I met the man I wrote about in the post
He is an Imbecile on
Femmelounge the night before I watched the movie, My name is Khan. The moment I saw Shahrukh Khan's character, I remember the man I saw the night before. To answer Myne's question on the post, I did correct the wrong notion the girls had and enlightened them more.
The Boston recent marathon bomb blast reminded me of the era we live in where innocent lives are lost and the aftermath effect of the actions of these vicious people. Terrorists continue to strike in the name of religion and the ordinary man, not even remotely associated with these groups, is bearing the brunt. It also reminded me of one of the messages of the Bollywood movie ‘My name is Khan’ which was released in 2010. My name is Khan (It's Khan, from the epiglottis not `kaan) is a fascinating love story with a world-shuddering event as a backdrop.
The movie chronicles the life of Rizwan Khan (Shahrukh Khan), a Muslim man from India who suffers from the Asperger's Syndrome, who sets out on a historic journey to meet the United States President, when his world takes a flip over after the September 11 attacks. Mandira, his wife on the other hand tries to cope with her grief and come to terms with the new religious-divided reality.
The movie begins with Rizvan on his way to meet the President of the United States. He wants to tell him, “My name is Khan and I am not a terrorist”. This film goes in flashback to show us why Rizvan feels the urge to do so. Rizwan, a Muslim boy with Asperger's syndrome, growing up with his mother who had no idea what was wrong with him and a jealous younger brother in the back alleys of Mumbai. The most important lesson she teaches him is that there are only two types of people – the good and the bad. He joins his brother in the US following the death of their mother in the US and sells his beauty products as part of the family business. He meets and marries Mandira, a Hindu hair dresser who is also a single mother of a boy named Sam despite protests from his brother and eventual cut of family ties between the brothers. Their fairytale life came to an end after the September 11 attacks and the safety of their lives just like that of all Muslims around the nation is threatened. The future of the Khans was threatened following the death of Sam; Mandira was unable to deal with the grief and blamed her husband’s religion. "He died only because his name was Khan, Mandira yells and asks Rizvan to leave her. Rizvan is confused and upset that the love of his life had deserted him. To win her back, he must embark on this heart-breaking and inspiring journey to inform the president of the United State that his name is Khan (representing Islam) and he is not a terrorist as requested sarcastically by his grieving wife. As an asperger’s syndrome sufferer he takes everything said to him at face value and does not understand someone can say something and miss something else.
The film is packed with scenes which move you to tears: 9/11, post 9/11, hysterical Americans, hurricane Katrina which was all twined together by a man with a good heart. I love the angle with which the director executed his message, a Muslim asperger’s syndrome sufferer, who believed in a good world. My heart bled when Rizvan was arrested for terrorism when he was finally close to meeting the President and he was taken to detention. I don’t know why it took the people so long to realise the man could mean no harm. The tears started for me the moment Sam was injured and his friend, Reese just walked away.
The movie takes no sides, while showing us the actions of the Muslim extremist, also letting the world know that not all Muslims are terrorist. The part where Mandira blames her husband’s religion for her son death is one of my major reasons for not supporting inter-religious marriages. It is in times like that religious affiliations are tested. I just kept saying in him head, what if you were a Muslim, would you react like that.
In my mind, ‘My name is Khan’ is unquestionably one of the best films rolled out of Bollywood ever and well worth the 162 minutes of my life. SRK totally lived his character he was exceptionally brilliant, his body language and expressions were on point. No one could have done that role better than he did. Kajol as Mandira was also a beautiful choice; she cried her heart as a true mother would out to get justice for her son’s death. The movie is not your usual Indian movie love story, it not only entertains, it captivates ones attention...blink and you miss something vital. If you are a Bollywood lover and you think you have seen it all, then you need to watch this movie if you have not. If you have seen this movie, share your thoughts.
♥Lara
I remembered Kim and Kanye's picture which went viral awhile ago
