My Name Is Khan has set a new record, the film has become SRK's top-grossing film in North America with total sales of over $3 million.
Members of advocacy groups in US, who have been working with issues of racial profiling and discrimination in the South Asian community post 9/11 say the film resonates with their experiences post the world trade terror attacks.
"At certain scenes I had to turn away as I was sitting and watching it with my wife. I was like--oh my god, this brings back all the memories of all the hardships the community was going through," said Mohammad ( Moe) Razvi, Community Organiser.
Just like in the movie he was detained because of his name. There were people here who were detained for months without any allegations.
There were cards left in their homes.
NDTV: These are visiting cards of FBI officers?
Razvi: Yes, FBI officers and INS officer's visiting cards.
Here are hundreds of cases of community members who encountered the same.
In one scene it was shown how his (SRK) son suffered discrimination. Here's a similar report about how a 10-year-old girl suffered. She lodged a complaint saying: "I was walking and this lady called me a terrorist and made a killing sign. But she was "too frightened to tell any one."
One of the other scenes (from the movie) showed how Rizwan Khan's (SRK) sister-in-law had her scarf pulled off. That scene brought back personal memories for my own family.
My daughter was at that time around 10 or 11 years old and her scarf was also pulled off in school. She was kicked down the steps and cursed at, she did not inform me. Even my own daughter was afraid to let me know about it.
NDTV: Did she see the movie and what did she think of it?
Razvi: It brought back her own experiences .
NDTV: Did she like it?
Razvi: Both my daughters were crying. It moved them so much. They kept telling me that that dad you have to watch this movie.
NDTV: So do you think that the community when they watch this film do they feel that Bollywood or somebody understands what they were going through and is telling their story.
Razvi: Absolutely, absolutely. All the South Asian community members from India Pakistan, Sri lanka, Punjab, Indonesia it resonates because it did not make a difference whether you were Muslim or not. All that mattered was the color of your skin and you were attacked.
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Despite two new releases, ‘Teen Patti’ and ‘Karthik Calling Karthik’, ‘My Name Is Khan’ continued to remain the first choice of moviegoers in the key international markets. The combined total from U.K., U.S.A. and Australia, after 17 days, is an incredible [approx.] Rs. 36.22 crores... ‘Karthik Calling Karthik’ is strictly average, ‘Teen Patti’ is a non-starter.
