PK (2014) (movie review)

Director: Rajkumar Hirani

Cast: Aamir Khan, Anushka Sharma

Duration: 153 mins

One might marvel at the fuss surrounding PK. Frankly, there is nothing heretical or sacrilegious in its content. Why then did so many ‘religious’ people find their sentiments hurt? Perhaps because PK took a side swipe at them. It sought to expose the true nature of religion obscured by blind sentimental devotion being paraded as religion and preached by many religious leaders today.

PK (Aamir Khan) is an alien, who comes to earth to scout the region. He lands in Bhojpur and on his very first encounter with a human being, he is robbed of his only possession: a remote control with which he can contact his space ship. Thus begins the adventure of PK, in search of his remote control.

Simultaneously, we are recounted the story of Jaggu (Anushka Sharma), who is studying in Belgium. There, she meets and falls in love with a Pakistani boy, Sarfaraz (Sushant Singh Rajput). Her family is taken aback when she breaks the news to them. Her father, a devout follower of a self proclaimed godman, Tapasvi Maharaj (Saurabh Shukla) gets him to talk her out of it. Tapasvi Maharaj ‘prophesies’ that Sarfaraz is only using Jaggu and has no intention of getting in to a serious relationship with her. To prove him wrong, she begs Sarfaraz to marry her the next day itself. While waiting for her turn, she receives a misdelivered message apologizing for breaking up. She runs away in tears. Upon returning to India, she takes up journalism. On one of her journeys, she encounters PK and is intrigued by his curious appearance, odd behaviour and eccentric personality.

Her attempts to get to know him and his mission, take us through the history of his sojourn on earth. Along the way he is told that God can return whatever he lost and in a frantic attempt, he performs all the rituals and practices prescribed by different religious traditions. Hinduism, being full of various rituals and practices, gets major screen time. The humorous tone of the film keeps it lively and entertaining. The apparent futility of myriad devotions is depicted comically but raises an important point for reflection.

Jaggu befriends PK and helps him in his quest. PK’s ‘outsider’ analysis of religion and its leaders produces startling results which Jaggu tries to capture and screen on air. Slowly, the veil of ignorance is lifted and people across the country respond to the show and its message. A nation-wide revolution is set in motion. The ‘business’ of religion is brought in to question. PK at last discovers his remote control with Tapasvi Maharaj, who beguiles gullible devotees claiming it was given him by God. To retrieve it, PK must challenge Tapasvi Maharaj. He successfully does so and also helps Jaggu reconnect with Sarfaraz.

PK has a good script, swashbuckling performances, meaningful songs and lots of colour from India. It is a simple story with profound messages. It takes an outsider to properly and unbiasedly evaluate anything and this is exactly what PK does. It gives us an outside view of our culture, religion and way of life. Religious leaders may feel offended since they were depicted as charlatans and businessmen, but the sad reality is that many of them are, in fact, so. PK invites us to break our childish, insipid faith and belief in religion, and rise to the higher level of spirituality, concerned more with living the values of our religion rather than getting caught up with religious formalities. The movie is awesome. A must watch. All praise to the director, actors and the whole team for putting together this eye opener.