MNIK - review

King Khan rules the frames in MNIK. The movie tagline could've been "My Name is Khan..i am all over the movie". Barely 13 people came for the show i went. So much for the hype. I think by protesting against the movie, shivsena infact, helped it gain undue publicity. If they had requested, demanded rather, a free preview, like in all their other cases previously, they would've known this is one movie, where the crowds would be absent and whatever antics they show would hardly get any visibility. Is it a bad movie then?

Actually no. By this time you would've got the gist of the story. Its an autistic muslim vs American mindset post 9/11. The premise though not something brand new, the screenplay has its own original sequences. The confrontation between Kajol and SRK, where she blames their marriage for the death of her son. Thats one really original scene i felt. Kajol suffers from Kabhi kushi Kabhi gham in many scenes. But considering she hardly does any movies these days, she is amazingly natural. But the movie belongs to Badshah Khan. He hams so much in his movies, he is a born "hamster". SRK movies are known for their candy floss romantic scenes, hummable (though similar sounding) songs, same dance steps irrespective of the song and infact he used to carry the same name too, across movies. Bollywood, though full of many a muslim superstar, hardly provides superhit movies with a muslim character in lead role. SRK would be distinctively remembered for his Kabir,the sad, khan role in Chak de India. He rocked big time in the movie and i had goose pimples watching the climax India-Aus hockey match.In this movie, he takes the role of muslim hero to whole new levels. Its hammered across every single frame that the hero is a devout muslim and such people hardly hurt a bee (YES. There is a scene where SRK preaches against cell phone usage for it might kill bees!! Would be interesting to see him in the next Airtel commercial :D ) At first his mannerisms seem a tad irritating. But the movie stretching for more than one and half hours on either side of interval, it grows on you. The first night scene between SRK and Kajol and his request to bed her...WOOOOHOO..for a minute Mohabbat man Khan cast a shadow over the autistic one :D

First half drags a bit with Khan's childhood story. Second half is a tad faster. In fact, had Kjo decided to make this a la Harry potter series, he could've shot an episode like, KHAN vs Katrina hurricane ( where SRK single handedly fights against flood caused by hurricane and saves a village) KHAN vs American mentality ( One stay in jail and one phone call about possible suspects and after effects of the hurricane episode, makes Khan overnight celebrity on par with US president) KHAN vs American president (supposedly Obama lookalike who resembles tiger woods more). The final episode would showcase the might of Khan compared to the newly elected-first ever african american president. All throughout the movie, Khan tries to meet president, only to get beaten up by cops, stabbed with knife and what not. In the end, typical Bollywood style, the president comes to meet Khan (maybe more out of fear that he might take over his presidency on popular demand??!!) There are so many other characters in the movie, like Jimmy shergill (SRK's bro..who with his "mehanath" builds a thriving business and leaves autistic SRK to take care of sales!!! so much for business acumen!!) some well known faces, who come just for a scene to mouth dialogues supporting King Khan's quest to meet the president. There is that "jaane tu Jaane na" cute girl who comes for 2 3 scenes carrying mike for her news reporter boyfriend. Background score rocks!! Shankar ehsaan loy reserves their best for Kjo movies it seems!!

The movie, though suffering from the saccharineness of Kjo, does raises some disturbing questions. Its true that the world has started looking at people with excess hair on the facial region a lot differently nowadays and farther west, the tanned you are, banned you are in many places. Just to prove these wrong sentiments right, there is an increasing number of people who belong to that branded category doing all these wrong deeds. We all so convieniently forget that, there are other people too, born innocent, leading innocent life who suffer because of these general brandishing of people based on their sect, color and religion. Inside India, we might be divided by many a barrier. But once you step outside into the so called civilised world, they hardly know the difference between a hindu/sikh/muslim/buddhist. To them its all one and the same - people who dont look like them or carry a name like them. The world is becoming increasingly polarised and decreasingly a small place to live in. The clash of civilisations is inevitable and as the natures law with everything else, it would be the survival of the fittest. Tolerance and love can delay the end a bit. But again, who will resist a good kick.

Review: My name is gils and i liked the movie.

Comments

TheUncanny said…
Man, u rock when it comes to reviews!!!

//Barely 13 people came for the show i went.// ---->SHOCKING

//YES. There is a scene where SRK preaches against cell phone usage for it might kill bees!! Would be interesting to see him in the next Airtel commercial :D///

ROFL....bees??? really??!!!

//Obama lookalike who resembles tiger woods more//

Kamedy!!!

