Revealing the gist in the first line itself (with a purpose), yes PK is a slickly written, engaging film once again talking about that Supreme Power post OH MY GOD (2012), focusing more on providing entertainment and less on the emotional depth required by the important subject honestly. No, the film is not in the same league of Raj Kumar Hirani’s earlier three brilliant films to be straight. But since it talks about the right things at the right time in a rare comical tone making the much needed impression, I would like you all to watch it before reading the review having some straight indications towards it main plot as spoilers.
Coming to its basic plot in the first scene itself, as speculated rightly, PK is about an alien visiting the planet earth with a purpose of knowing more about the people living here having similar bodies as their own. Aamir Khan plays the alien here to perfection having all human-like features and Anushka plays the girl working for a news channel, helping Aamir in the city of Delhi and using him too for her own hidden purpose of making a hit story. The entertainment actually begins when they both meet at a metro station and then later brings in many other interesting characters like a disappointed father, a misunderstood lover boy, a fraud God-man, an annoyed channel owner and many more to give you an engaging 150 minutes talking about something important.
The first half of the film is full of many enjoyable sequences that at once remind you of few famous jokes read at the social networks, like remember that picture of sleepers having a lock keeping them together so that they don’t get stolen in front of a temple or few enlightening jokes mixing two or more Gods together. Beginning with a very amateurish kind of love relationship developing overnight between Anushka and Sushant, it never gives you a dull moment before intermission with Aamir Khan speaking in a different hilarious tone, making brilliant face expressions, raising many thoughtful doubts on the existence of GOD.
However the same cannot be said about its second half as here we go the same clichéd way with nothing novel as per the concept is concerned, having a completely predictable love angle thrown in (with the alien) thankfully not given too much footage in the narration. The last hour keeps reminding you of OH MY GOD with many similar settings and then the end offering few well-written twists and turns (involving the letter) brings smiles on your faces and tears in the eyes too as always expected from a Raj Kumar Hirani climax unconditionally. But overall, despite having that emotional end with another surprising cameo of a big star and all fixed ingredients of a Hirani film, PK is not able to give you that huge creative satisfaction, experienced in Hirani’s earlier three films creating a big chemical locha in your hearts while walking out of the theaters.
In the performances section, no doubt, Aamir plays his part extremely well making the best use of his odd ears. He simply excels as the alien and doesn’t let you think about the flaws throughout the film leading from the front. Carrying the film all alone Aamir gets some fine support from Anushka Sharma, who once again proves her effortless mastery in playing such lively characters. Sushant Singh Rajput impresses in his few scenes, whereas Saurabh Shukla, Sanjay Dutt and Boman Irani are not given any great roles to play quite surprisingly. Particularly it was really disappointing to see Boman Irani doing such an unimportant role after playing the lifeline of all three Hirani films till date, enacting three unique characters considered as benchmarks in the field of acting. Moreover here we have Parikshit Sahni once again doing the similar role of a father as seen in Hirani’s previous movies along with Ram Sethi (Pyarelal) making a lovable cameo too.
Music remains another weaker section of PK as I couldn’t remember even one song while walking out of the theater. And that certainly wasn’t the case in any of Hirani’s earlier films. Yes both the lyricists and the singers have done their job very well but it was the melody I couldn’t find in most of the songs in the soundtrack putting it honestly. To pick out a few its “Chaar Kadam” and “Bhagwan” sounding fine while watching the film, mainly due to their fabulous rendition by the talented singers. Adding to the comparatively weaker departments, this time neither the cinematography nor the background score was able to make some major contribution in the film quit unexpectedly.
Coming to the major disappointment I felt while watching PK, first of all I wasn’t really expecting a part two of OH MY GOD offering all seen before kind of sequences and dialogues. In fact this really puts me in doubts that whether Hirani had this idea of using the concept of GOD in his film before the release of OMG or developed it after that film getting some clear inspirations from its famous scenes. Giving the director a benefit of doubt, if he really had this idea before OMG, then he & his writers must have done a great amount of re-writing after watching Paresh Rawal asking all similar questions in that film in his own impeccable way.
Moving more deep into the comparisons with OH MY GOD, one cannot simply ignore the similarities between these two films, as in the first half both have their own sequences questioning the GOD’s existence, mocking the rituals followed all over blindly putting up many relevant queries. And then in the second half we have a collective session involving all major characters in the script giving their own justification in favour or against the concept of GOD quite boldly. Now where OMG had this collective session in a court with all the GOD-MEN standing in the box in front of the judge, PK has the same kind of arguments given to the GOD-MAN in a news channel’s talk show going live, anchored by the leading lady of the film herself. So it would be really posing blind if one cannot see the exact similarities in both the films as mentioned above.
