Cast: Aamir Khan, Anushka Sharma, Sushant Singh Rajput, Sanjay Dutt, Saurabh
Shukla
Director: Rajkumar Hirani
Rating: ****
Aamir Khan and Rajkumar Hirani’s previous association (‘3 Idiots’ in 2009)
had reaped rich rewards – a film with a message that managed to get critic’s
approval and also rake in the moolah at the box office. Needless, to say the
same partnership five years later aroused a lot of interest.
Does the film deliver on its promise? The answer is a definite affirmative.
None other than Aamir Khan and Rajkumar Hirani could have pulled off this feat –
trying to drive home a rational message in a country where all logic is
suspended every time you utter God’s name.
My three-year-old wants to go to a new place
of worship every weekend. So when a friend asked him why he wanted to go to
church, he said, he wanted to pray. The next question inevitably was how he
would pray? And my son promptly recited,
Asato mā sadgamaya
tamasomā jyotir gamaya
mrityormāamritam gamaya
Oṁ śhānti śhānti śhāntiḥ.
As we burst out laughing at the incredulity of our son chanting a Sanskrit
shloka in a Christian place of worship, my toddler looked confused.
PK’s (Aamir Khan) bemusement is much the same as he ventures out in search of
God. Everyone he has met has told him, only Lord Almighty can help him in his
quest. And, it is during the protagonist’s journey that the director brandishes
his craft with flourish.
It’s a sensitive issue of how religion in our country has increasingly become
more about rituals, processes and monies and less about spirituality, faith and
a simple emotional connect. But Raju Hirani knows his audience; he skillfully
uses humour to get his point across.
The first half seems flawless as the director stitches together implausible
ideas to tell a very believable story. While as an audience you laugh at the
absurdities, you also realize how true each of them holds in the Indian context.
You also sense PK’s desperation, as you see him frantically persuade every
religious custom available to him in an attempt to convey his plea to God.
And just when the film seems to have raised the bar higher, even by Hirani’s
own standards, the second half seems to lose its grip just that wee bit. The
message feels a little repetitive, the television show is not as engaging as the
live calls that Munnabhai used to get on radio to try and resolve issues (in
‘Lage Raho Munnabhai’).
The romantic track between PK (Aamir) and Jaggu (Anushka) is a little
coerced.
We love Raju Hirani’s subtleties and somehow, the Tapsvi Maharaj versus PK
face-off doesn’t play off as effectively as you expect it to. Remember the Munna
(Sanjay Dutt) and Batuk Maharaj (Saurabh Shukla) showdown in ‘Lage Raho
Munnabhai’ (2006) that made such a convincing impact?
If we are driven by faith in matters of religion then it is that same faith
that drives us to godmen and religious leaders. We might question their methods
but in matters such as these does logic really stand a chance?
Why was the effect so muted I wonder? Was Rajkumar Hirani trying to toe a
thin line, which doesn’t completely disregard religious sentiments?
Maybe, I am nitpicking but this is the ‘3 Idiots’ team and we are used to a
certain amount of ingenuity from them.
Having said that, ‘PK’ is definitely a must-watch, the film raises many
pertinent questions. May be it doesn’t provide very definitive answers all along
but it is essential for someone to step back and ask these questions.
How blinded are we by our belief systems? Is there a rational way to explain
the customs we choose to adopt and practise? Sometimes all we need is hope to
cling on to and religion provides that but can we do something constructive to
channelize the hopelessness?
I wish there was more to this film than just the religious aspect. Like some
inherent Indian hypocrisies that PK alludes to when he decides to visit
again.
Watch ‘PK’, I am sure no other recent film has doled out such genuine
humour.
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