My Name Is Khan Region Free (Bollywood Hindi Film DVD) (2009)

I'd been wanting to see this or a while and only managed to get the chance tonight. I was expecting a lot, as the trailer made it seem inspirational, and recommendations from friends only enforced that expectation. I have to say that not only were my expectations met, but they were surpassed. It is a truly beautiful film in every possible way. The story it has to tell, the way it is shot, the actors and their characters, the overall feel of the film is just absolutely stunning. I was taken on a rollercoaster ride of emotion as one moment I would be laughing my head off, and the next I'd be literally in tears. This film is not just here to entertain and make money (although I'm hoping it does a lot of both), but it sends out a very important and poignant message about the image of Islam in the world since the shocking and terrible events of 9/11. Not just Islam, but it sends out a message about all religion with the use of a very simple statement; "Good people who do good deeds. Bad People who do bad. There is no other difference". Such a strong message to send and it says something so simple. We're all human and regardless of the religion we live by or the culture we have, our deeds are what make us good or bad people and not those labels applied by those other parts of our lives.

The story follows the journey of Rizwan Khan (Shah Rukh Khan), a Muslim man with Asperger's Syndrome as he writes a letter to his wife Mandira (Kajol) while he is on a journey to give the President of the United States a message; "My Name Is Khan, and I am not a Terrorist". Through this letter he is writing, we come to learn about the emotions he truly feels and can't express when speaking due to his condition. We learn about his upbringing with his brother Zakir and his Mother in Mumbai, his arrival in America to work with his brother and his eventual falling in love with the woman who would be his wife, Mandira. Rizwan achieves the impossible. He has made a happy life for himself in America and kept a promise he made to his Ammi. This happiness is not to last, however, as the tragedy of 9/11 occurs turning Riwan and Mandira's life upside down in very frightening and tragic ways. The stereotyping of the Muslim terrorist begins to make its mark on the couple and put a strain on their relationship but, one day things hit rock bottom and their son, Sameer (Yuvaan Makaar) is killed in a racially motivated attack. This is the final straw and the relationship breaks apart and Rizwan is told to leave and in the heat of the moment, only to return when he has given the message to the US President.

Out of my little description, I've missed out so much. There's a lot to take in from this film and something that you will enjoy as the film runs. Shah Rukh Khan deserves a very prestigious western award for his role in this film. Possibly even going as high up as an Oscar (although I'm sure there's some rule that would prevent that from ever happening) as his performance is magnificent and he is truly deserving of wider recognition in the western world. He steals the show as the personality and mannerisms of the character are maintained beautifully throughout, from the twitching of the neck to simply the way he speaks. There are times when his traits are hilarious, and others when they are frankly annoying. But you never lose sight of the genuine and caring nature of this character and you become adoring of his flaws as they simply vale what is a very sweet personality.

This, in a sense, gives you more of a respectful understanding of the condition and how difficult it may be to cope with, especially in social circumstances, when you want to say something, but simply cannot express it the way you want. The message of everyone being simply being defined as being part of one of two groups, good or bad people, is one that I truly admire and taking on the topic of religion during such a raw and emotional time, and offering it from the perspective of an Asian family is a very brave and meaningful move.

A beautiful film with a beautiful message, and by far the best film I've ever had the pleasure of watching.

*******Contains Spoilers*******

My Name is Khan is clearly one of the best films I've seen this year. Period. The performances by Shahrukh Khan and Kajol are stellar and if there is any justice the film should at least receive an Oscar nod as Best Foreign Film.

But I want to touch upon the notion that several reviewers have mentioned that the scenes in Georgia were unnecessary. I disagree. Those scenes were there to emphasize that Rizwan completely adhered to the lesson that his mother taught him that there were only two kinds of people in the world; good and bad. To the point of setting his own personal journey aside, he felt to need to help "good" people that were in trouble. How could we capture that notion any better than having him come to the aid of another group of people that were be subjected to the discrimination that he was feeling?

Is some of it over the top and/or unrealistic? No more than the action film characters that survive exploding cars and jumps from rooftops with little or no harm to their bodies. It's a movie, people.

All films paint certain characters with broad strokes to move the story along. Most of those stereotypical characters are based on some exaggeration of the truth. I am an African American woman who like Mama Jenny is a "little fat". I was not offended by anything in the movie at all. She was portrayed as a caring and warm person. And anyone that thinks that areas like that don't exist in American anymore have not traveled off of the main roads. People are forgetting that the main character has Asperger's. His description of Joel and his hair is something an autistic person may say. My nephew is autistic. He is very literal with observations. He doesn't think about the political correctness of his statement before he speaks. But again, it is a movie, people.

My only complaint would be the one I have with all Hindi movies that portray Americans. I can always tell that they are British actors. There were two actors I immediately recognized from US TV shows; Tonya Lee Williams as the African American newscaster and Christopher B. Duncan as President Obama. But Tonya is actually British too. The actress playing Mama Jenny, Jennifer Echols, has made many appearances on TV; Dexter, ER, The Shield, Nip/Tuck, My Name is Earl, etc. And the kid playing Joel, Adrian Kali Turner, has been on Chuck, Numb3rs, Flashforward and iCarly. So, it looks like they went with American actors for the most of the African American characters at least.