So, padam pakalama, pakakudatha???
Aarti said…
Nice.intereshting review i mustu say... now me waitig to watch eet..
G3 said…
:))))

//The confrontation between Kajol and SRK, where she blames their marriage for the death of her son. Thats one really original scene i felt. //

And when SRK says that he would go and after a pause asks "When should I come back".. Chanceless :)
saar, enaku thaan ear pain. due to the fever and cold. literally crying since last evening :(((

i think people like us who went with low expectations, liked the movie. people who are already SRK fans or had high hopes from the trailer, just liked it/didnt like it, as always!! :)

sari ipo poi reviewa padikaren.
yeah, what I liked was that tho' he is autistic, his character had everything that a normal person's life would, plus some heroism required as a movie.. ;)

btw, though everyone may know the story by now, why did you still break the knot of the movie?! :( ponga boss, next show 3 peru thaan irupanga - blame u :P
chennaigirl said…
//There is a scene where SRK preaches against cell phone usage for it might kill bees!! Would be interesting to see him in the next Airtel commercial :D//
LOl....Ungalukku mattumthaan ippadi ellam thonum.
//the tanned you are, banned you are in many places//
Woww.. Awesome..True words...
Definitely i will watch atleast to see the tiger woods ;) look alike.
Avada Kedavra said…
Wonderful review gils :) But I did not like the movie.. too many silly scenes. But the message delivered is good but the way they have delivered is silly :)
Ramesh said…
saar, enna saar ithu ? My Name is Khan nnu oru move peyraa?? Ok your name is Khan. So what ?? vera peyarrey kadaikaliya ??

To add insult to injury, shorten vera pannaranga. MNIK ??? That must be the most stupid abbreviation ever !!

Ther was a 0.1% probability of my seeing the movie. After reading your review, the probability has changed to 0.0000001% :)

The only saving grace of this movie is that we got a chance to read gils's superb review.
sri said…
I got to agree with TheUncanny u really rock when it comes to review and i loved the complete English post. I too saw this film and didnot like it much, it was ok ok movie for me. THre were few scenes that impressed me, the ones u have writtern here but otherwise it was just another movie. I loved ur ending note, so dammn good.

My name is sri and I liked ur review
Swaram said…
Only 13 ppl :P :P
LOL .. some free publicity there from Balanna n Co ;)
One thing I am happy is that he does nt hv the name Rahul again ;)
I hardly watch movies and since I saw this one here [gr8 review ;)], I will better save those bucks for some shopping lol :D
lostworld said…
I watched it & being an SRK fan, I liked it:) And gils, actually your review was fabulous..!!! Except your last line..very cheesy I must say:D

Only thing that didn't impress me was the autism/Aspergers Syndrome bit. SRK didn't really do a great job there..As U said, it just grows on you. Seen Rainman? Dustin Hoffman's performance simply blows u away. Check it out if u haven't.
RamNarayanS said…
:-) ivvalo periya review. Oh, yep, you are right. Shah Rukh gobbles screen space like a bee swarm. The only movies of Shah Rukh Khan that I ever liked were Swades and Chak De India. Dil Se was just about okay. Others were too syrupy for me to accept.

America seems to be an easy fodder for anti-Muslim bashing or sermonizing. Just as we have our prejudices, they have theirs. "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it". It is a worldwide deadlock and nobody is ready to come down from their positions because of past experiences.

If only Shah Rukh subdues himself a bit from his over-eager screen presence and keeps it more natural!

Achcha review gilsji.
Not many ppl who saw the movie liked it.. but lets not focus on that..

I loved ur review Gils.. very well written..
RS said…
Irritated with the hype that was created by the security check of SRK in US months back. I see this was clearly a move to promote his movie(maybe, I am hard-headed). Each own fishes their votes for whatever they want to earn, at the cost of people's sentiments, unmindful of the havoc it can create!Heights of irresponsibility
gils said…
@uc:

danku :)

////Barely 13 people came for the show i went.// ---->SHOCKING//

yeah..seriously!!!
gils said…
//ROFL....bees??? really??!!!//

seriously!!

//So, padam pakalama, pakakudatha???//
CDla paatha thoongiduveenga and theaterla paaka ipo bit late..so wait for a month..colors ilaati star plusla kandipa potruvanga :D
gils said…
/Nice.intereshting review i mustu say... now me waitig to watch eet./

u r a die hard movie freak arent u D:

//
And when SRK says that he would go and after a pause asks "When should I come back".. Chanceless :)/

yup..lovely scene
gils said…
//saar, enaku thaan ear pain. due to the fever and cold. literally crying since last evening :(((//

ooh..poor kedi...listen to songs from jakkubaai :) kaathu vali kaayam choo aaidum :D


//i think people like us who went with low expectations, liked the movie. people who are already SRK fans or had high hopes from the trailer, just liked it/didnt like it, as always!! :)//

maybe :) bt felt the movie was way tooo lonnnngggg
gils said…
//yeah, what I liked was that tho' he is autistic, his character had everything that a normal person's life would, plus some heroism required as a movie.. ;//


even autism cant dent king khan ;D
gils said…
//why did you still break the knot of the movie?! :( ponga boss, next show 3 peru thaan irupanga - blame u :P//

