My Name is Khan: Minus the hype, Above Average

My Name is Khan for me was just another post 9/11 movie. Another one in the same (or rather similar) league as Newyork, Kurbaan, Khuda Kay Liye. It tries the same old 'Muslims are not terrorist' and 'Islam does not stand for killing' trick in a slightly different storyline but rest all remains the same. Performances are pretty good. A Few scenes are very moving. There are some cute moments. Thumbs up to Karan Johar to try something different from his candyfloss family melodramas. Production quality is superb. Music is good. Written very well. Directed very crisply and does not bore you anywhere. The only problem i found was that you could feel that SRK was trying too hard to perform as an 'actor' or to pull off a forrest gump, which dint quite happen. Gets 'Filmy' in parts too. A must watch nonetheless. An 'Above Average' start to the for the 'starry' movies this year.

Plot: Rizvan Khan (Shahrukh) suffers from an autistic condition (which is not relevant to the plot). He meets Mandira (Kajol), a divorcee with a son. They marry and post 9/11 the son is killed in a racist act. Mandira leaves Khan thinking he is responsible for her son's death and asks her to tell the whole of the US including the President, 'My name is Khan and I am not a terrorist'. The movie is about his journey about the same.

Performance: This was the only department where i had (some) problems. SRK for me was just trying to hard to prove that he can act apart from the K Jo genre too. Well, the stage was perfect. Character was so well written that you would fall in love with him while 'reading' the script let alone watch the movie. There was also this 'Emotional Blackmail' with the autism angle. But still for me it was a 'good' performance not a 'great' one. May be i was expecting too much. (But hey, with all the hype already, don't think anybody wouldn't). Kajol as usual is as smooth as she has been in every role she has portrayed. For me she has always been one of the actors who would just get into the skin of the role with such ease that you simply forget that she is an actor but concentrate on the character. She does the same and obviously i was pretty happy with her performance. Overall, nobody else was noticeable.

Music and Background Score: 'Tere Naina', 'Sajda' and 'Noor e Khuda' were pretty good. Background score was not impressive and was just above average. Nothing major to write anything about on music actually.

Scenes: Two scenes were very moving. One, when the son dies and Kajol is furious over Khan and asks him to leave. That for me was the one of the best scenes in the movie. Other, when Khan is narrating his love for his dead son. That scene for me wiped out every 'Overperformed' sequence by SRK. He redeems himself to the fullest. Its hard not to have tears in your eyes in both the sequences.

Positives: KJo coming out of his comfort zone. Well Written. Well performed. The 'Smooth' factor.

Negatives: SRK's usual 'Overperformance', Gets a bit 'too filmy' in a couple of scenes.

Overall: Worth a Watch even without the hype.

Feel-O-Meter: 7/10 (Coz i did not get too 'Feely' anywhere during the movie. For me it was another above average movie. Does NOT deserve a 9 or a 10 in my books)