Saturday, February 13, 2010

My name is Khan - what clicked with me

  1. There are two types of people: The world is born out of duality. We just cannot do without divisions of gender, religions, nationalities and so on. But never in my memory has a movie so simplistically hammered in the message that if you want duality, then keep this in your mind – there are only two types of people: Good and Bad. Every other division is irrelevant.
  2. Fear is not bad: Crowd gathers on the road around Khan when camera zooms in from behind, signifying someone approaching the melee. A very recognizable voice asks the crowd to disperse and gives a piece of advice to Khan, “It’s ok to be afraid. Just don’t let the fear within grow big enough to block your progress.”
  3. BC - AD - 9/11: Most of us around the world remember what we were doing and where we were when 9/11 happened. The same cannot be said about any other calamity where more people would have died. That is the impact of 9/11, and it has surely changed the world. However, I have not seen any movie put the impact of 9/11 in one simple statement as it does here.
  4. Khan’s Monologues: Khan pens his experiences in a diary. He also talks to his beloved through this diary. The power of simplicity is exemplified many times as he makes us chuckle, laugh, cry and get goose bumps through the heartfelt honesty of his words.
  5. Satan: The only time Khan seems to get angry is on meeting the instigator. The music score at this point is pure adrenaline stuff. For a non-violent man like Khan, stoning someone requires biggest emotional upheaval – and the crescendo matches the catharsis. Symbolically speaking, Khan accomplishes his Haj on that day; stoning satan is a ritual performed at the Mecca during Haj.
  6. Storyline: For a change, Karan Johar focuses more on universal over romantic love. However, the leading romantic pair of Bollywood have not allowed the romanticism a renegade treatment. The movie portrays a fine balance of selfless individual love that collectively lead to universal love.

2 comments:

Dhruv Patel said...

hmmmm..kamobhai, I checked out the movie last night. Didn't like it much but yes the movie is able to deliver a message.

As per (2) I disagree to some extent. It is important to be fearful only once in your life, so that you realize fearlessness. For any other time fear is detrimental.

abhi said...

Till now the only reason to watch this movie was to see SRK (and Kajol) on big screen... but your review has given me another reason to watch it.