My Name Is Khan - A bundle and burden of expectations...

My Name Is Khan (2010)

Director: Karan Johar
Cast: Shahrukh Khan, Kajol
Release Date: 12th February, 2010

SRK has been the reigning King of Hindi Cinema since the mid-nineties. He has continuously conquered hearts and the box office. SRK’s magnetic and larger than life screen presence and ability to emotionally connect with audiences of all ages is unparalleled. However, the one thing his critics have held against him is that he has always worked with only a few set of people and very rarely gone out of his comfort zone. In the past, SRK has proved his critics wrong as two of his best performances - Mohan Bhargav (Swades) and Kabir Khan (Chak De India), have been roles where he has portrayed characters different from his image.

Playing the character of a Muslim Man suffering from Asperger’s Syndrome is a departure from the usual and yet another chance for SRK to prove his critics wrong. Although it would be a different role, it would not really be a first of its kind attempt. In modern times in Hindi Cinema, Hrithik has successfully played the role of a mentally challenged man in 'Koi Mil Gaya' in 2003. The best performances in my books by actors portraying such characters have been the OSCAR winning performances of Dustin Hoffman and Tom Hanks in Rainman and Forrest Gump respectively. The bar is already very high and it is going to be very challenging for SRK to make Rizwaan stand out from everything else we have seen in the past. It is the sort of role which either has the potential to be one of the biggest highlights of his career or is a role which he could easily end up hamming.

SRK and Kajol after all those years of sizzling chemistry are back on the big screen with My Name Is Khan. In all probability, the film could be their last film together. It will be interesting to see how their pairing in this film stands out from their past work together.

Candy floss film-maker Karan Johar has gone on record and said that making MNIK has been a spiritual experience for him. His last film ‘Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna’, although not universally liked, was a brave film. Just 30 minutes of editing inconsequential scenes like the Black Beast kidnapping saga and Dev's son's football match, would have resulted in a very to the point and hard hitting film. My Name Is Khan, I believe, is going to be a novel attempt by the film maker.

Honestly speaking, the first trailer of My Name Is Khan ( www.youtube.com/watch?v=z8nACZEsVgs ) was a bit of a letdown. The mother preaching in the starting and Kajol acting hysterically was unwanted. The trailer tried to say too much and should have been crisper. The second International Trailer ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MDkARnVxpHQ ) looks very promising. It emphasises that the movie is esentially a love story in the socio-cultural backdrop of a post 9/11 America.

In recent memory, 'New York' and 'Kurbaan' have been based on the plight-of-muslims-in-a-post-9/11-America. While Yash Raj’s ‘New York’ was a decent effort, Dharma Production’ last movie ‘Kurbaan’ was according to me a very shoddy, sensationalistic and an improbable story. If My Name Is Khan is supposed to be one of the best movies coming out of Hindi Cinema, it is imperative that it is backed by a good script. Again, it will be very interesting to see whether the story writer has been able to differentiate and do justice to the story and the theme respectively.

20th Century Fox has reportedly bought the distribution rights for the film for INR 100 crore, which if true, is a record. From a marketing angle, it will be interesting to see the kind of business this movie does. Going by the past record of the SRK-Karan Johar duo, MNIK has every potential to break all box office records for a Hindi Film overseas. Recently, Three Idiots has made INR 315 crores in the first 20 days of its release and become the highest grossing Hindi Film of all time. It will be a very tall order for MNIK to get past those numbers. Brand SRK Vs Brand Aaamir - who will come out on top?

The preview clearly captures why 'My Name Is Khan' is one of the most anticipated movies. All questions will be answered on 12th February. Get your tickets booked in advance!

An Instant Connection!

3 Idiots (2009)
Director: Raj Kumar Hirani
Cast: Aamir Khan, Sharman Joshi, R. Madhvan, Boman Irani, Kareena Kapoor

Rating: 3.5/5

If I had predicted 8 years back when I was in Class IX that I would study Commerce for the next 5 years, do an MBA and take up a job in Sports Marketing, many of my peers would have been amused about my slightly off beat path, while the uncles and the aunties would have scorned and said “ Beta science kyu nahi lete, intelligent ho, tum engineer ya doctor bano.” (Thank god my parents are not one of those uncles and aunties and I did what I did and in future will do what I want to do with complete freedom!) Though, now we have people taking up off beat professions and doing well for themselves, the typical middle class view of education has remained unaltered over the years. Education system itself hasn’t changed much – emphasis is still on rote learning; and doing a B.Tech, MBBS or an MBA ensures one a successful career.

