DVD REVIEW: My Name is Khan

MOVIE DETAILS

Cast: Shah Rukh Khan, Kajol, Soniya Jehan, Jimmy Sheirgill, Zarina Wahab, Tanay Chheda, Yuvaan Makar

Director: Karan Johar

Producer: Gauri Khan, Hiroo Johar

Music: Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy

Lyrics: Niranjan Iyengar

THE FILM

Their names are Khan and Johar. And they are no more just candy floss filmmakers.

This statement pretty much describes the effort that has gone into making My Name Is Khan and the best part is that within no time, it is obvious that the 'effort' isn't made visible just for the sake of it. First and foremost the film is a complete turnaround for Karan Johar brand of cinema because he leaves his troupe of 500 group dancers somewhere far behind and settles for a world where the only dance step performed by Shah Rukh Khan is an awkward 'two left feet and one forward move'. Thankfully, this is not the only factor that makes My Name Is Khan entirely different from all the films that Karan Johar and Shah Rukh Khan have made so far. There is more. Actually, a lot more.

Credit must be given to Karan Johar and Co. for letting know their audience what's in store in the opening reel itself. Within a restricted space of the credit rolls, the picture is completely clear that it is not going to be an easy journey for Rizwan Khan (Rizwan Khan) who is off on a road journey to meet the President of America. His mission? To tell him and then the entire world that 'His name is Khan and he is not a terrorist'. In a way this could well be Bollywood's own take on The Motorcycle Diaries and though the conflict is far more different and serious here, it nonetheless is a tale which is one of its own kinds.

Still, it does take time to settle into the world of Rizwan Khan (Shah Rukh Khan) with the narrative taking turns to delve into three different times in his life - his growing up years, his past with Mandira (Kajol) and the current times. Though the opening portions are equally endearing, what with some of the sweetest moments with his mother (Zarina Wahab) being brought to fore, My Name Is Khan becomes a lot interesting once Rizwan's love story with Mandira begins.

This is where Karan Johar brings in his maturity as a film maker because neither does he take a melodramatic route where Rizwan's issues with Asperger's syndrome starts taking centre stage nor does he make it all look all so light that it takes a fake or frivolous connotation. Instead, he uses this syndrome to very strongly establish the character of Rizwan who takes things on face value, calls a spade a spade and is still left untouched by the negativities of the world.

This is why even when he is arrested as a suspect terrorist; he doesn't blame the Government of any religion in particular. He continues his journey of goodness and unwittingly kick-starts a movement that takes a much broader meaning. Even around this juncture, Karan Johar risked taking a route that many of his contemporaries (and his own students) have taken in films like Shoot on Sight, New York, Kurbaan or Khuda Ke Liye. However, he plays it all different, in fact very different, and comes up with a euphoric outing that picks up momentum at the interval point and never once looses pace (and focus) right till the end credits title roll.

There are quite a few moments that audiences take home and after avoiding the spoilers, the ones that can be revealed are where Shah Rukh proposes marriage to Mandira, his bonding with their son, the turning point in the film where he is forced to take the road journey, the sequence where he spots the President for the first time and is caught on camera and the point when his movement picks up heat.

From performance perspective, Shah Rukh Khan is simply outstanding. There is no second thought about it and after Chak De India, this one would now stand out as the most definitive performance of his career. Mark my words; this is a National Award winning performance. His dialogue delivery, body language, mannerisms - everything just makes you connect to Rizwan Khan, not Shah Rukh Khan. Though Kajol has a lesser screen time, she occupies her place with authority and is completely and truly natural, something which is expected from the actor of her stature. Yuvaan Makkar, who plays their son, is quite believable as well.

There are number of other supporting actors but the ones who make the best impression are Soniya Jahan, Zarina Wahab, Arjun Mathur and Vinay Pathak. Shankar, Ehsaan and Loy, come up with a good soundtrack though at places one would have expected the background score to be a little more euphoric. Cinematography is perfect, especially in the scenes set at San Francisco.

PACKAGING

DVD of My Name Is Khan comes in a regular plastic case. Now that's a surprise because one expected the packaging to be far more elaborate and lavish considering the fact that this is the biggest release of the year so far.

DURATION

The film's duration is 155 minutes

SPECIAL FEATURES

- The Making

- Unseen Footage with Karan Johar

As expected, there is a definite quality feel to the way the entire 'making' segment is presented. One can see an upmarket treatment to this entire segment and though to begin with there is usual introduction about the movie and the casting decisions, the pace picks up once Karan, Shah Rukh and Co. begin to talk about the actual 'making' of the film. It makes for a good watch to see how the entire floods set came into existence. Also, what makes this segment special is to see 'action director' Shah Rukh Khan coming to fore and giving instructing from behind the camera for key action sequences in the film.

There are quite a few deleted scenes that find a place in this additional DVD. Lasting 45 minutes, they were (well to put it mildly) best left out of the final cut. Most of them only end up extending the length of the movie while a couple of them are quite clichéd as well as definitely unnecessarily. For example, a scene involving Kajol talking to her parents about her marriage with Shah Rukh Khan is a plain no-no as it only ends up belonging to cinema of the 90s. However, what is shocking is to know that there was actually an extended version of the hurricane sequence, something for which Karan Johar had got quite some flak already. At the time when the international version of the film is said to be doing away with the entire sequence, it is surprising to see that the DVD here carries an extended version of the same.

Of course there are some beautiful moments as well but then not the kind that were a must to be present in the final cut. These are the alternate cuts of songs like 'Tere Naina', 'Sajda' and 'Noor E Khuda' which do not make for a bad watch at all. However, other than these, there is not much to look forward to in this 'unseen' footage segment except for the commentary by Karan Johar which precedes each of the scenes.

TECHNICAL DETAILS

- 16:9 Anamorphic Widescreen Presentation

- Subtitles in English

- Dolby Digital 5.1 and Stereo

PRICE

Rs. 399/=

CONCLUSION

So much has been seen, heard, read, speculated and gossiped about the religion and terrorism angle in My Name Is Khan. The fact is that all of this is just at a peripheral level and though its presence is felt right through the film, especially during the second half, it is never too imposing to take over the narrative. And thankfully, there are no debates around 'jihaad' and its relevance (or the lack of it). Really, audience have had enough of it and a subject like this is best left untouched in a mainstream yet meaningful film like My Name Is Khan.

Go, bring home this DVD.

Rating: 4/5