· Shahrukh Khan is named Major Ram Prasad and his step-brother (Zayed Khan) is called Laxman Prasad
· Sushmita Sen is called Chandni Chopra
· Extras surround Major sahab and play the violin whenever he spots Chandni Chopra . He also breaks into a ditty whenever he sees Ms Chopra
· Chandni Chopra wears chiffon sarees at school and hardly ever teaches Chemistry to her students
· Major sahab chases (and also catches) the goons driving a Scorpio with a cycle rickshaw called Dhanno
· Prof. Spitmaster (Satish Shah) spits in a Matrix like fashion
· And many more
Main Hoon Naa works big time if you are a film buff. Otherwise, you would be entertained at the end of this three-hour-few minutes Bollywood masala but would still complain about the Ram Laxman bit; find Miss Chandni Chopra irritatingly beautiful and an absolute bimbette; Major Ram to be a jack of all (remember, he is an army man and then suddenly decides to go to school – he fights like Jackie Chan, sings like Mohd. Rafi and Kishore Kumar, emotes like Shahrukh Khan, and completes an important national mission like Rambo); find the cycle rickshaw chase sequence demented and far-fetched; ditto for all the Matrix sequences – you would say that they were copied.
Debutante director Farah Khan has paid a handsome tribute to everyone and everything related to movies like Hrishikesh Mukherjee, Nasir Hussain, RD Burman, Yash Chopra, Karan Johar, Sholay, Matrix, and the entire success formula of the 70s and 80s. She also spoofs the ma-ke-haath-ke-aloo parathe bit, dream sequences, Yash Chopra kinda romance (yeah, she pays a tribute to it and yet spoofs it) so on and so forth. Everything that was super successful twenty years ago finds its way in here. The result is full blast entertainment – the kind you expected from Manmohan Desai and Nasir Hussain.
However, one feels that amidst all desh-bhakti, bhai-bhai stuff, comedy, laughter, tears, tributes, spoofs, Farah sort of overdid her thing - as if she added one masala more than necessary. But full tribute to her for coming out with an unapologetic, hardcore commercial fare. She is in top form here – both as a choreographer and director.
As for the performances, Boman Irani and Satish Shah did tickle the funny bone, Bindu was adequate, so were Naseeruddin Shah and Kiron Kher. Amrita Rao could soon be the next big thing of Bollywood. Sushmita is stunning and naughty, though she doesn’t have much to say or do here, she doesn’t get lost amidst innumerable cameos. Zayed Khan is a revelation. He displays spunk while facing Shahrukh and a zest for comedy. Hope Main Hoon Naa wasn’t a flash in the pan.
Suneil Shetty makes for a stylish villain.. He got a well-etched character this time, and he does full justice to it.
And Shahrukh Khan? The man may not be the best actor in Bollywood. But yes, he is its most charismatic. That is why, love him or hate him, you simply cannot ignore him. Here, he’s come up with a restrained performance in an author backed role. He is excellent in the comic and love scenes, melodramatic in the dramatic ones and simply awesome in the action scenes. He simply holds the film together with his charm and energy.
Javed Akhtar’s lyrics are slightly more than average but Annu Mallik’s music is simply a let down. Abbas Tyrewalla’s dialogues are witty. A few samples.
Sample one
Sushmita (to SRK): Itna bada aur student. How disgusting.
SRK: Itni choti aur teacher. How amazing.
Sample two
SRK (to Boman Irani): Sir, main kuch der aur yahan (college) rehna chahta hoon.
BI: Haan! Lunch karke jaana.
SRK: Mera matlab hai, aur kuch der.
BI: To graduation kar ke jaana.
Main Hoon Na is paisa vasool. Have a ball!