Starting three weeks before its heralded release, My Name is Khan and its lead star, Shahrukh Khan, became the newest and most fashionable entries to citizen-rights activism, both in India and in cyberspace. The controversy began with Khan's statement "regretting" the exclusion of Pakistani cricketers from selection at the third Indian Premier League (IPL) auction, which had taken place in December. It then gained massive media attention due to the opposition of the rightwing Shiv Sena, which then continued with the tense release of the film itself.
The controversy proved advantageous for the producers, however, ensuring the film a kind of publicity that money, power and influence could otherwise not possibly have managed. Even before it was released, My Name is Khan had become a cause célèbre, emerging as a symbol (in particular among the affluent and English-speaking classes) of freedom of expression, the citizen's right to a violence-free public and political culture, and the very basic desire for rule of law. For those in Bombay, watching the film on 12 February, the day it was released, became a way of showing the metaphoric middle finger to the Shiv Sena thugs who had nearly managed to prevent the film from being shown in Maharashtra.
It is noteworthy then that the film at the centre of this hate-filled and vengeance driven-protest should be precisely about the struggles of a 'differently-abled' man against hate- and vengeance-driven violence. Directed by Karan Johar and written by Shibani Bathija, My Name Is Khan tells the story of autistic Rizwan Khan, played by Shahrukh Khan. Rizwan has Asperger 's syndrome, which makes him unable to express his emotions and gives him a variety of tics: he speaks monotonously, professes to hate the colour yellow, reacts badly to loud sounds, and dislikes hugs and other physical contact (except sexual intercourse, it seems). He is also resourceful, charismatic and a devout Muslim who lives out the childhood lesson taught by his loving and staunchly secular mother (played with warmth and ease by Zarina Wahab) that there are only two kinds of people in the world: good and bad.
In creating this character, the scriptwriter, Shibani Bathija, who earlier penned Fanaa, Kabhi Alvidaa Na Kehnaa and Kidnap, weaves a complex narrative, with many touching and heart-warming moments. However, Bathija seems also to have cast her net too wide, as the story, perhaps in trying to include too many issues and events from contemporary world politics, stretches itself thin. What starts off well, with childhood sequences of Rizwan and his mother, providing a cogent context for his secularism and his tense relationship with his brother, tapers into a mild and inadequately developed love story with the Hindu divorcée single mother, Mandira, played by Kajol. While it is made clear that Rizwan has fallen in love with Mandira's nainaa and essential goodness, it is unclear what exactly makes Mandira reciprocate and propose marriage – in the process overcoming what one assumes are natural hindrances to romantic attraction, Rizwan's autism and behavioural oddities.