WOWWW I AM SOOO HAPPY 🥳english people dun know how amazing bollywood is and there was no better movie to show them! MNIK is one amazing and impactful film wid amazing direction, script and acting!! i am sooo proud of KJOOOOIFFLA Day 5: 'My Name Is Khan'(Looks like a Review)
Changes the Face of Bollywood & the Image of a Hero
By: Julia Albain, Buzzine Hollywood writer
There seemed to be an exhale of pure astonishment that swept over the room last night, as the New York screening of My Name Is Khan, the latest Bollywood Epic from acclaimed filmmaker Karan Johar, came to a close. The nearly three-hour journey that audience members are taken on is nothing short of breathtaking. Bollywood all-stars Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol Devgan star in this moving portrait of a Muslim man born with Asberger's Syndrome, the Hindu single mother he falls in love with, and the journey he takes to prove himself not only worthy of her love but also true to his word.
Stepping away from recent traditions in Bollywood of sensational and glitzy musical films, My Name Is Khan is a daring glance at post-9/11 America and the face of racism that has entered contemporary culture. "My name is Khan and I am not a terrorist" becomes the tag-line of the film'and will most certainly make its way out of screening rooms and into daily conversations as the film's attention expands.
A Forrest Gump-esque film, Khan's journey across America and in and out of the lives of the people he meets is a powerful proclamation of love and compassion overriding the mess of a broken world. Shah Rukh Khan is phenomenally moving and honest in his portrayal of Rizvan Khan, with the perfect combination of disorder and endearing humility. He is funny and then heart-wrenching, but in the midst of it all, he is so truthful and committed that you can't help but fall in love with his story. The stunning Kajol Devgan steps into a new realm of intensity in this role, and proves open and available to the roller-coaster of events that her character, Mandira, is sent on.
Boldly set in a very contemporary America with very contemporary social issues, the film covers vast terrain yet remains pointed and concise in its message. Khan takes viewers into a realm of existence where truth is all there is, and social receptors and filters are non-existent. The beauty in his Asberger's Syndrome is that it allows him to lead a life based on core truths and unwavering dedication to those truths, regardless of how his actions are perceived by those around him. Such brutal honesty may be the only tool that could successfully illuminate the post-9/11 world that we have created and assimilated into.
Though there were no riotous dance numbers that have become so popular in the realm of Bollywood films, the music, done by Shankar, Ehsaan & Loy, creates anticipation and movement in all of the right places, encouraging the grand sense of epic storytelling that left me on the edge of my seat the entire time. The film is unpredictable in all the right ways and takes its time with the journey of the plot. By the end of the film, I was scrambling to remember all the places I had been and all the wonderful characters I had met, exhausted yet exhilarated by the emotional journey and incredible enlightenment I had been exposed to.
Mandira ends the film poetically, saying that, "Khan accomplished with love far more than I could have accomplished with hate." This just about sums up the message of the film and the poignancy of the sentiment that will hopefully be delivered in its wake.
I can only hope that everyone has the opportunity to experience this film, as I do believe it has the power to deeply move and change a national and international sentiment of the human experience, which, in effect, is the most successful work a singular film can do.
Treat yourself to this film and allow it to impact your view.
Distributed by Fox Studios India and Fox Searchlight, My Name is Khan is now playing at theaters worldwide.
http://bollywood.buzzine.com/2010/04/my-name-is-khan/
Kundali Bhagya
Debate Mansion
8