‘My Name Is Khan’ Post Mortem: It’s A Trash

Film: My Name Is Khan
Rating: 2/5
Cast: Sharukh Khan, Kajol
Banner: Dharma Productions, Fox Star Studios, Fox Searchlight Pictures & Red Chillies Entertainment
Cast: Shahrukh Khan, Kajol, Soniya Jehan, Jimmy Shergill, Zarina Wahab and Others
Lyricist: Niranjan Iyenga
Music Director: Shankar Mahadevan, Ehsaan Noorani, Loy Mendonca
Cinematography: Ravi K. Chandran
Action: Shyam Kaushal, Spiro Razatos
Choreography: Farah Khan
Editor: Deepa Bhatia
Action: Shyam Kaushal, Spiro Razatos
Screenplay: Shibani Bathija
Dialogue: Niranjan Iyengar, Shibani Bathija
Producer: Gauri Khan, Hiroo Johar
Director: Karan Johar
Released Date: February 12, 2010

Somehow, due to time constraints, I missed watching ‘My Name Is Khan’ on its release day. And looking at the positive reports in many national and local English media groups, I shuffled my engagements and made time to watch this movie. Finally, I could watch it looking at my ‘watch’ every 15 minutes.

I entered the theater just to plunge into the much publicized greatness of this movie. I didn’t think about writing a review as entire world media has already reported. But after coming out from the theater I couldn’t resist myself from without writing my experience, coz it’s a complete contrast to what it’s actually publicized and what I have witnessed. Hardly there are 20 audience in the theatre (I doubted but answered myself, it is possible, being a morning show on a working day), but the experience is soporific. Yes, the few scattered audiences are seen yawning and snoring. The narration is dull, lethargic and filled with forced emotions.

Karan Johar is not fit enough to make a movie on international issues like terrorism and Islam. He has only a teen-bent mind that can make movies only on college love and ‘tender emotions’ between a guy and gal. I still respect his Kuch Kuch Hota Hai…! How can he think that he can convince audience by showing the protagonist as the one who attracts the attention of American President just for meeting the Hurricane affected victims in Georgia? Hundreds of philanthropists raise their hearts to help such victims. The issue is canned so silly that the scanty audience in theatre laughed at that. And the fun at the end is American President (a look alike of Obama) willing to meet Rizvan Khan, our hero, for helping Hurricane victims being a Muslim. What’s it? Is American President uninformed that Mulsims will have no heart to help others? Is he so foolish to see a Mulsim helping victims as an 8th wonder? The conclusion of the movie marred the patience of audience.

‘My name is Khan and I’m not a terrorist’. This is the slogan of protagonist Rizvan Khan who suffers from a psychological disorder but not insane. When he says this amidst a group of Americans they run away with fear. Don’t they understand English? And the heights of fun is the guards of American President hit him hard on his nose and point guns at him when they heard him saying that slogan. Why do they do so? It’s pointless. Hence I heard another set of laughs in theatre.

I’m not saying that making movies on Racial discrimination and Religious Intolerance in trash. They must be made. But handling with care, coz they tend to break if mishandled like ‘My Name Is Khan’. The broken pieces will pain the audience but not the makers who are sane enough managing the world media in their favor. I don’t regret to make this allegation, as I found no muscle in the movie in reality.

How can we assume that an elementary school kid can narrate Kamasutra efficiently? And how can we presume Karan Johar can narrate the issue of international terrorism effectively? He has his own understanding on that, which keeps the common man in utter disappointment.

You may ask me, then how this film could cross the first week collections of ‘3 Idiots’ as well:

‘The voice of 10 will always be louder than voice of 1”!!!! When 10 people say ‘it’s good’ loudly, other 10 would certainly step back to say ‘it’s not good’ for the fear of getting alienated from majority lot. ‘My Name Is Khan’ team is fortunate enough in having people those shouted ‘it’s good’ first.

It’s a movie made with amateur script by a director with amateurish understanding on international terrorism for amateur audience. Only the audience those can get carried away by majority opinion with sheep-mentality can relish this stuff.

And you may not have heard the other side of criticism so far. And here it is. I didn’t write this as a professional Film Critic. Hence I don’t call it ‘review’. I have just watched the movie as a common audience and I expressed my grief on killing my happiness after watching this flick. Since I killed my happiness, I call it ‘post mortem’.

Bottom Line: Operation Success- Patient Dead!!!

-Postmortem by SiraSri (SiraSri can reached at [email protected])