My name is Khan (My name is Khan)

Production and Year: India, 2010Genre: Romance, Social DramaScreenplay: Shibani BathijaDirector: Karan JoharMusic: Loy Mendonsa, Ehsaan NooraniCast: Shahrukh Khan, Kajol MedicalTheme: Asperger's Syndrome Description: "My Name Is Khan" is a Bollywood production packaged to meet the expectations of the Western world. So, of course, there is a love story here, full of obstacles and hurdles thrown in the lovers’ path; there is also the timely theme of Islamophobia in the United States following the attacks on the World Trade Center and its serious consequences, which affect the protagonist’s fate from the very first minutes of the film and, over time, take on a much more painful significance, regardless of the illness he suffers from. We also see the love between a Muslim man and a Hindu woman against the backdrop of religious conflicts between the two religious groups in their country of origin. The film’s plot has thus been constructed in such a way as to be readily accepted and understood by a broad audience in the U.S. and Europe. Unfortunately, this means that the film lacks any deeper resonance beyond a call for world peace. On the other hand, the issue of the difficulties faced by people with Asperger’s syndrome in adapting to life in the modern world has been portrayed correctly and quite believably, as exemplified by the titular character, Khan.