SRK plays a character with Asperger’s syndrome in ‘My Name is Khan’

Shah Rukh Khan is both excited and nervous about My Name is Khan, which, he believes, is his biggest film till date. Khan essays the role of Rizvan Khan who has Asperger’s syndrome, a form of autism. “In Asperger’s syndrome, one half of the brain is more developed than the other,” he says, “So the person ends up thinking very logically as the emotional side is not completely developed. That’s the reason Rizvan has problems socialising and is afraid of crowds. In fact, people having Asperger’s often find it difficult to show any emotion.”

Director Karan Johar and Khan spent several months researching people with Asperger’s so that the actor could get the nuances right. “I began reading a lot of books. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time is one that I read several times. I watched a lot of videos and met several people with Asperger’s,” says Khan.