When big names combine together, they do create a stir in the industry & if they happen to be Karan Johar’s production house in association with Fox & his best buddy Shah Rukh Khan’s production house, the expectations would be sky high, as the viewers await anxiously for the product to be presented in front of them. For the final judgment. Aren’t we the judge?
Of late, how often have we seen big names & productions living up to their expectations or the hype that they managed to create? We would find the success ratio 9:1, against them. Some of the films that failed were not bad at all namely RANN, DELHI 6, SWADES, PAHELI, NAACH, etc. So its not the production house or the stars, or the music of the film that makes the difference, its the taste of the common man that matters at the end of the day.
Dil jo kahega maanengey, duniya mein hamara dil hi to hai suits Karan Johar’s latest presentation My Name Is Khan as it has been made from the heart with a message. But the way it is narrated raises doubts about its success at the box office.
Things have changed drastically post 9/11 incident about which we have read/heard a lot & have watched few films made on the issue. Muslims came under scrutiny post 9/11 as we all know & as shown if many films that when they are targeted or tortured, they prefer to hold a gun to take revenge hence proving that their tormentors were right about them. Thus converting the doubts of the people who suspects them into confirmation.
But have all the Muslims preferred to become a terrorist to prove that he is not a terrorist? This is where MNIK tries to narrate a different tale of a common man, who happens to be a Muslim, Rizwan Khan.
Rizwan believes that there are only 2 kind of people, good & bad. He knows the teachings of Holy Quraan. He is not a normal guy but is honest & straight forward to speak the truth, irrespective of its repercussions.
In US he falls in love with a Hindu woman, played by Kajol who is also a divorcee & a mother of a boy. They get married with some reluctance shown by Rizwan’s brother but live happily till 9/11. Their only son is killed due to its religion.
Kajol is devastated & blames Rizwan for the death because due to his surname Khan, he got killed. Asks him to leave & when he asks when should he return, she says after he has convinced 30, 000 people who hates him that he is not a terrorist or he can even inform the President of US that he is not a terrorist.
He sets on a voyage with a mission to tell the President - My Name Is Khan & I am not a terrorist. The film starts when he leaves his home & ends when the message is conveyed & wins his wife back. Reminds me of Tom Hanks starrer Steven Speilberg directed The Terminal, where the former gets trapped in the airport terminal & till the end, we did not know why he came to America & when it was
revealed, your heart goes out to Tom Hanks character. But in MNIK 10 minutes after the film starts we know his mission & desperately wait for him to meet the President.
Moreover his journey to his destination was set on wrong bearings as he keeps bumping into unwanted characters to win laurels at the cost of causing delay to his main mission.
Karan Johar & Shahrukh Khan should be appreciated for selecting the topic but have failed to instruct the writer to produce the water tight script. Mind you this is not an entertainer for the masses where they will accept the film on day one. This is an experimental film, which relies heavily on the tight script as it is targeted at the class viewers, who will reject the film on day one should it fail to live up to their expectations.
Though few scenes are very well written, especially Arif Zakaria’s provoking speech in a mosque with Shahrukh’s counter comments, speaks a lot about what kind of education is required to be given to the youth – of course, in the name of God. Similar attention should have been paid to the entire film with some ruthless editing.
Songs are surely not for the masses as the lyricist has written rich poetry, which is aptly tuned by Shankar-Ehsan-Loy.
Dialogues are clap worthy, which are very intelligently written. Cinematography is top class.
Zarina Wahab still has the most beautiful smile that she brought with Chitchor. Jimmy Shergill as SRK’s brother & Sonya Jehan as Jimmy’s wife were ok.
Karan Johar attempted to narrate a different story & despite of poor writing still managed to create some nice moments that actually touch your heart. His knowledge behind the camera is good but what happens in front of the camera should be equally powerful to create an impact & that can happen only with quality writing.
Kajol still looks the same enthusiastic girl who we have been watching since years with same talkative eyes, lively smile & loud yet lovable at times.
Shah Rukh Khan deserves standing ovation for being a part of the production house, having faith in the subject & gave 100% of his abilities to raise the film to a respectable level but unfortunately is handicapped by the loose writing.
The film will certainly be critically acclaimed but its fate at box office is in aam janta’s hands.