MY NAME IS KHAN: BOLLYWOOD'S HOLLYWOOD REACTIONARY PERFORMANCE TO THE POLITICAL REALISM IN THE POST-9/11 (POST-CIVILISATION) ERA

Abstract

The following essay is an exposé on the deeper meanings enmeshed within the plot, themes and messages of the film: My Name Is Khan. The title of the work is a more concise and economical version of the original thought which reads: 'My Name is Khan: Bollywood's Hollywood Reactionary Performance to the Political Realism in the Post-9/11 (Post-Civilisation) era and Remember Me as a subtle corroboration of Khan's equation of 9/11 to Before Christ (BC) and Anno Domini (AD)'. Although a few other films get a mention in elaborating and illustrating various observations, Remember Me stands out primarily because of its speechless yet immensely audible reference to September 11, 2001 and how that day altered the dynamics of numerous lives and families in the United States of America and indeed the entire globe.

The work interprets My Name Is Khan quite exhaustively using both observational and theoretical leads. The implication of the events of 9/11/2001, particularly with regard to international politics where the West openly advertises the impression that it prioritizes national interest and security over ideology, moral concerns and social reconstructions together constitute the essential interest of the film. Indeed, other considerations within human relations including love, family and sacrifice are alluded to; it is the stereotypical gaze upon every one of Islam inclination and belief that is deconstructed by My Name Is Khan.

The humiliating experience meted out to citizens of countries on America's terror-watch list across western airports is effectively addressed by a lengthy scene involving Khan at an American airport. The combination of this and Khan's momentous equation of 9/11 to BC and AD provides this essayist with a claim at the Post-9/11 era being one post of civilisation and civility considering the inhumane methods adopted by airports in the West in scrutinizing fellow human beings, albeit of different nationalities, all of which is based on the perception of an over-laboured single story.