It was high time that a movie was made to portray and challenge the values of our education system and who better than Raj Kumar Hirani, the man behind the ‘Jaadu Ki Jhappi’ and ‘Gandhigiri’ to give his idealistic and super entertaining take on this issue.

Three Idiots based in a very stereotypical setting of an Indian engineering college makes a mockery of the education system where engineers don’t graduate but they are manufactured with complete disregard to their raw materials i.e. their talent, passion, mental framework and area of interest.

The biggest plus point of this movie is that it does not preach, it connects and connects like no other! It is through a well knit story with capable actors that the director manages to captivate the audience for over two and a half hours and inject ‘gyaan’ from time to time while not compromising on the entertainment dose. Raj Kumar Hirani knows when to give what dose and in what strength.

The movie is a quintessential bollywood entertainer and the director uses all clichés and ‘creative freedom’ to drive the movie along its runtime. A group of three friends having different background and varied interests, bond and cherish each other for a lifetime like Dil Chahta Hai.

The film does well to show a typical lower middle class setup. Raju Rastogi played by Sharman Joshi has a sick father and an unmarried sister at home and relies on astrology and religion to overcome his dire circumstances. The film has audience in splits when Raju’s domestic life is shown in black and white with melancholic music playing in the background. Farhan Qureshi’s (R. Madhavan) parents on the other hand have sacrificed all luxuries in life so that they could support their son and see him become an engineer.

The protagonist Rancho played by Aamir Khan is a witty guy who thinks out of the box, defies and challenges set patterns and values of education, brings a revolution in his friends' lives, confronts his dogmatic and vindictive college Dean and has a subtle love interest in Pia who turns out to be the Dean’s daughter!

In 1989 he played a college student, hung a guitar on his shoulders and sang “Papa kehte hai bada naam karega....koi engineer ka kaam karega.” It is remarkable that 20 years down the line he can still convincingly portray the character of a 20 something. Aamir has indeed traversed a long way and 3 Idiots establishes his unique indomitable niche in Hindi Cinema. Here’s one actor who has managed a difficult feat – of continuously doing meaningful, yet commercially successful cinema (I have deleted Mela and Ghajini from my memory).

Aamir’s role in three idiots doesn’t really stretch his capabilities as an actor. The role could very well have been portrayed by a Ranbir, a Shahid or an Abhay Deol. But what a superstar like Aamir can do to the character of Rancho, none of these guys can. As Aamir gives gyaan to his two friends and explains them the funda of ‘aall iz well’, you know that he is successfully elevating this movie to a cult status!

Sharman Joshi and R Madhavan playing the other two leads give a subdued yet effective performance and let Aamir drive the show. Kareena is at her bubbly best! But the two performances that really stand out are that of Omi Vaidya who plays Chatur and Boman Irani who plays the college Dean. The movie would not have been even fifty percent as humorous had it not been for the antics of Chatur who pulls off one of the most hilarious five minute speech one can ever hear. Boman Irani is the only character in the movie who I think is irreplaceable. All you can say when you watch Boman is “Hail Sahastrabudhhe”!

The film is well complemented by cinematography, music and choreography. The opening shots which zoom past the Himalayas and the ending scenes shot in the serene and isolated valley of Ladakh are a visual treat. Swananad Giri pens some meaningful lyrics which are backed by good music and renditions by Shantanu Moitra and Sonu Nigam respectively.

Three Idiots, even though crowd pleasing is not above its flaws. Hirani sticks to his tried and tested formula of pitting a Hitler type figure against an idealist hero. There is way too much glycerine used in making this movie! The mawkish sentimentality in some of the scenes is uncalled for. In order to prove the genius in Rancho, the director resorts to an unimpressive gimmick in the end. The “All Iz Well” funda over stays its welcome when it is used as a device to culminate the climax of the movie. Also, there is no denying the fact that 3 Idiots is largely inspired from Chetan Bhagat’s ‘5 Point Someone’ and there is no justification for the filmmakers to not give the credit to the author for the story right in the starting credits.

Notwithstanding its flaws and controversies, 3 Idiots is a good effort which gives the audience what it needs most – entertainment. The film is Hirani’s way of saying – “Indian Film Audience, tussi great ho, tohfa kabool karo.”


____________________________________________________
P.S. Writing this review is like coming out of hibernation for me. Many of you have complained about my absence but the new job has made me BUSY in the true sense of the word. I have missed reviewing some major movies like Kurbaan, Paa and Rocket Singh ( My favorite movie from 2009) over the past few months but will try to be regular with my reviews at least for the big movies. The OSCAR season is knocking and it will be great to review the favorites for this year. My next blog entry will be about my expectation from 2010's most anticipated movie - My Name Is Khan.
____________________________________________________