I am still reeling from watching this film last night. My assessment of a movie is the impact it has on me. Several Days ago, I watched the 2022 Oscars front runner. I found it disturbing and for the entire viewing except for the last 10 minutes, I kept trying to figure out where it was going. This was the complete opposite of how I felt watching My Name is Khan.

I was hooked from the start. An added granule for me is that I have a granddaughter with Asperger's Syndrome. Her physicality is not affected. But she is very literal and very smart. The young actor who played the child Rizwan and his Mom stole my my heart.

I started the movie late in the day and should have headed for bed after about 90 minutes. I could not stop the movie. It was mesmerizing.

The story and the acting were both superb. And the cruel treatment by "normals" of differences (religious, cultural, and developmental challenges) was painful and had me weeping.

I worked at a national association in downtown DC on 9/11. Around 11ish a senior manager advised us all to go home. We left the building and the streets were packed with pedestrians. Cars jammed the streets and there were no subways. We had no idea how to get home and feared that buildings near us would soon be attacked. Providing this as background because after a few weeks, some of our Muslim co-workers had discussions with us to let us know their experiences. The place where I worked had good hearted people. But there were many stories in the news that were not illustrative of good hearted.

My soul aches for the people in MNIK, especially Khan and his family. And some scenes caused me to sob. A neighbor's death in Afghanistan could breach the loving bonds of friendship between two boys. A woman's hijab causes others to berate her (still happens today 12 years later). An innocent man is arrested and confined 15 days primarily because of his name. And through it all Rizwan Kahn kindly sticks to his mission, taking a break when needed to help others along the way.

Shah Rukh Khan was amazing in this role. At no time did he lose the role, not even when dancing, which was rare as it should have been. Kajol was perfect, and as a Mom I cannot even image the loss of one of my kids...but she did, and we all felt for her. I loved the content with Mama Jenny and the boy.

I applaud Karan Johar for making this film happen and for superb directing. I will watch it again, and probably again, etc. This for me was a 10+