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.

The real bravery award should go to director-producer Karan Johar, who dispenses with the designer preciousness of his previous films to come as close as this to something real, something important.

Without any gimmickry, Khan captures the nervous ticks and emotional barriers that an afflicted individual must battle against daily. It's a showy performance but in the right kind of way.

MY NAME IS KHAN features a great Shahrukh Khan in the lead, who gives us a touching and very human portrait, without the special circumstances of his character distracting from the actual subject matter of the film.