My Name Is Khan
2010 · Directed by Karan Johar
Original language: Hindi
- drama
- romance
The story
Rizwan Khan, a Muslim from the Borivali section of Mumbai, has Asperger's syndrome. He marries a Hindu single mother, Mandira, in San Francisco. After 9/11, Rizwan is detained by authorities at LAX who treat him as a terrorist because of his condition and his race.
What it’s like
Warm, saturated colour carries most of this film: Mumbai streets in hot ochre and monsoon grey, then a cooler, more sterile San Francisco and the flat fluorescent glare of airports and detention rooms. Karan Johar shoots with fluid, sweeping camera moves and bright, theatrical framing, so even quiet domestic scenes feel lit for a stage, while the score swells with lush strings and melodic Hindi-language songs that lean emotional and grand. The rhythm is long and deliberately episodic, moving across continents and years with a steady sense of purpose rather than suspense. The tone is earnest, sentimental and hopeful, with a romance at its centre and a road-trip-like journey that carries the story across America. Its prejudice and cruelty are real but mostly handled through humiliation and paperwork rather than violence, with only brief, sudden moments of physical confrontation and some tearful grief. It suits a long evening or a comfort watch for viewers who want an uplifting, big-hearted drama about dignity, family and devotion, and who are happy with a film that is openly melodramatic.
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