“After watching this, everything that we are doing seems very inconsequential,” commented the acclaimed filmmaker Raj Kumar Hirani after scrutinizing the film Ship of Theseus. The statement may have been said in sincerity but to an avid Hirani enthusiast, it may sound like a case of false modesty.
Be it Munna Bhai MBBS or 3 Idiots — one common denominator in his films are societal taboos portrayed in an affirmative light, which in turn lead to positive consequences. With PK however, Hirani fails to transport an innovative notion to the table. Though the film keeps you entertained through the 150 minutes of its running time, the discourse it attempts to instigate is unexpectedly not new. The intended scheme of ideas has been realised rather effectively in another Bollywood film, released not very long ago.
Jaggu (Anushka Sharma) falls in love with Pakistani boy Sarfaraz (Sushant Singh Rajput) in Belgium, who ditches her on their wedding day. Disgruntled from her loss, she returns to India and joins a television channel. One day as she’s commuting on the train, she encounters PK (Aamir Khan), a well-built boy who has noticeably big ears. He is looking for answers to incredibly simple but complicated questions, whereas Jaggu is on the hunt for a stirring story and that is how a quest begins.
Apart from Khan, the film belongs to veteran actor Sanjay Dutt, who added his typical charm to the story. PHOTO: FILE
The questions make PK appealing and his responses to those queries make the film amusing but that is all the film proposes. The conscious effort to centre the film on PK’s dilemma serves as slow poison for the narrative, leading it to become a rather slick rendition of Umesh Shukla’s OMG Oh My God! starring Akshay Kumar and Paresh Rawal. Shukla’s movie features a shop keeper, played by Rawal who files a case against god to acquire compensation for his shop that got demolished as a result of an earthquake. When the judge refuses to charge anyone that cannot physically appear in court for a crime, he ends up bringing clerics from each religion to the square.
PK precisely prompts the same debate with a diverse set of metaphors which clearly don’t change the nature of the deliberation. He blames spiritual leaders for calling on “wrong numbers” in the name of God and misleading followers, whereas Rawal openly grills them for that. OMG! Oh My God was more undeviating and hard-hitting, which led it to be axed from theaters in UAE. PK, on the other hand tries to subtlety touch on the subject but in due course gets preachy, that too being conveyed through TV talk show: a cliché also used in OMG! Oh My God.
On the better side, the film keeps viewers engaged despite being two and a half hours long. Credit goes to Aamir Khan, who, with ample good one-liners at his disposal keeps the audiences engaged. ‘Bari lul jaga hai yeh,’ being one such memorable dialogue. Apart from Khan, the film belongs to veteran actor Sanjay Dutt and the seasoned Boman Irani, who sail the film whenever it seems like a gone-astray floating ship. Dutt, playing the Rajasthani band master is the customary lighthearted guy in Hirani films. He adds his typical charisma to the film. Irani, alternatively doesn’t take on the usual villain part but adds as much abundant flavour playing the head of a TV channel as he did as Dr Asthana in Munna Bhai MBBS.
Sharma on the other hand gets attention only because of the conspicuous pixie cut, otherwise her character doesn’t in truth serve a purpose in the film, not even that of eye candy.
In calculation, PK is perhaps Raju Hirani’s weakest film to date. A film that mechanizes on a “cool concept”, that too not as original as Munna Bhai or even 3 Idiots for that matter. Having said that, it has its moments that give you a good escape from the daily mundane routine so go watch PK with your family but don’t expect anything high-brow.
Verdict: Watch PK with your family because it is a fun film but stay home if you are expecting anything high brow from the Aamir — Hirani duo.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 25th, 2014.
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