PK (2014) - Review in English

"Humra phiren... Ouka naam hai Bhairao, lekin hum ouka bulawat hai Bhaaya..."
"My friend... His name is Bhairao but I call him brother..."
Aamir Khan

About the story: An alien (Aamir Khan) touches down in the desert of Rajasthan, and first of all he loses the gadget he needs to be able to return to his home planet. Band leader Bhairon Singh (Sanjay Dutt) takes the confused stranger in his care and finally sends him to Delhi where he soon is named PK and everyone tells him to trust in God as God is the only one who can help him getting back the gadget. In his search for this God PK learns about different religions, and about their respective ground staff. He attracts the attention of a young journalist, Jagat Janani, called Jaggu (Anushka Sharma) who, after an unhappy love affair with Sarfaraz Yousuf from Pakistan (Sushant Singh Rajput), works for the TV channel of Cherry Bajwa (Boman Irani). She senses a big story. And soon it becomes evident that PK’s simple and innocent questions about God, and his doubts about methods like those of the sect leader Tapasvi Maharaj (Saurabh Shukla), hit the mark in many hearts…


Now what more can be said except: Rajkumar Hirani has done it again. After the Munnabhai films and 3 idiots he gave us another movie with a message completely without a moral pointing finger… a lovingly told story which makes you laugh and cry, presented by a joyful cast, where many of the actors are absolutely familiar with Hirani’s handwriting. Two and a half hours of wonderful entertainment where you hardly can find anything to critizise.

Hirani handles the tricky subject “God and religion” with incredible tact and sensitivity and shows love and respect to everyone. Sadly enough a disclaimer seemed to be necessary reading “This film is a work of fiction - we do not intend to hurt the sentiments of any individual, community, sect or religion”. Those people who really listen know this even so. But in a time of increasing religious extremism it’s no wonder that some people don’t or don’t want to listen. And indeed Hirani and his team had to face hostilities from various religious parts who felt offended where there was no offence - just an innocent alien who didn’t question God himself but the methods of God’s “managers” on earth, and who claimed that God doesn’t need human beings who defend him, or who believe they have to do so.

To give away any more details of the story, of PK’s unexpected and truly refreshing questions or of the overwhelming wrong number wave would deprive the film of its most beautiful surprises. I can just say: Go and watch it! It has gorgeous locations in Rajasthan, Delhi and Bruges/Belgium, it has lively feelgood music which will make you swing, and the cast is one big lucky bag. Aamir Khan is marvellous as PK who with eyes wide open and like a child explores a world strange to him and innocently asks simple and logical questions which will make you think. One of the film’s greatest gifts is that, after all these years, Aamir Khan and Sanjay Dutt work together for the first time, and they get on together like a house on fire. Munnabhai meets Rancho, what can be better than this, especially as Sanjay plays his small but pivotal part with temperament and gusto. Anushka Sharma is enchanting as Jaggu - self confident and at the same time very vulnerable. Sushant Singh Rajput as Sarfaraz is soft and loveable, Boman Irani as TV boss is wonderfully masterful and humorous, and Saurabh Shukla as the sect guru is the perfect hypocrite. And finally the film provides its last great gift when Ranbir Kapoor does an unexpected cameo and sets another highlight just when you think that more highlights can’t be possible.

PK is an intelligent, respectful and loving plea for religious tolerance. May this film - especially in these our times - make many people listen and think.

P.S. In the English subtitles, “PK” is replaced with “Tipsy”, as a consequence of the question “are you tipsy?” people keep asking the strange alien.

Produced by Vidhu Vinod Chopra, Rajkumar Hirani; Directed by Rajkumar Hirani
153 Min; DVD: Reliance, English Subtitles (including songs); Bonus DVD: 18 Behind The Scenes, 4 Deleted Scenes; Fun Stickers
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