My Name Is Khan

Okay, I know I already made a review about an Indian movie, but I cannot let this one pass. Haha. Anyway, the film 'My Name is Khan', is also one of the best yet. Having the Bollywood superstar and King of Bollywood himself, Shahrukh Khan, star in this film as a person with a disability. The film tackles the discrimination the Muslims felt after the 9-11 attack.

Rizwan Khan(Shahrukh Khan), is a Muslim child who grew up with his brother Zakir and his mother Razia Khan in a middle-class family in Mumbai. It can be observed that Rizwan is unlike any other children, but he has skills and intellect particularly in repairing anything mechanic. There was one time that he invented a pump that will rid their compound of flood water. Because of this, he got special tutoring from a scholar. His mother gives him extra attention because of his peculiarity. As they  grow older, his older brother got jealous with him and left their family to live in the US.

Despite his jealousy with his brother, as an adult, Zakir sponsors Rizwan to come live with him in San Francisco after the death of their mother. Zakir's wife then diagnoses Rizwan with Asperger Syndrome. Asperger Syndrome is one of the autism spectrum disorders (ASD) or pervasive developmental disorders (PDD), which are a spectrum of psychological conditions that are characterized by abnormalities of social interaction and communication that pervade the individual's functioning, and by restricted and repetitive interests and behavior.(*Courtesy of Wikipedia ) Rizwan starts working for his brother and in the process meets a Hindu woman, Mandira and her young son, Sameer or Sam, from a previous marriage. Mandira works as a hairdresser. Even though at first Mandira seem to be repelled by Rizwan, the two eventually marry and settle down. Both Mandira and her son take Rizwan's last name, Khan, as their own. They live next door to the Garrick family. Sameer is close to their young san, Reese while Reese's parents, Mark and Sarah are a friend of Mandira.

The Khan's peaceful life was disrupted after the September 11 attacks on New York City. Mark, being a reporter, goes to Afghanistan to cover the war and unfortunately dies there. At the same time, the Khan family experiences post 9-11 prejudice in their community and Reese drifts away and turns against Sam.  One afternoon, the two of them had an argument but it turned into a racially motivated schoolyard fight between Sam and a gang of older students. Reese, tries to stop the fight but is held back and Sam is punched and kicked multiple times and the older students finished by hitting him on the head with a soccer ball. As an act of revenge,  Sam hits the leader on the head too. The gang continued to hurt him and the lead older student kicks the soccer ball, hitting Sam's stomach, rendering him unconscious. The gang threatens to hurt Reese if he tells anyone about the incident, thus keeping Reese quiet about it when asked. Sam was rushed to the hospital but dies of severe internal bleeding and ruptured spleen. Mandira was shattered and blames Rizwan for Sam's death, stating that Sam 'died only because his last name was Khan.' She then tells Rizwan that she no longer wants to be with him. When Rizwan asks her what he has to do to be with Mandira, she sarcastivally tells him that he has to tell the people of the United States and the President that his name is Khan and that he is not a terrorist.

Rizwan take's Mandira's request seriously, and thus sets out on a journey that takes him from one US state to another, to meet the president. During his travel, he arrives to Wilhelmina, Georgia where he befriends Mama Jenny and her son Joel. The mother and son, took care of him during his stay in Wilhelmina. When he arrives at Los Angeles, he prays in a Mosque and overhears a violent rhetoric from Faisal Rahman. He reports this to the FBI but there was no response at the moment. Later, while waiting in the crowd to meet with President Bush, he repeatedly said the words, "Mr. President, my name is Khan and I am not a terrorist.", Rizwan was misheard and misinterpreted by one of the people in the crowd that leads to his arrest.

While in prison, he is interrogated as a terrorist suspect and meets the psychiatrist Radha, who believes he is innocent. While he was in prison, some Indian students, who accidentally caught him on tape while saying "My name is Khan and I am not a terrorist" starts a media campaign to prove his innocence. They proved his innocence by unearthing his attempts to inform the FBI about Faisal Rahman. After he was released, he returns to Wilhelmina, which is currently hit by a hurricane to help Mama Jenny and her son. His efforts attract the media's attention and numerous Muslims come to help as well.

At the same time, a remorseful Reese confesses to Mandira and tells her the identities of the students who killed Sam. She then informs Detective Garcia who has been assisting her in the case and he arrests the students. Mandira gets a  call from Sarah to forgive Rizwan, "I've lost my husband; don't lose him."

 

 

 

Mandira realizes her mistake and joins Rizwan in Georgia, and they rekindle their love. However, the moment she arrives, Rizwan is stabbed by one of Faisal's followers, who accuses him of being a traitor to Islam. Rizwan is rushed to the hospital. With Mandira's help, Rizwan survives and meets the President-elect Barack Obama who tells him, "Your name is Khan and you are not a terrorist." The film ends with Rizwan and Mandira going back home.

movie trailer

The thing I like about this movie is that it tackles the sensitive issue of racial discrimination, especially of the Muslims. This movie serves as an eye-opener that, not because you are a Muslim, you are already tagged as terrorist. People should learn from this movie and stop stereotyping. Aside from the lesson this movie points out, the movie was very touching and heart-warming. Also, this also proves that, disability is not a hindrance to anything. A person can still do noble things and deeds even though you are different from everybody else.

I would also commend the acting abilities of  Shahrukh Khan. He's acting's so great. I believe that it isn't very easy to portray such a role. It takes such great skill to portray a person with a autism.

This is what I like about most Indian movies I have watched, you can always get a life-lesson and they don't usually use the overused formula of cliche movies. They always present something unique and intriguing.

P.S. Sorry for the short post. I'll make up on my next post. PROMISE! >.<