Yeaaah, yesterday again it was Bollywood time on RTL2*! And for all those who always laugh at it: Saturday evening with Angi and Tom, on television a Bollywood movie. Tom: “Please, no… Bollywood movies are boring…”

Two hours later. Tom is sitting in front of the telly and barracks for Ram who is beating the hell out of the bad guy. He really deserved that! After all he tried to murder all those college students. However, at the finish I ask Tom: “Was a good movie, wasn’t it!” And grudgingly he confesses that I am right!

The story of “Main Hoon Na“: Ram is an Indian army major as well as his father. Long time ago, the father’s wife left him with their little son Laxman, ’cause Ram, illegitimate son and result of an affair, suddenly appeared, and the father took him in. His wife wasn’t able to live with that, so she left. Now Ram is grown up and like his father he joined the services to forward the project Milaap (unity), a project that is supposed to bring peace between India and Pakistan.

But Ram’s father is shot by a terrorist, Raghavan. His last will on deathbed: He begs Ram to find his wife and son and to reunite the family. So the mission he gets from general Bakshi is really in the nick of time: He shall creep in a college as student and mount guard over Sanjana, the general’s daughter, because Raghavan wants to kidnap her to force capitulation of project Milaap. And Ram’s brother studies at the same college.

So Ram goes back to college, where everybody makes fun of him as he his much older than all the other students. But as time goes by he gains the friendship of Laxman, who is called Lucky by everybody, without telling him that he is his brother. Ram falls in love with his chemistry schoolmistress, Laxman is in love with Sanjana but much too cool to commit, and Sanjana loves Laxman but doesn’t dare to admit. And as if that wasn’t enough, Raghavan creeps in the college disguised as a teacher. He unmasks Ram, and Laxman is hopping mad and forces Ram to leave. Ram is already on his way, when his phone rings: Raghavan took the students hostage and threatens to slay them all.

In the final then we dare to witness Shah Rukh Khan in full action and watch him beating up bad guys and relieving the students before he fights against Raghavan on a roof. Wounded and considerably damaged he finally succeeds beating the runt, and short-time before the whole college is blown up, Laxman arrives with with a copter and rescues Ram. At long last the father’s wish is accomplished, and both brothers disperse the father’s ashes into a river together.

My upshot: Once again a barely lovely Bollywood movie. Action, heartache, laughs, nothing is missing. My favourite scene is ca. during the movies’s last third, when Ram consents to his stepmother to bring back her son and wants to set off to rescue the students, and the mother calls him back and says that she wishes to get back both sons. At that moment Ram knows that she forgave him, and that makes him stronger.