Further in my opinion, OH MY GOD had cracked this idea of questioning the existence of GOD and religion in a much deeper, detailed and introspective manner, rising above its all comic insertions included to provide the entertainment factor. However PK uses this concept in a much lighter manner simply focusing more on inserting many enjoyable sequences for the viewers in its 150 minutes of content written around the same plot with an added element of featuring an alien instead of a common man.
Having said that PK still has one big edge over OMG when it maintains the dignity of the concept of GOD as it is and doesn’t interfere in its existence dragging him down to the earth giving it any commercial form. Recalling my review of OMG, the biggest problem I had with that film was, with its idea of bringing the GOD on earth in a manly avatar as Akshay Kumar, which simply ruined its own brilliant writing contradicting it completely (and this was not there in the original film it was based on). Now PK very intelligently doesn’t get involved in that mess at all. It talks about GOD, questions about GOD and then leaves it like a mystery to be solved as it is very rightly. So here PK gets an edge over OMG in terms of understanding the concept perfectly keeping its mystery intact.
The second factor that makes PK a one step ahead than OMG is the point raised on religious conversions which was missing earlier. And as I have understood, any kind of conversion done willfully is simply claiming yourself as more intelligent than the Supreme Power, declaring his decision as wrong and also proclaiming one religion better than the other, which is another absurdity being followed all over quite weirdly. In short one can move from being religious to be an atheist, which can be justified logically. But considering any particular religion better than the other clearly proves that one still has not understood even G of GOD to be straight, since all religions or sects in reality talk about the same Supreme Power in their own different forms and languages.
Adding to my disappointments, no doubt PK is a slickly written, well edited film with only few dragging moments in the second half. Still I cannot rate it above any of the three Hirani films seen earlier as it does lack that novel punch and falters in many sequences making it a forceful attempt (in its dialogues too) in the instances given below.
Firstly it has the most amateurish and fastest love affair even written in a script, happening between two well educated, independent individuals (from India and Pakistan) studying abroad in the present times of instant connectivity.
Secondly, pointing towards the most relevant question in its script (in Delhi, the city film is based in) whenever we have to question a person that ‘Is he drunk’ annoyingly then we say, “Pee Kay Aaya Hai Kya?” or “Peeya Hai Kya?” but nobody says “Pee Kay Hai Kya?” sounding incomplete as if missing something in the words. Therefore the question “Pee Kay Hai Kya?” has been deliberately written just to suit the requirement giving the alien his catchy name. Plus another vulgar word in the dialogues beginning from L, was also not expected in a Raj Kumar Hirani project.
Thirdly, in the film PK is supposedly speaking Bhojpuri which doesn’t really seem to be the language exactly. Instead it looks like a distorted version of Hindi only most of the times that can be clearly understood by all. So here the language too takes a beating in order to suit the requirement.
Next, a bomb blast is used in the film all of a sudden without any seriousness with a pinch of humour too, which could have been avoided. And recalling my experience of the theater I really didn’t like people laughing in the bomb blast sequence just looking at the way PK was made to sit in a weird posture. That was in fact sick.
Lastly, probably this is the first film finding the courage to show an old SIKH character as a beggar asking for money like a conman. Perhaps the times have changed and the portrayal of SIKHS in films has gone through a drastic transformation since the last two decades. Yet since films are a mirror of reality, I would not like to blame the writers for this rare, questionable portrayal, but would like to alarm the community itself to look into this issue positively and think about their visible downfall in the recent times resulting in such representation on the screen in one of the biggest Hindi film of the year.
Summing it all, PK is a fine satire on GOD and Godmen as a sequel or one step ahead than OH MY GOD using an alien doing the same what Paresh Rawal did earlier, in a more comical and entertaining manner. Its not easy to present such a sensitive subject in a funny script giving an important social message. Hence PK surely remains a must watch movie for all raising many repetitive but valid points about the existence of GOD. But I was frankly expecting something more fresh and innovative from the exceptional team of Vidhu Vinod Chopra, Rajkumar Hirani and Aamir Khan.
Rating : 3.5 / 5
PK After effects (Shared on FB)
* It’s really sad that WE can be so easily brainwashed by Big Stars delivering the same content again in a different style. Because had it be there with any other team, this would have been easily called as a clone.
However the main point here is that,
Are these films bringing any kind of change in us in terms of RELIGION?
Or These Stars and their works cannot simply influence us when it comes to this crucial element of our lives and films are just films to be enjoyed and forgotten..........making no contribution in our living patterns, making them much better.
** I can appreciate the attempts made towards reshaping our outlook towards Religion in both OH MY GOD and PK. But I dont find that adorable simplicity, love and warmth in the portrayal of the theme as seen in the Sanjeev Kumar classic YEHI HAI ZINDAGI..
Coz that was purely DIVINE.
