{"id":177,"date":"2010-02-15T09:49:45","date_gmt":"2010-02-15T09:49:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/almihrab.wordpress.com\/?p=177"},"modified":"2015-03-13T11:32:52","modified_gmt":"2015-03-13T17:32:52","slug":"bollywood-king-goes-back-to-his-muslim-roots","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/almihrab\/2010\/02\/bollywood-king-goes-back-to-his-muslim-roots\/","title":{"rendered":"Bollywood King goes back to his Muslim Roots"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\"\"<\/a>By no means am I a Bollywood (Indian Cinema) fan.\u00a0 I have only seen a handful in my life and never watched one in a theater \u2013 before last night when I went with my wife and a few friends to watch the King of Bollywood: Shah Rukh Khan and his new film \u201cMy Name is Khan\u201d which is making headlines across the world because of it\u2019s \u201cPro-Muslim\u201d storyline \u2013 which is a rarity in Hindu dominated Indian cinema.<\/p>\n

A majority of the film was also shot here in the San Francisco Bay Area and since a few of our friends were extras in the movie, we went to watch it in the theaters.<\/p>\n

As most people who\u00a0have seen Bollywood (the nickname for Indian Cinema based out of \u201cBombay\u201d now called \u201cMumbai\u201d) films before knows, the majority of them are extravagant \u201cMusicals\u201d which are usually 3 to 4 hours in length (they have an intermission when they play in the theaters in India and \u201cDesi\u201d theaters in the U.S. and other countries)!\u00a0Most major hits have the standard format of a young guy and girl who come from different walks of life and go through some kind of struggle to end up together in the end \u2013 with a few large dance and song routines in the middle of grass fields and villages in India (or sometimes other parts of the world \u2013 to change it up a bit:)).<\/p>\n

But, \u201cMy Name is Khan\u201d is nothing like that.\u00a0 It is not a typical Bollywood film at all.\u00a0 It is pretty serious (of course it has a few light moments sprinkled in between to keep it interesting) and goes head on at some of the world\u2019s toughest issues such as prejudice, stereotypes, religious extremism, terrorism, security concerns, and the commonality of the human condition across the world.<\/p>\n

WARNING SPOILERS BELOW!!!<\/p>\n

I was actually pretty surprised at how serious and \u201cun-Bollywood like\u201d the film was.\u00a0 And since it takes place in the U.S. (there is about 30 min in the beginning which takes place in India), a lot of the dialouge is in English (they have subtitles to translate the Hindi-Urdu languages, but no one likes to read them while watching a movie:))!<\/p>\n

The other surprising thing about the film was the fact that the star \u2013 Shah Rukh Khan (a Muslim in real life), decided to make such a film in the first place.\u00a0 Shah Rukh Khan (or \u201cSRK\u201d as his name is spelled by bollywood fans online) is the top Bollywood Actor and is more well known and has a larger fan base across the world than any American actor!\u00a0 He is like Brad Pitt, Denzel Washington and Al Pacino (hey I\u2019m a \u201cScarface\u201d fan, so I gotta through him in there:)) all rolled up into one.\u00a0 Most Bollywood films stay away from religion and if they do it is only for comic effect (i.e. a Muslim Mullah or Imam saying something stupid, etc.) or to to show some other stereotypical element.\u00a0 Since most Indians are Hindu the films reflect the main characters and religious ceremonies from the Hindu perspective (usually).\u00a0<\/p>\n

Shah Rukh Khan was born in India, but his father was Pakistani (from Peshawar), according\u00a0to an interview I watched with him here: http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=zWWBd6MD0Ew<\/a>.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

SRK is Muslim, but he is\u00a0married to a Hindu women (similiar to the story in the film).\u00a0They teach their two children both religions and do not force one religious view over the other.\u00a0 SRK has played a \u201cMuslim\u201d character\u00a0on film before,\u00a0but his character of \u201cRizvan Khan\u201d is the first in which his being a Muslim is an integral part of the story.\u00a0\u00a0Thus, it is like he is going back to his Muslim Roots.\u00a0 Shah Rukh Khan, known as the \u201cKing of Bollywood\u201d (for all the awards and allocades he has achieved in the Indian Film Industry) playing a Muslim (a positive one at that), is a major historical event for Indian Cinema.\u00a0 It\u2019s like when Steven Speilberg decided to make \u201cSchindler\u2019s List\u201d and share his Jewish roots or when Mel Gibson decided to make \u201cPassion of the Christ\u201d and give a voice to his minority Catholic roots in mainstream Hollywood.\u00a0 Shah Rukh Khan has already received some backlash in India because he publicy supported Pakistani Cricket Players and complained that they should not have been omitted from the IPL (Indian Premiere League) cricket league.\u00a0 Some Indian Nationalist groups have threaten to\u00a0ban his latest film \u201cMy Name is Khan\u201d from being shown in local theaters in Mumbai in protest.<\/p>\n