My minor complaint aside, this film is well worth the time spent. Great job by everyone involved. Great message if you are willing to listen.

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Rating: PG-13

Overview:

This film is about a gentleman named: Rizwan Khan (Shahrukh Khan). He is a muslim from the Borivali area of Mumbai, India. He suffers from Asperger's syndrome, a form of high-functioning autism. This syndrome affects the way that he relates to the world and those around him. On the positive side, he can solve word puzzles and remember large portions of texts, word for word easily.

On the negative side, this syndrome causes him to get confused easily and he repeats certain phases continually, which can cause persons to misunderstand him. He regularly makes it a point to make sure that his surname is pronounced correctly.

Eventually he meets a single hindu mother and manages to woo her to marry him.

Plot Points:

This film attempts to probe into the difficulties experienced by minorities, here are the different minority areas that are covered:

persons with disabilities

immigrant groups

religious groups

mixed religions in marriage

racial minorities

Their lives are quite turbulent at points as they are severely misunderstood and their son is viciously persecuted.

Conclusion:

While this film may seem far fetched at points, and a bit self serving and overdone, it brings to the forefront many issues that some persons within our society face everyday. The objective of this film in my opinion is to raise the bar of tolerance that we have for our fellow human being.

Read Best Reviews of My Name Is Khan Region Free (Bollywood Hindi Film DVD) (2009) Here

I echo the other reviews. This is a GREAT movie. Shahrukh Khan brilliantly portrays a man with Asperger's/autism. The overall message of the film is so beautiful. While parts are simplisticly done, the message stays true. Unfortunately, the negative in this film is the entire Mama Jenny subplot. I'm hoping that the Indian filmmakers just did not realize how incredibly racist the whole segment is. From a child that almost perfectly mimics "Buckwheat" from Our Gang, to exaggerated southern African-American dialect, it just left a huge bad taste in my mouth. There are a hundred other ways they could have told the story without using racist stereotypes. In this day and age, SOMEONE should have alerted the filmmakers during production how WRONG that whole sub-plot was, and how distasteful it would be to American audiences. Unfortunately, it may turn away many who need to hear the message of the film most. Having said all that, however, SRK's acting (astonishing) and the fantastic message of the film make this a film worth seeing, and owning!

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Whatever else is in the movie, THIS IS A LOVE STORY. Anyone who doesn't realize that has missed the entire point. A man living in turbulent times and circumstances, afflicted with a difficult handicap, goes to extraordinary lengths for the woman he cannot stop loving. All the rest is background, albeit entertaining background.

While I found the different point of view (that of Muslims and Hindus in America) interesting and enlightening, no one should take the political and/or social aspects of this movie seriously other than to view them as educational. It's simply part of the setting. That's why no one attempted to DO them very seriously...because they were background to the plot, they were not the plot itself. This is not a failed front for a social/political documentary. It's an extraordinarily successful, beautiful, and sensitive love story.

Ironically, though the movie is about Muslims and Hindus and not a mention is made of the Christian religion in the entire film (other than to show a couple of non-religious scenes in a church), there is a powerful Christian message (probably common to most religions): that love heals and hatred destroys, and that character and moral courage (not bravado) are what make real men.

It's sad that no one has thought to praise the remarkable performance of Shahrukh Khan, who portrays a man afflicted with Aspberger's Syndrome, a high-functioning form of autism. Khan is at a disadvantage: Had Dustin Hoffman never done Rainman, nor Leonardo DiCaprio given us his amazing performance in What's Eating Gilbert Grape, Khan's portrayal of Risvan Khan might have been given the considerable respect it deserves. As it is, in my view he still excels the others in one respect: he manages to infuse charm, high intelligence, and even sexiness into his very convincing portrayal of a disability generally not thought of as very sexy.

The charm and comedy of this movie are irresistible. The chemistry between the leading actors is legendary in India (they've made at least 5 movies together). The directing is flawless, the acting top-rate, the photography excellent, the music lively and compelling. One note about the music: it's ethnic (hence Indian), which means it's not what American audiences are used to hearing. But if you can get past the culture shock, you may do as I did and end up loving it enough to buy the CD.

There is enough action to keep even my husband, who loves nothing more than to see buildings blowing up, interested. When asked if there are very many subtitles to read, I told my daughter there were some, but not enough to distract from the movie. Only when I watched it a second time did I realize there are subtitles throughout most of it (I was too absorbed to even realize I was reading subtitles most of the time. Hint: use the Pause button as needed). I was riveted throughout the entire movie and never found a single moment boring. In fact, I was surprised at how fast the time had gone. And when the movie was over, even my action-loving husband said, "I'm not sure, but that may be the best movie I've ever seen."

For parents: This movie does not contain nudity, sex scenes (although the word "sex" is mentioned), nor does it contain anything crude. There is some violence, but it's not pervasive, nor is it graphic. And here's a wonderfully refreshing twist: the couple actually marries before sleeping together! My husband did think he heard the F word in one scene, but I've watched the movie twice and didn't hear it; so if it's in there, it's not obvious.