Main Hoon Na - Movie Review
Published: August 5, 2011
Starring Shahrukh Khan, Suniel Shetty, Sushmita Sen, Zayed Khan, Amrita Rao
Only Bollywood could seamlessly blend a terrorist thriller and a family melodrama into one heart-wrenching, action-packed entertainer with a comic college setting—while making a strong statement about religious nationalism to boot.
Main Hoon Na's hero, Major Ram Sharma (Shahrukh Khan), tries to mend two broken families—his own and that of his boss, General Bakshi (Kabir Bedi), who is estranged from his daughter, Sanjana (Amrita Rao)—which would be enough story for a film, but this was directed by Farah Khan—her first as a director—whose motto is "more is more." So she puts them all in mortal danger at the hands of a terrorist, Raghavan (Suniel Shetty). Kudos to her for pulling this mashup off with aplomb.
Major Ram Sharma is the illegitimate son of Brigadier Shekhar Sharma (Naseeruddin Shah), and the boy's appearance on his dad's doorstep upon losing his mother at the age of 10 drives Shekhar's wife, Madhu (Kirron Kher), to leave home with their infant son, Lakshman. Fast-forward 20 years and Shekhar, who has been mortally wounded by Raghavan, begs Ram to reconcile with Madhu and Lakshman (Zayed Khan), who is a student at the same college as Sanjana. Sanjana is in love with Lakshman, and she wants nothing more to do with her father, who was disappointed that she wasn't born a boy.
The names of the two brothers are significant. Ram is a popular Hindu deity whose story is told in the sacred text, the Ramayana, in which Ram, with the help of his brother Lakshman, rescues the goddess Sita from a demon. The razing of a mosque in 1992 on the site of Ram's birthplace in the town of Ayodhya, which triggered riots throughout the country, galvanized the Hindu nationalist movement in India, and Ram is therefore closely associated with it.
The character Ram in the film is a patriotic soldier in the Indian army, with a high-caste Hindu surname, who is committed to peace with Pakistan. Raghavan is a former Indian army officer who murdered several innocent Pakistanis and was dishonorably discharged and who now wants to sabotage a prisoner exchange between India and Pakistan by killing General Bakshi's daughter as an act of terrorism. Ram accepts the undercover assignment to protect Sanjana by posing as a college student and befriending her.
Religion is never specifically mentioned in the movie, but the allusions are obvious and the message of pluralism clear: Ram is not on the side of those who hate; in fact, he seeks to vanquish them like he did the demon he is known for slaying.
As if that weren't enough to keep him busy, Ram helps Sanjana get over the hurt caused by her father and win the heart of Lakshman. He also befriends Lakshman and his mother without revealing his true identity. And, while attending classes in nerdy disguise, Ram falls in love with one of his professors, Chandni (Sushmita Sen), and can't stop himself from serenading her like a fool every time he sees her.
Main Hoon Na is rated Worth Watching.
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