My Name Is Khan

I don't normally watch Hindi movies but My Name Is Khan is an exception.

Something about the movie drew me towards it when it began showing in cinemas a week ago.

It was a line. I had heard "My name is Khan and I'm not a terrorist" from a few friends on Facebook and it piqued my curiosity.

I thought it was a comedy in the mould of Harold and Kumar Goes To Guantanamo Bay and I love comedies. Also, friends said the movie played to packed cinemas so I thought it must be good.

So, Friday, off we went to see My Name Is Khan -- me and YT who, like me, had heard good things about the movie.

We didn't even plan to watch a movie that night. We had just finished playing pool when she suggested maybe we could go see a movie.

We went without knowing what it was about, who was in it and where the setting was.

It turned out to be a hugely pleasant surprise!

My Name Is Khan star Bollywood megastars Shahrukh Khan and Kajol and is directed by Karan Johar.

It is bilingual (English/Hindi) and set in San Francisco, California before, during and after 9/11.

Shahrukh plays a Muslim man who suffers from autism while Kajol plays his Hindu love interest.

I remember the pair from their brilliant performances in Kuch Kuch Hota Hai.

It is nice to see Shahrukh play a Muslim this time around. He can be seen early on in the movie saying good words, prostrating in prayer and having an honest-to-goodness character.

His acting makes it look cool to be Muslim all over again.

So that was the first pleasant surprise. The second was the name of the character. Shahrukh plays this kind-hearted fella named Rizwan Khan.

So throughout the movie you could hear Rizwan this, Rizwan that, my name is Rizwan and I'm not a terrorist.

Never had I had my name mentioned so many times in a movie before and in such a good way! I left the cinema feeling one inch taller. :)

I judge the effectiveness of a movie by whether it left me with anything to ponder on long after the credits have stopped rolling.

In the case of My Name Is Khan, there are two scenes. One is when Rizwan is traveling and on the bus with him is a Muslim couple.

When the bus stops, he is seen checking the time for Zuhur prayer.

When his fellow traveler says you shouldn't pray now, you should consider there are many non-Muslims around, Rizwan simply says, "prayers should be based not on people, but on belief" and proceeds to solat in full view of the other passengers.

This is something I have to work on.

The other scene is when his mother teaches a young Rizwan that the world is divided into two types of people: good people who do good things, and bad people who do bad things.

Nothing else matters.