Main Hoon Na
Main Hoon Na (
English:
I Am Here,
Hindi: मैं हूँ ना,
Urdu: میں ہُوں نا) is a
Hindi Bollywood film written and directed by
Farah Khan and produced by
Gauri Khan and
Shahrukh Khan; it was released on
April 30,
2004 and was considered a box-office success.
It mixes the genres of
action,
teen comedy, family
melodrama and
Bollywood musical.
Main Hoon Na was nominated for ten
Filmfare Awards, among them
Best Actor,
Best Comedian,
Best Supporting Actress,
Best Supporting Actor,
Best Director,
Best Villain and
Best Film, but ultimately, it only won one award:
Filmfare Best Music Director Award for
Anu Malik.
Main Hoon Na tells the story of Major Ram Prasad Sharma (
Shahrukh Khan) and his efforts to foil the terrorist Raghavan (
Sunil Shetty). Major Sharma is simultaneously attempting to mend relations with his father's estranged first wife and his half-brother Lakshman; complications ensue.
Raghavan wants to sabotage a military project called
Milaap (Unity), a first step towards friendship between India and Pakistan. India will release fifty Pakistanis imprisoned for crossing the border into India -- most of them illiterate villagers who wandered over the border by mistake. Raghavan doesn't want the state of war between India and Pakistan to end; he lost his son in the Indo-Pak wars in Kashmir and cherishes an abiding hatred for Pakistan and all Pakistanis.
First he tries to stop Project Milaap by killing the general in charge; This fails, though he does succeed in killing Major Sharma's (Ram's) father.
As the father dies, he begs Ram to re-establish relations with his half-brother Lakshman (
Zayed Khan), who is to be found at a college town in the Himalayas (
Darjeeling). Both brothers should cast their father's
ashes into the Ganges.
Raghavan again tries to stop Project Milaap, this time by threatening the general's daughter Sanjana (
Amrita Rao). The general asks Major Sharma to protect Sanjana; Ram pleads that he has family responsibilities. The general points out that, by a strange coincidence, Sanjana attends school in the same town where Lakshman lives. Major Sharma can protect Sanjana and look for Lakshman at the same time. Ram must go under cover, as Sanjana is estranged from her father and will not accept a military escort.
So Ram pretends to be a college student, returning to college after many years away. He is much older than the other students, who at first make fun of him. He soon proves his worth and becomes a big man on campus. He finds
Lucky Lakshman, who has failed term thrice, befriends Sanjana, and succeeds in foiling Raghavan. He also falls in love with a beautiful chemistry teacher (
Sushmita Sen).
The film is notable for lively music and dance sequences (the director got her start as a choreographer) and for thrilling action scenes featuring
Matrix-style slow-motion effects -- such as the stunning car-chase sequence involving a flaming
cycle rickshaw.
*
Shahrukh Khan ... Major Ram Prasad Sharma
*
Sushmita Sen ... Miss Chandni
*
Zayed Khan ... Lakshman Sharma
*
Amrita Rao ... Sanjana
*
Sunil Shetty ... Raghavan
*
Kabir Bedi ... General Bakshi
*
Naseeruddin Shah ... Shekhar Sharma
*
Kiron Kher ... Mrs. Sharma
*
Bindu ... Mrs. Kakkad
*
Boman Irani ... The Principal
*
Satish Shah ... Professor Rasai
* The film was shot in only twenty days.
* The film's end credits include appearances by
Karan Johar and
Manish Malhotra amongst other media personalities associated with MHN.
* Actress
Tabu can be seen briefly while
Shahrukh Khan's character practices a dance while director Farah Khan's brother Saajid Khan puts in a cameo appearance in the song
Gori Gori.
*
Hrithik Roshan was signed to play Lucky; then Shahrukh, who plays the lead role, injured his back and the movie was put on hold for a while. Hrithik turned down the role of Lucky, which was offered to
Zayed Khan, after
Sohail Khan and
Farhan Akhtar were considered.
* The actor who played Percy, the lovable nerd, is actually a computer specialist.
* The film was shot in
St. Paul's School, Darjeeling over the winter vacations, thus the restriction on time.
* In early 2005, Main Hoon Na's director Farah Khan married the film's editor Shirish Kunder.