This is a shame because the film is all about treating all people with respect and dignity, no matter their religion or ethnicity. Shah Rukh Khan plays Rizvan Khan, a Muslim Indian with Asperger\u2019s syndrome (a type of autisim) who comes to America to be close to his brother (after their mother dies in India) and in the process he befriends and falls in love with a Bay Area Indian women named Mandira (who happens to be Hindu).\u00a0 Rizvan and Mandira marry and live a pretty normal life, but then\u00a0the attacks of Sept. 11th, 2001 happen and\u00a0Mandira\u2019s son Sameer is attacked in a hate related incident\u00a0at school.\u00a0\u00a0Sameer dies from his injuries and\u00a0 Mandira blames her marriage to a Muslim (SRK\u2019s character) for her son\u2019s death.\u00a0 Rizvan then goes across country to meet the President of the United States and explain to him that he is a Muslim, but he is not a Terrorist (a Mantra he keeps repeating throughout the film and thus the title of the movie).<\/p>\n

Of course the story is at times stretching reality and the ending is far fetched, but the process is believable because it is based on incidents that many people have gone through or experienced themselves in real life: security profiling at airports, racist and prejudiced people who\u00a0try to stop you from achieving your goals, as well as\u00a0good people who help you get where you want to go.<\/p>\n

But what\u00a0I really liked about \u201cMy Name is Khan\u201d is the way it humanizes\u00a0Muslims.\u00a0 Of course they have the extermist Muslim in the film, but they also have the main character, Rizvan (portrayed by Shah Rukh\u00a0Khan)\u00a0who is a very spiritual person and is not afraid to pray in front of people \u2013 whether it being by reciting verses from the Holy Quran in a middle of a vigil for the victims of the 9\/11 attacks, or by making salat (prayers)\u00a0 outside a truck stop while everyone (including a \u201cnormal\u201d Muslim couple) watches him in awe.<\/p>\n

On a side note \u2013 I was also impressed with the film\u2019s accurate portrayal of Islamic rituals and practices such as praying and what Muslims recite or pray when people die, etc.\u00a0 Most films, whether Bollywood or Hollywood usually never get it right.\u00a0 That\u2019s one reason when I got a chance to be a \u201cMuslim consultant\u201d on a local indie film shot in the Bay Area last year, I jumped at the chance to volunteer just so I can make sure they can depict\u00a0Muslims\u00a0praying accurately\u00a0(I ended up showing a cast of\u00a0about a dozen\u00a0Non-Muslim actors and extras how to pray according to the Sunni Hanafi Method:))!<\/p>\n

In the end \u201cMy Name is Khan\u201d is about always having a positive attitude and never giving up on your dreams, no matter the odds stacked against you or\u00a0who or what is in your way.\u00a0 It is also about being proud of who you are and not being prejudiced or hateful to other people just because they may come from a different background, culture\u00a0or religion than you do.\u00a0 A very important message for both Muslims and Non-Muslims alike.\u00a0<\/p>\n

I hope people learn this message of peace and understanding after watching this film.\u00a0And I hope more films like \u201cMy Name is Khan\u201d come out of Bollywood (as well as Hollywood), because we definitely need them in these trying times.\u00a0 I highly recommend everyone to watch the movie and tell all your friends to watch it too!<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By no means am I a Bollywood (Indian Cinema) fan.\u00a0 I have only seen a handful in my life and never watched one in a theater \u2013 before last night when I went with my wife and a few friends to watch the King of Bollywood: Shah Rukh Khan and his new film \u201cMy Name […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1073,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8,9,10],"tags":[74,84,123,141,228,232,245,248,255,19514,293,334,366,369,400,415,416,449,457,465,484,492,511,518,538],"class_list":["post-177","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-islam","category-media","category-tvfilm","tag-bay-area","tag-bollywood","tag-cinema","tag-cricket","tag-hindi","tag-hollywood","tag-india","tag-indie-films","tag-ipl","tag-islam","tag-kajool","tag-mel-gibson","tag-muslims","tag-my-name-is-khan","tag-pakistan","tag-peace","tag-peshawar","tag-san-francisco","tag-schindlers-list","tag-shah-rukh-khan","tag-srk","tag-steven-speilberg","tag-terrorists","tag-the-passion-of-the-christ","tag-urdu"],"yoast_head":"\nBollywood King goes back to his Muslim Roots - 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