Andreas Heinemann, Flicks.co.nz
the movie was bangin hard out man loveing it so mujj
omg i so loved it cant wait 2 see yu in real life hahah jokes i oved it hahah
worse movie ever
Johar should stick to his genre -rather than try and make movies with a social message. The narrative style of Shahrukh is irritating. Trying to do too many things - solve discrimination against muslims and people with asperger's syndrome, a single mom issue, hurricane in georgia - and he also wants to meet the president : too many themes with no entertainment. Highly avoidable - watch 3 idiots again if u can
Seriously bad movie... I am at odds to understand these previous recommendations. It was like the director was on speed; four movies in one maybe? And painful to go through! Yes the theme is good; but the failing to deliver an entertaining, deep and soulful movie really brings disregard to what the director was trying to achieve. The first half is tolerable, although the love story of the two main characters was not at all believable. There seemed to be no visible love, and I think the director, if he had concentrated on just one area, could have made this movie shine by elaborating on the characters, giving more depth to the relationship. The latter half of the movie turned into a very bad version of Forest Gump. Most of the scenes in the last half of the movie were so unbelievable I actually laughed. I think I was supposed to be crying though! I have not felt like leaving a movie in a long time, but this one takes the cake! Watch at your own risk.
Aucklanders have been watching a high profile Bollywood movie that is seriously stressful to watch in Bollywood. My Name Is Khan is a cross between Rain Man and Forrest Gump wrapped in rotis and served with over cooked birinyi.
Enjoyable Bollywood melodrama with a strong central message, engaging characters and terrific performances from Shahrukh Khan and Kajol.
We've been told the NZ release date for this flick is Thursday, 11th Feb 2010.
Release date: February 11th 2010.
We haven't received times for this movie in this location yet. However these are updated as cinemas announce them, so check back soon. Hopefully the lovely cinemas in your location will choose to play it shortly. ~Ed.
