Karan Johar's "My Name Is Khan" is a sweeping epic in the melodramatic Bollywood manner yet emerges as a potent, engaging and timely entertainment. Shahrukh Khan stars as Rizwan Khan, whose Asperger's syndrome goes undiagnosed until the death of his loving mother sends him off to San Francisco to live with his younger brother, whose psychologist wife makes the diagnosis.
Having been raised with affection and sensitivity, Khan, who is well-educated and exceptionally intelligent, is already high-functioning. Ultra-sensitive to noise, he may be petrified by the clanging of a cable car bell until he understands what it is, and his ability to express emotion may be muted, but it turns out that he's a surprisingly successful salesman for the Indian herbal beauty products company for which his brother is an executive. He feels compelled to tell the truth no matter what, and his candor in regard to what his line of cosmetics can and cannot do amusingly beguiles the beautiful Mandira (Kajol), who owns and operates a busy beauty salon. Pretty soon, the shyly handsome Khan has won the heart of Mandira, a single mother with a small son -- and a bad marriage in her past.
