Now, if ever there was a genius businessman, it would have to be SRK. No Ambani, N.Murthy or Mahindra could ever employ what he did. And what a mix of ingredients- autism, terrorism, religion, hurricane, airport fiascos and last but not the least “The Prez of America himself!!!” ; I really couldn’t have believed it if I hadn’t watched the movie myself.
Mastermind at wooing audiences; Create a BIG BIG hype about the movie, talk about the project years on end, rope in the heroine who made him the hit he is today, “Partner” with his best friend, K Jo the director, put in “The Dharma” banner and have the movie produced in the name of “Gauri Khan” and “Heeroo Johar”, Make statements that endear you to all my MUSLIM brothers and sisters worldwide and last but not the least- bring in patriotism by making the movie a national issue and mingle it with politics……… All I can say is….. “GENIUS”……...
Of late, the trend seems to beckon all actors to establish their acting credentials; the trick is to perform roles of physically or mentally challenged people; put in some emotional stuff about how difficult life is for them and bang, awards galore, critical acclaim and crowd appreciation- And being “Emotionally charged Indians” for totally unemotional reasons, it has proved to be a blessing in disguise for the “Indian Filmmaker” time and again.
MNIK, the name of the movie itself, is a certain crowd puller, with Islam being the second largest religion in the world according to Wikipedia; the name pulled them like bees to their hive. I saw more than half the theatres filled with Muslims first day first show. The movie shows SRK to be a loyal Muslim who offers namaaz irrespective of the place and people religiously; even goes to the extent of deciding that a certain person at a dargah has elements of terrorism in him- amazing for a person with Asperger’s syndrome; which according to Wikipedia(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asperger_syndrome), has connotations of High level Autism which makes it a serious disorder, where people have difficulty in social interactions, exhibit repetitive behavior and mannerisms and are very unreceptive to change.
The movie brings in religion in more forms than one; the incident involving a hijab, marrying a Hindu, killing an innocent because of the religion, being renounced by his wife after that, people declaring that he wasn’t able to meet the Prez ‘cause he was a Muslim and all that jazz; trying to prove that its not the religion but only the people who are responsible and not all people who follow the same are to be blamed……… A Desperate attempt I would say…….. Agreed humiliation is a part an entire set of people undergo but such is the price one has to pay for another set of people who are continuously engaged in disrupting societal harmony; how many times have we seen an entire family paying the price, being put to shame and humiliation, for a folly committed by just one member of their family?
“Meet the President of America and tell him that you are not a terrorist”, and off goes this person with social inhibition making friends on the way, which CANNOT happen even after lifelong therapy and treatment (take a peek at the URL I have attached earlier); has the capacity to understand so much that some people he had met earlier were stuck in a freak hurricane and needed his assistance; a person who barely understood his wife and child had feelings for unknown people is beyond my realm of understanding. One more intriguing thought that does not cease to escape my thread of questioning is that how an affected part of the United States of America was left unattended to; even by the media itself and it required a certain person to awaken the civic authorities; agreed even the Americans have their fair share of problems, but come on, for Christ’s sake ;), this isn’t Yediyurappa who’s in command!!! It’s Mr. American President, whose administration as of now has problems dealing with the finance but certainly does NOT lack in civilian aid! Might take some time, but certainly does not require a mentally unstable person to remind them.
Last but not the least of the things that have gone astray; A Muslim, mentally ill person finds it difficult to meet the President of the USA; how touché; How many mentally stable, well to do, Citizens by birthright, people with REAL problems can meet the president of the USA easily? Come on, now isn’t it obvious why there is so much security surrounding ‘The’ US President… How many attempts have been successful in assassinating the Prez? And given the recent list of Islamic terror strikes, forget the president, any other individual would feel insecure; obviously, after we get to know the person, we might be able to decide, but certainly NOT at the first instance. This part of the movie was so “Indian”, that when most of the crowd was like weeping their hearts out, I was like….. WTH???
Hmmm, the bit about the Shiv Sena fiasco, again, a Master at work I would say…. When the whole of the police was behind guarding theatres and SRK’s business, the terrorists had other plans…… Now after that, the whole line, “My Name is Khan and I am NOT a terrorist”, begins to sound so damn corny………. Well, what the hell….. when the other billion on the other side believe that SRK is one of the greatest Indians who have ever lived, the fact that the movie does less than anything to support the same, goes unnoticed………
“My Name is Khan”, surely, is one hell of a cash in on “The Vulnerable Indian”; and boy how SRK managed to showcase it; “I am an Indian first and then a Mumbaikar”; Now haven’t we heard another TRUE, REAL and a TAXPAYER Indian say this……. Only one of them can be true and the recently concluded SA test series where he played his heart out only proves that he actually means what he says….. “Being an Indian” is way different from “Being a TRUE Indian”…….. One should not club politics and business but who cares…. Here’s an example of politics turned into business…..
MNIK………………….. REVEALS THE EXTENT TO WHICH WE BELIEVE THE CONTRARY EVEN WHEN THE TRUTH SLAPS US RIGHT ACROSS THE FACE………………..
