Movie · 2010 · Drama, Romance · 2h 45m · PG-13 · HI
Curator score: 5.5/10 (168.1K ratings)
An ordinary man, an extraordinary journey... FOR LOVE.
Overview
Rizwan Khan, a Muslim from the Borivali section of Mumbai, has Asperger's syndrome. He marries a Hindu single mother, Mandira, in San Francisco. After 9/11, Rizwan is detained by authorities at LAX who treat him as a terrorist because of his condition and his race.
Ratings
Curator score: 5.5/10
IMDb: 7.9/10
Letterboxd: 3.71/5
Rotten Tomatoes: 86%
Metacritic: 50
TMDB: 8.0/10
Director
Karan Johar
Production
Dharma Productions, Fox Searchlight Pictures, Red Chillies Entertainment, Fox Star Studios, Image Nation Abu Dhabi, Fox International Productions
Cast
Shah Rukh Khan, Kajol, Arjan Aujla, Jimmy Shergill, Sonya Jehan, Zarina Wahab, Adarsh Gourav, Tanay Chheda, Yuvan Makar, Kenton Duty, Katie A. Keane, Dominic Renda, Jennifer Echols, Adrian Kali Turner, Michael William Arnold, Sheetal Menon, Arjun Mathur, Arif Zakaria, Benny Nieves, Parvin Dabas
Curator Review
Verdict
A big, earnest, emotionally direct drama that blends romance, disability representation, and post-9/11 prejudice into a crowd-pleasing tearjerker. It can be blunt and melodramatic, but the central performance and sincere humanism give it real impact.
Best for
Viewers who like emotionally heightened melodramas
Fans of socially conscious mainstream dramas
Audiences interested in post-9/11 stories about prejudice and identity
Viewers drawn to heartfelt romance with a strong lead performance
Skip if
You prefer subtle, restrained storytelling
You dislike melodrama or sentimentality
You want a tightly realistic treatment of autism or political issues
You are looking for a short, brisk drama
Overview
My Name Is Khan is a sincere, oversized plea for empathy, built around a performance that carries the film’s emotional weight almost single-handedly. It treats its central character with affection and gives the story a clear moral urgency: fear and prejudice are learned, while kindness is a choice.
Worth noting
The film’s reach is broader than its finesse. It can be heavy-handed, and its political and emotional beats are often pushed hard, but that bluntness is also part of its appeal. This is mainstream melodrama with a conscience, aiming for catharsis rather than ambiguity.
Bottom line
What lingers is the combination of romance, grief, and public hostility filtered through a character who experiences the world differently. Even when the film overstates its case, it remains moving because it believes deeply in love, dignity, and the possibility of being seen as fully human.
Top Letterboxd reviews
Rida (3★) · 349 likes
Son, there are only two kinds of people in the world: good or bad. There is no other difference between human beings, do you understand?
Every time I hear mention of My Name is Khan, I wonder why the film hit me so hard. I finally understood what it was on this viewing: my search for identity was answered by Rizwan Khan, the titular character of the film.
Let me explain. The first time I watched MNIK, I was fourteen,… more
Rafael "Mister Movie" Jovine (4★) · 224 likes
A Passage to India: Dawn of the Wobble
This movie was brought to my attention because this teacher was OBSSESSED with it. Some fervently dedicate their lives to spreading the gospel of Jesus, Allah, Tarantino, Taylor Swift and so on… This teacher’s religion and only mission in life were to spread the word of this movie.
Circa a decade later, I finally got a chance to watch this with my mom.
And getting all the negatives out of the way,… more
Michael James (3★) · 170 likes
While the plausible aspect of the proceedings and the accurate portrayal of disability remain questionable, the drama has a sincere heart at its core, and aided by the strong performance of Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol, it does manage to impress you to an extent. The need for love, acceptance and empathy in a world dominated by hatred, may sound superficial, but deep inside, it is indeed the need of hour in this multicultural society. It is quite manipulative and melodramatic, but after all it is a KJ directorial.
Boonmee (1★) · 131 likes
I had to watch this for a class and it took every ounce of willpower I had not to leave early at multiple points during the screening.
This is one of the most unabashedly manipulative, cliche-ridden movies I've ever seen. The topic of how muslims were treated in America in the aftermath of 9/11 is an important one to address, but My Name is Khan tackles its message with all the subtlety of a Pure Flix film.
A huge section… more
Ayan ✰ (5★) · 118 likes
If any Bollywood film was meant to win an Oscar, it's this one.