I caught this movie in my local cinema yesterday and I was amazed. Wow. The story of a man with Asperger's trying to tell the president that he's not a terrorist? Interesting context, don't you think? But the creators managed to pull it off, creating a story both heart-warming and touching while steering clear of most cliched movie scenes.
The story is told in flashbacks, as we are shown the life of Rizvan Khan as a child with Asperger's, a form of autism. Rizvan is afraid of loud noises and the colour yellow. He is frequently bullied by his friends and hated by his brother because their mother paid more attention to him. But Rizvan has a talent; the ability to fix almost anything mechanical, proving his strength by draining his flooded village with a bicycle. Surprised? I was.
He then grew up and moved to America with his brother when their mother died. While working as a salesman for his brother's cosmetics company, Rizvan meets Mandira, a hairstylist and falls for her. But because of who he is, he could not tell her how he feels, only managing to stare at her and spend more time with her. Rizvan eventually got to know her and her son, Sameer better and makes a promise with her that if he could show her a place in the city she had never been to, she would marry him.
And he did, bringing her atop a hill early in the morning and letting her enjoy the sight of a city wreathed in clouds of mist and dew. It was beautiful. And where she finally accepted his proposal. They married, but before long, terror strikes, in the form of 9/11. Suddenly, America was in chaos. Being a Muslim, Rizvan was suddenly the most hated race in the country.
When their neighbour died in the war in Iraq, their son who used to be friends with Sameer started ignoring him. One day, his friends beat Sameer up and killed him. Fearing for his life after being threatened, the friend kept quiet about the incident. And all hell broke loose.
Mandira started blaming Rizvan for the death of her son, and tells him to show America that he was not a terrorist. She forbade him from returning until he had told the president of the United States, "My name is Rizvan Khan and I'm not a terrorist."
Because of his Asperger's, Rizvan took her words to heart, and started on a mission to regain the love of his wife.
All these events are shown interspersed with Rizvan's present life as he struggles to meet the president. It is sad when we see how a nation, once united, simply crumbles after a terrorist attack. Muslims were being beaten up and murdered everywhere just for their religion. The scene of a man shaving his beard to hide his religious beliefs is particularly effective to show how people are willing to forfeit their religion to live safely.
But the touching scenes are when Rizvan selflessly helps others he meets on his journey, without any care for himself. When a village was hit by a hurricane, he went there and started helping the villagers get their life back together. These attempts eventually softened Mandira's heart and after the neighbour's kid finally revealed the truth, she lost her anger towards the world and regained her lost love for Rizvan.
I loved this movie not only because of its literary value, but also due to the fact that even a man with a disability could do so much to heal a country that has been torn apart by hatred and suspicion. Rizvan managed to convince his fellow countrymen that no matter what religion someone is, they are all the same. Like his mother once said, there are only good or bad people. No other distinctions exist.
Throughout the movie, I was kinda praying "Please don't start dancing and ruin everything," because well, at first, I, like everyone else, thought it was a Bollywood movie. And I'm not a big fan of them, no offense but they're just not my cup of tea. Luckily, they didn't, so I loved the movie even more. Most of the events in the movie are portrayed as they are in real life. No sweet scenes, no dead people rising from the dead and embracing their loved ones with tears on both sides. It was simply realistic. And hell I love it!
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