“My Name is Khan, and I’m not a Terrorist”.
Trust me, every moviegoer would have rooted for the protagonist as the film screened throughout the world in early 2010. A differently-abled man searching for an answer to his questions, wanting justice for his son, uniting the oppressed souls together, how’s cute is it, right?
The truth, however, isn’t exactly a bed of roses.
Released in 2010, ‘My Name is Khan’ is considered to be a ‘revolution in Indian cinema’, particularly Bollywood. Directed by Karan Johar, it is based on the traumatic experiences of the post 9/11 racial attacks faced by various communities within the USA. Starring Shahrukh Khan and Kajol in principal roles, the movie garnered various accolades for many, including Shahrukh Khan, who won everyone’s hearts as the differently-abled Rizwan Khan, a man suffering from Asperger’s Syndrome.
However, do you find the answer to a question, or search the question for an answer? You must be wondering what sort of sorcery is this, but this is exactly what ‘My Name is Khan’ has done to us. 12 years ago, this was a unique ‘Birbal’s Khichdi’, which would have made even the likes of Arvind Kejriwal glee with pride on the slimy agenda served with such finesse.
‘My Name is Khan’ has to be such a unique PR in its own right, which saved careers of average and failed actors, gave unwanted attention to an otherwise below-average director and gave leeway to terrorists to legitimize their ghastly acts, because ‘My Name is Khan and I’m Not a Terrorist.’ ‘My Name Is Khan’ is probably the test case of classic wokeism being practised even before it became the norm.
But those were the golden days of Ganga-Jamuna Tehzeeb, where everything was hunky-dory, none raised eyebrows on the excessive minority appeasement, and anyone challenging the diktats could be shut down with one word: ‘Islamophobia’!
Now to talk about the movie, it did establish records of its own, and impeccable ones at that! First of all, it went on to prove how one could go to any extent to make mountains of molehills. If a movie could make even Raghu Ram of Roadies tear his hair, you know how bad it can be. Based on the racial attacks post 9/11, it actually and deftly legitimizes propaganda in the name of battling Islamophobia. However, in the name of being more subtle than the in-your-face propaganda called ‘New York’, Karan Johar made a total mess of the script.
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Speaking of mess, how can we forget about the man of the moment, Mr Shah Rukh Khan? Critics spared no moment in singing paeans of SRK as if he eclipsed even Russell Crowe from ‘A Beautiful Mind’. However, anyone who has even closely lived with someone suffering from such mental disorders can vouch for the fact that Shahrukh Khan was not even close to being honest with his portrayal, forget being outstanding. The least the makers could’ve done was take some reference from at least films like ‘Sadma’, ‘Khilona’ to name a few, where actors like Sridevi and Sanjeev Kumar nailed it to perfection with their portrayals. However, if it’s authentic research and earnest approach, Bollywood is the last place you can expect to get justice.
However, this is only the beginning. The film adopted a unique promotion of its own. The way Shahrukh Khan created scenes out of routine searches at airports in the USA, hit two birds with one stone. Not only did it give immense materials for left-liberals to cry hysteria for decades, but it also gave enough materials for anarchists and terrorists to legitimize their crimes for the next couple of years.
https://twitter.com/LaffajPanditIND/status/1299353242015428608
On an honest note, ‘My Name is Khan’ massacred common sense, creativity and logic in a single stroke. This also began the tortuous journey of the overrated director Karan Johar, who has given us pitfalls like ‘Student of the Year’, ‘Ae Dil Hai Mushkil’ since then, and only heaven knows when this journey will come to an end.