'My Name Is Khan' is a Love Story Within a Larger Story

A new Bollywood film making its premiere today, is not without its controversy.

First, there's the plot:

A Muslim man with a mild form of autism (Asperger's Syndrome) comes to America from Mumbai, falls in love, 9/11 happens, personal tragedies happen, and he must win back the love he lost.

Throughout the film, the lead character must repeat, "My name is Khan and I am not a terrorist."

So, already we know it's going to rankle some who think Fox Searchlight (its distributor) is promoting or highlighting themes of (fundamentalist) Islam, terrorism or more. The star, or superstar as it is, of the film is India's own Shah Rukh Khan, who was detained for questioning at Newark airport when he entered the US in August. That would be akin to Brad Pitt getting held as a billion people in India as well as in Africa and the Middle East know who he is. (Besides being a world famous actor, he is also the host of India's Who Wants to Be a Millionaire).

Secondly:

There is also the extremely sensitive topic of the terror attacks of 9/11, the shadow of which is cast and lingers over the film. The filmmakers and their star, are hoping that the main message of the movie, that of the humanity and love between two people should supersede what might be a lightening rod of topics (race, religion, intolerance) for some audiences in the US.

As Khan told NPR:

"And there is an aspect of Islam that needs to be addressed now, otherwise this demarcation, this divide we keep on increasing," he says. "So I just thought we should have a message about a film with humanity. Just goodness."

In a world where closed minds are increasingly the daily feature, a movie trying to keep the dialogue open should get applause just for that.

Image of movie poster courtesy of Facebook