“My name is Khan. Rizwan Khan. My Mama always told me: There are only two kinds of people. Good people who do good things and bad people who do bad things.”
If Forrest Gump's Mama prepared him for the surprises life will have in store for him (“Life is a box of chocolates, you never know what you gonna get”), Khan's Ammi prepares him for the increasingly polarised world.
Both Gump and Khan overcome personal challenges and grow up to travel through America (Gump had low IQ and a physical disability, and Khan has Asperger's Syndrome and lacks social skills). And we see the country through the eyes of a simple man who is good at heart, uncorrupted by politics or materialism.
If Gump's journey took him through American history for his tryst with the President, Khan's journey to meet the Prez takes him through modern America post 9/11. Of course, both these men are hardcore old-world romantics who hold on to love and do impossibly sweet things for people they care for.
Khan maybe inspired by Gump but there's no denying that replacing everything Gump stood for with everything Khan stands for is a masterstroke from Karan Johar and writer Shibani Bhatija. There's bound to be an instant connect with the West and this is a film the Americans need to see simply because unlike Gump, Khan has a message for them: “My Name is Khan and I am not a terrorist.”
Gump could just float around like a feather through the winds of change but in the post 9/11 world, Khan had to be an ambassador for Islam and show them that Gump and Khan are not too different. They are the good guys.
Karan Johar's Rizwan Khan is the epitome of goodness and surprisingly, the filmmaker tones down his sense of drama several notches, showing great restraint for at least two-thirds of the film. Just as you think this is really his best and most mature film till date smacking of real world idealism, the final act sets in and Karan Johar does what he does best — manufacturing willing suspension of disbelief.
It's all a little too conveniently resolved by the end but we must dwell on the good parts simply because there's so much that's great about this film that we are only willing to embrace the sappy overdrive and cheesy drama in the last act.
Right from writing (screenwriting guru Syd Field is thanked in the opening credits) and casting India's biggest superstar Shah Rukh Khan as Khan (he has a Hindu wife and is a living ambassador for pluralism and tolerance) or Kajol as a divorced single Hindu mother of a teen (a consequence of early arranged marriage) and Pakistani actress Sonya Jehan as the wife of the conservative yet progressive Muslim (played by Jimmy Shergill), Karan Johar gets everything right. It's a coming-of-age film for the director to take on this explosive premise and treat it with sensitivity and a refined sensibility that will make the film more relatable to the West.
If the scene where Khan steps into the shoes of his victimised son (literally and metaphorically) to set out on a journey to make a point to the President for the next generation Muslim cannot make you cry, nothing ever will.
It's a pleasant surprise to see characters that are so well-fleshed out in a film that could've easily resorted to types to make its point. Yes, there are a couple of awkward dramatic scenes (like his meeting with the fundamentalists in the mosque or his efforts to rebuild a hurricane-hit village and his equally superhuman entourage of mediapersons and supporters who wade through flood waters) but it's all done with great earnestness and the right intentions.
Before you get an impression that it's all dead serious… No, no it's not. No, no. It's highly entertaining, it's as mainstream and popular as Hindi cinema gets with the romance, song and dance, sight-seeing tourist attractions, music cues that trigger off the tear-glands and Shah Rukh Khan quips that will make you laugh whole-heartedly. His chemistry with a fantastic Kajol (Tere Naina is so goddamned romantic) alone is worth the price of admission but this film gives you much, much more.
My Name is Khan is populist, yet layered with rich political subtext. It's all about types, yet every character feels real. It's about generalisations and yet it chooses to dwell on the specifics. It's all heart and spirit that you can't help but overlook the flaws and admire it.
Simply put, My Name is Khan is a statement. And it's not about terrorism.
My Name is Khan
Genre: Drama
Director: Karan Johar
Cast: Shah Rukh Khan, Kajol, Jimmy Shergill, Sonya Jehan
Storyline: A spirited man with Asperger's Syndrome goes chasing the President of the United States to deliver a message that will help him win back the love of his life.
Bottomline: Forrest Khan loses his way but entertains and Karan Johar shows fantastic restraint. Almost.
