Food For Thought
Film: PK
Cast: Aamir Khan, Anushka Sharma
Directed by: Rajkumar Hirani
Duration: 2 hrs 33 mins
Rating: * * * ½
Since he made his debut as
director in 2003, Rajkumar Hirani has made four films and each one has wooed
audiences and critics alike. The distinct feature of his films is that not only
does he entertain, but in the process he makes larger points about society and
people.
This time he has admirably taken
on an issue that has not been highlighted much in films and, if it at all, it
has mostly been in a preachy form: godmen and religion have plagued society for
long, and Hirani attempts to address this matter.
The end product may not be
entirely satisfactory, but for what the director has attempted to highlight and
does successfully, the film deserves applause. Plus, whenever the screenplay
hits a few road bumps, the lead actor Aamir Khan comes to its rescue with his savior faire.
Imagine someone from an alien
planet who lands on this earth and discovers our strange ways of life. By
strange I mean, hating, mauling and killing other people for no discernable
reason except that they belong to another religion or caste. Ideally, I think he or it would laugh at us
for being the densest species in the universe, for our infinite capacity for
self-destruction.
PK (Aamir Khan) is an alien who
has come from outer space but looks human. He lands in the deserts of Rajasthan
wearing nothing but his birthday suit and the ‘remote control’ of his
spaceship. He doesn’t speak any language but eventually learns Bhojpuri in just
six hours. And like many humans, he rolls his eyes and bobs his head. The ‘remote
control’, or the device with which he controls his spaceship, is stolen and he
is stranded. Luckily, he acquires an ancient Panasonic two-in-one (model RQ-565D
for those interested in trivia) to cover his family jewels. He is told that only God can help him retrieve
it but the question is, which God should he turn to for help? He tries all
possible options – Jesus, Allah, Krishna and the other deities – but with no
success. This is where director Hirani lays the ground to make bigger and
bolder statements. Occasionally they are not so subtle, and that factor depends
entirely on your own sensibilities and notions.
Anushka Sharma plays Jagat Janani
and wisely enough, she prefers to be called Jaggu. A television anchor who
returns to India from Belgium, she doesn’t buy PK’s story to begin with, but
when she is convinced, she helps him retrieve his ‘remote’ which is in the possession
of a self-serving godman (Saurabh Shukla). That sets the ground further for an
all-out expose of blind faith that plagues the country.
The first half of the film is
breezy with some witty dialogues and situations. It is not easy to make people
laugh by portraying their own silly beliefs (like the majority of students praying
before their exams as if that will alter the result, to quote just one oddity).
Boman Irani as Jaggu’s boss and
Sanjay Dutt as PK’s rustic buddy make an appearance with relatively little
screen-time.
While there is subtlety in some
scenes, as when PK visits religious places, Ghalib’s Zahid sharab peene de masjid mein beth kar sung by Mukesh plays in
the background as he approaches a mosque and he lands up at a church with a
coconut and incense in a thali.
At the same time there are
passages that are preachy and the second half of the film takes a tumble with
the dramatic climax. The faults are easy to spot but they can be ignored
because the larger picture takes precedence. The theme of godmen was tackled in
Oh My God as well but this movie
takes it a notch higher. The writers (Abhijat Joshi and Hirani) have ensured
that they are equal opportunity offenders when it comes to different
religions.
The success of the film lies not
only in what it portrays on the screen but also in how it makes the audience
ponder about the central theme. After all, how many films offer any food for
thought these days?
While a couple of the songs (Love is a waste of time and Bhagwan, Hai Kahan Re Tu) may be
hummable and well-picturized, they are out of place in the narrative and slows
down the momentum. The background music is also a bit frenetic at times.
Of the cast, Anushka Sharma is sufficiently bubbly and
charming as her character demands. Aamir Khan gives one of his best
performances and plays the lead role with terrific conviction and ease.
On the whole, PK is far from being flawless but it remains a
must watch film for those who believe in god, and also for those who don’t.
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