My Name Is Khan – What’s Your Bollywood Quotient?

Saw a part of My Name is Khan before I had to leave, because some relatives were coming home. I am not saying it’s a bad movie, but it does strike a chord, you go into sympathetic mode a la Forrest Gump – of which it is surely a copy – and it is technically superb, well co-ordinated story, but the little, little things that bother.

If it was to be like Forrest Gump why didn’t Shahrukh study the role played by Tom Hanks? Why did he have to make Rizwan into such a caricature like he does? He makes him into an unbelievable mentally disturbed person (Then, how many mentally disturbed people look with unfocussed eyes, walk his funny walk?), when he could be shown with the understated character of a Forrest Gump as essayed by Tom Hanks? May be, I am saying this with some optimism, he missed the subtlety of the original. Come to think of it, I also observed Hritik doing that in that movie, name of which eludes me.

Well, well, Shahrukh did play the role as he was expected to play by Bollywood. Guess, we all are Bollywood people. We have a Bollywood quotient in all of us – even I do – and that quotient is more in the kings of Bollywood. Well Shahrukh since he is the uncrowned king has a bit more than average of it, Navneet Nishan has lots of it. The only two people I found adorable have been in the industry for long times and they have matured so well I am still in awe – Kajol and Zarina Wahab. My God! I am still in a dither as to the huge talent of these two women, who with their charm carries the movie, for the time I was watching it. They make it bearable.

Well, I have to state this: Kajol and Zarina both have the least bit of Bollywood quotient in them. If King Khan is 60 on the Bollywood Quotient, these two actresses are 5 each, both of them. Some things will never change.