Review of My Name Is Khan (2010) by Sabrina B — 10 Nov 2018

An unfortunate incident involving his stepson causes Rizwan Khan to leave his home in pursuit of the President of the United States to tell him that "[his] name is Khan and [he] is not a terrorist" despite Islamophobic fear in a post-9/11 world. In addition to being Muslim, Khan also has Asperger's Syndrome and some of his mannerisms put him in difficult situations throughout the movie.

Rizwan Khan touches many lives in the film just as I feel like My Name is Khan has touched my own. I have learned so much more about what life was like for Muslims in America to deal with the aftermath of 9/11. In school I always heard the stories of people who were killed in the actual event but never any about how the event changed what it was like to be a Muslim in the United States. This movie also taught me new things about people with Autism/Asperger's Syndrome. I might never have known about how people with the disorder tend to dislike "loud" colors like yellow if not for the film. Overall I finished the movie feeling like I have a better understanding of post-9/11 life for Muslims as well as those who live with Austism/Asperger's. I personally didn't find actor Christopher B. Duncan to look or sound like President Barack Obama but that is such a small and trivial detail that really doesn't detract my enjoyment of the movie.

Because My Name Is Khan stars Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol, it's impossible not to think of other movies that they have starred in together. I immediately think of Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham, also directed by Karan Johar, where Kajol plays Anjali, a fun and expressive woman who I find similar to Mandira in this movie. Both movies have Kajol playing a loving mother but Mandira is a lot more angry than Anjali. Mandira grows angry at Rizwan for being so overtly Muslim and pushes her identity away while Anjali is committed to preserving her "Indianness" even though she lives far away from her country. Mandira is exactly the type of mother that Rosie Thomas describes in "Melodrama and the Negotiation of Morality." Mandira, "in her zeal for self-sacrifice...effectively abandons her family," who in this case is Rizwan (166). Her pushing Rizwan to the side is what sparks his journey. Though viewers may temporarily dislike Mandira for abandoning her husband who depends on her for help, "filmmakers fervently believe that one cannot make a film in which a central mother character is truly villainous" which is obvious as Rizwan and Mandira reunite at the end of the movie (166).