Saturday 20 December 2014

Sau Sunar kee Ek Lohar kee! My Review PK

Director
Rajkumar Hirani

Starring
Aamir Khan, Anushka Sharma, Boman Irani, Saurabh Shukla, Sanjay Dutt, Sushant Singh Rajput, Parikshet Sahni, Ram Sethi



Why do film-makers make films? Each film and its maker will give you a different answer. The underlying commonality would be to tell something they feel needs to be told. A story, yes? Now how they choose to tell their story is  completely up to them.

Hirani chooses to tell stories which are at the core relate-able, and in his own way exposing the lacunae in our beliefs, morality, outlook. His films to me are about simplification, like Aesop's fables, with a moral underlined firmly.

Earlier this year Ankhon Dekhi had a protagonist who is very close to my heart, Bau Ji, who decided to question everything that he himself hasn't seen, experienced. Hirani has chosen PK (Aamir Khan in the title role) to ask questions, questions which are timely, considering the murders being committed in the name of God and Religion. Not a first, but definitely an important film.

The route he takes is extremely smart, using an Alien's perspective, which works because somewhere like Hirani, I believe we humans have lost ours. PK comes from a world where one is naked and equal, no difference created by the way you dress up. No religion, clear communication without saying a word, He sees our world, swathed in layers of all kinds, starting with the Gods we follow, the diktats that come with religion, the differences which exist in our minds, as to his eyes, the humans do not have any "Thappa" (stamp) of whether they are Hindus, Muslim, Sikhs, Christians.

To me it is the boldest subject Hirani has dealt with so far. Imagine questioning the combined religious beliefs, centuries old, of a nation of 1.21 billion people as per the 2011 census. To question our way of life, more often than not guided by which religion we belong to. It is not about the big things, it is about the smallest of things we do, which are ingrained in us from the day we are born, praying to road side idols, giving money at the temple as if god needs it!!

Mind you, Hirani does not say there is no GOD, but he definitely says to question anyone and everyone who says "This is how GOD should be, This is how you will find him and This is how he will hear you better".

PK is fun yet poignant, happy yet melancholy, entertaining yet requires you to come to the theater with your brains.

PK (Aamir) is an alien from one of the planets that inhibit the vast galaxy, who lands on earth to study life here, but as soon as he meets the first human, he is robbed of his "remote" that is his only connect to his space-craft, his only way back home. Will he find his remote, what will be life for him on Earth... and what will be his "Alien" point of view... that is the story of PK.

In his journey to find his remote, he meets Jaggu (Anushka) who is a television reporter and starts helping him in his search.  From an Indo-Pak love story to a powerful Godman (Saurabh Shukla in fabulous form), Hirani uses lot of done before tracks, but then how he makes them his own as he spins a very involving yarn, is the uniqueness of PK and the director.

This film may not please the hardliners, to them this is a sacrilege, I mean questioning Religion, Oh My GOD! but anyone with an open mind will see the absolute urgency of having more such films. Films that question.

Aamir Khan owns PK. He is totally uninhibited, believable and adorable. It will be one of his most memorable characters to date after Bhuvan in Lagaan.  Anushka is effervescent as Jaggu, their screen chemistry works. Pixie like and stubborn, she is convincing in her portrayal of the character.



Everyone in the supporting cast does justice, Boman, Sushant Singh Rajput, Parikshet Sahni... Oh and what an absolute pleasure to see Ram Sethi in a lovable cameo.  A doff to his and Amitabh Bachchan's films, you will know when you see PK.

An effort five years in the making, PK doesn't disappoint. There are many memorable sequences in the film, my favorites being where PK says "Ye Bhagwan chalna band ho gaya hai" and the scene where he explains the problems with our language by using "Achaa" as an example. Another one is with Shiv jee (Wont't give details) is absolutely brilliant.

Merrily stealing money from the Daan petis, and clothes from "dancing cars", whether PK finds his way to his planet or not, he definitely will find his way to your hearts.

PK is not without flaws, but it is one of the most important films to come out this year.

GO WATCH!!!

My Verdict : 3.5/5