My Name Is Khan (Hindi: माई नेम इज़ खान) is an upcoming 2010 Bollywood film based upon a true story. It is directed by Karan Johar, co-produced by Johar (Dharma Productions) and Shahrukh Khan, (Red Chillies Entertainment) has a screenplay by Shibani Bathija, and stars Khan and Kajol. The musical trio Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy composed the film’s score. Cinematography is by Ravi K. Chandran.
The film is slated for a February 2010 release. On 7th August, 2009, Shahrukh Khan signed a deal for 1 billion INR with Fox Studios, who will market and distribute the film in India (FOXSTAR) and worldwide (Fox Searchlight).
Directed by Karan Johar
Produced by Dharma Productions
Red Chillies Entertainment
Written by Screenplay:
Shibani Bathija
Story:
Karan Johar
Shibani Bathija
Dialogue:
Niranjan Iyengar
Shibani Bathija
Starring Shahrukh Khan
Kajol
Music by Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy
Cinematography Ravi K. Chandran
Distributed by Fox
Release date(s) February 2010
Country India
Language Hindi
Cast
Actor/Actress Role
Shahrukh Khan Rizwan Khan
Kajol Mandira Khan
Jimmy Shergill Rizwan’s brother
Zarina Wahab Rizwan’s mother
Sonya Jehan
Arif Zakaria Faisal Rahman
Tanay Chheda Rizwan Khan (as a child)
Parvin Dabas
Sheetal Menon Radha,
Arjun Mathur Raj
Navneet Nishan
Christopher B. Duncan President Barack Obama
Shane Harper Tim
Steffany Huckaby Kathy Baker
Katie A. Keane Sarah
Themes
In a July 2009 interview, Shah Rukh Khan noted that the film focuses on themes concerning “the relationship between the Western world and Islam and how that has changed over the past few years.” He also describes the film as about “the journey of one family and how it changes because of 9/11″ and suggests “we touch upon that in a very unbiased and educated way.” In an earlier interview, he also stated that, “it’s not about a disabled man’s fight against disability. It’s a disabled man’s fight against the disability that exists in the world — terrorism, hatred, fighting [...] My Name is Khan is also about Islam and the way the world looks at Islam but we are not taking any sides. We are only trying to say that there are only good people and bad people. There are no good Hindus, bad Hindus, good Christians, bad Christians. Either you are a good person or a bad person. Religion is not the criterion, humanity is.”
In late 2008, journalist Madhureeta Mukherjee (referring to the post – 2008 Mumbai attacks atmosphere in India) suggested in an interview with Karan Johar that, “My Name Is Khan starts at a time when Hindus and Muslims in India have united like never before.” In response, Johar stated: “I think it’s an exceptionally relevant time, as the unity of our nation is of paramount importance, and I am very happy to witness such a movement in front of my eyes. We are all coming together to fight for a common cause – called humanity. Everyone knows that terrorism has no religion and it will never have a religion. As a filmmaker, I believe that I have a social responsibility and I promise to fulfill that.”
Production
Pre-production and casting
Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol were cast in the lead roles, reuniting them after many years. Kareena Kapoor was also considered for Kajol’s role, but Kajol was Johar’s first choice. The film faced a temporary setback during late December when actor Aamir Bashir was denied a visa to the United States. He was eventually replaced by Jimmy Shergill as Shahrukh Khan’s younger brother. Although Shabana Azmi was originally cast as Shah Rukh Khan’s mother she left the production after Shahrukh Khan’s shoulder injury delayed the filming schedule.She was replaced in the role by Zarina Wahab. Tanay Chheda will portray Shah Rukh Khan’s character as a child living in the Borivali section of Mumbai. Chheda was chosen because he resembles Shah Rukh Khan and because he is recognizable to an international audience after portraying “middle Jamal” in Slumdog Millionaire. American actor Christopher B. Duncan was chosen to portray President Barack Obama. Duncan is known for his interpretation of Obama on the The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.
Johar also asked Khan to co-produce the film, as “we were both passionate about the subject, we said why not co-produce the film? We’ve known each other so long [...] that this new initiative is just an extension of our emotions. Besides, I can never make a film without Shah Rukh. He is a big part of me and my family. He’s like the older brother I never had. I love SRK as a unit — that includes his wife, children, sister and his in-laws.”
Production
Production of the film is taking place in India and the United States. Filming began in Los Angeles during December 2008 and one of the locations used was UCLA. Johar next continued production in Mumbai during April 2009. During June 2009, production moved to San Francisco and the Bay Area, where they filmed a key scene at the Children’s Discovery Museum of San Jose.
Johar had difficulties finding a mosque to film in. According to actor Arif Zakaria, “I don’t know if Karan tried to get permission in Mumbai. But we were to shoot in a mosque in Los Angeles and hard as Karan tried to convince the authorities that his film would not propagate anti-social values, he was denied permission [...] We finally shot the two-day scene with Shah Rukh Khan on the set of a mosque constructed at The Club in Andheri.”
After filming in Los Angeles was completed, Johar stated that, “in all my 11 years as a filmmaker I’ve never felt the experience to be so different. The content of My Name Is Khan is diametrically opposite to whatever I’ve done in the past.” He described working with both Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol again as “magic. They build an inexplicable energy on screen.” Johar also stated that he was “blown away by Shah Rukh who had done monumental research on his autistic character in the film. I was zapped by how much he knew about the subject.