ROTFL :D :D SRK ku ivlo peria avamanama!! enga..en review padichi SRK movie collection down aaga pogutha!! aaanaalum ivlo ivlo ivlo ivlo kusumbu agathunga ungaluku
gils said…
//Woww.. Awesome..True words...
Definitely i will watch atleast to see the tiger woods ;) look alike./

:))) tiger woods avlo pudikuma? :D :D
neenga ena sonalumm athenga controvery aguthu :D
gils said…
//Wonderful review gils :) But I did not like the movie.. too many silly scenes. But the message delivered is good but the way they have delivered is silly :)/

u've seen it already!! woww..u r fast AK :D
gils said…
//saar, enna saar ithu ? My Name is Khan nnu oru move peyraa?? Ok your name is Khan. So what ?? vera peyarrey kadaikaliya ??//


LOL :D :D :D ithu oru nalla kelvi :D :D

//To add insult to injury, shorten vera pannaranga. MNIK ??? That must be the most stupid abbreviation ever !!//

ROTFL D: :D :D KJo are u listening? :D :D

///Ther was a 0.1% probability of my seeing the movie. After reading your review, the probability has changed to 0.0000001% :)///

there goes another audience for MNIK :D :D

//The only saving grace of this movie is that we got a chance to read gils's superb review.//

avvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv...ithelaam twenty much damageaakum
gils said…
@srivatsan:

:) danx

@KB:

//LOL .. some free publicity there from Balanna n Co ;)//

balanna!! wow :D :D

//One thing I am happy is that he does nt hv the name Rahul again ;)
I hardly watch movies and since I saw this one here [gr8 review ;)], I will better save those bucks for some shopping lol :D//

hahahaa...su wl surely skin me alive i guess :D
gils said…
//I watched it & being an SRK fan, I liked it:) And gils, actually your review was fabulous..!!! Except your last line..very cheesy I must say:D//

hehehehee...cudnt help it...if i didnt try tht..no pointing in saying i saw SRK movie u c:D

//Only thing that didn't impress me was the autism/Aspergers Syndrome bit. SRK didn't really do a great job there..As U said, it just grows on you. Seen Rainman? Dustin Hoffman's performance simply blows u away. Check it out if u haven't.///

everyone is talking abt rainman..want to see it :)
gils said…
//:-) ivvalo periya review. Oh, yep, you are right. Shah Rukh gobbles screen space like a bee swarm. The only movies of Shah Rukh Khan that I ever liked were Swades and Chak De India. Dil Se was just about okay. Others were too syrupy for me to accept.//

ditto :D i liked him best in DDLJ :D :D crazy abt tht movie :D
gils said…
//America seems to be an easy fodder for anti-Muslim bashing or sermonizing.//

while in rome..be a roman?? :D :D

//"Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it". //

sooper quote..

//Achcha review gilsji.//

nanri hai :D
gils said…
//Not many ppl who saw the movie liked it.. but lets not focus on that..

I loved ur review Gils.. very well written../

:) danku


//Irritated with the hype that was created by the security check of SRK in US months back. I see this was clearly a move to promote his movie(maybe, I am hard-headed). Each own fishes their votes for whatever they want to earn, at the cost of people's sentiments, unmindful of the havoc it can create!Heights of irresponsibility/

vidunga aathivasi...y 10sun :D
lakshmi said…
yeppapa... ivlo periya review va.. athuvum englipeesla...
Karan Johar scripta surititu vanthu inga review va potingala...
moochu thenera thenera ezhuthi irukeenga...

1.me started...
2.read 3 words...
3.tuat"ithuku Uncanny yae thevela.."
4.suyin.. suyin.. came down..
5.read "my name is gils n i liked the movie"
6.realized "oh itha thaan suthi suthi yezhuthi irukara"..

Good way to go Gils.. this review beats ur Lost Symbol review.. adutha review part1 part2 nu poganum (unga ram n uma katha mathiri)
gils said…
:) typical laks kament :D ram kathai mathiri pota enday irukathu :D
kanagu said…
Nalla review na... But naan hindi padatha ellam subtitle ilama pakurathu illa nu oru kolga vachi iruken... :)
R-ambam said…
indhi hai?
ok hai!
gils said…
@kanagu:
u better skip the movie then :D

@rambam:

acha hai :D
Pallavi said…
gils only 13 people??? did you go for a pvt screening or was it 3 weeks after the movie released? :)

anyway yeah i liked the movie too, srk ka movie hai, wouldn't have been complete without the whole hoo-haa around it.!

he too is quite a terror though not a terrorist! ;)
gils said…
LOL :D pally wally :D jus because he is frm delhi u r being too generous :D
Divyapriya said…
gils! chennai poreengalaa? super...too good post, romba naalaikku appram blog pakkam varen. nallaa eludhi irukkeenga.
MightyMagic said…
I dont know what you do, but you have all the qualities that a famous authors should have. With best wishes.
MightyMagic said…
This comment has been removed by the author.

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