Movie: PK
Rating: 4/5
Banner: Vinod Chopra Films, Rajkumar Hirani Films, UTV Motion Pictures
Cast: Aamir Khan, Anushka Sharma, Sushant Singh Rajput, Boman Irani, Saurabh Shukla, Sanjay Dutt and others
Music: Ajay Atul, Shantanu Moitra, Ankit Tiwari
Cinematography: C. K. Muraleedharan
Editor: Rajkumar Hirani
Producers: Rajkumar Hirani, Vidhu Vinod Chopra, Siddharth Roy Kapur
Direction: Rajkumar Hirani
Release Date: Dec 19th, 2014
First it was the title that intrigued many. Then came the poster that went from being sensational to controversial to thoroughly entertaining with a lot of spoofs made after the nude Aamir Khan hiding his modesty with an old tape recorder. It was called obscene and Aamir and Rajkumar Hirani were accused of copying the poster of a Portuguese musician’s cover art dating back to 1973.
But at the end of it all, Aamir Khan had the last laugh. Like always, he did succeed in intriguing his fans and audiences and made them wait for the release.
So, let’s check out if the film was worth the hype and the wait…
Story:
The story begins with an alien spaceship landing in Rajasthan’s desert and out comes a curious alien (Aamir Khan). Well, Anushka Sharma’s voice over tells us just like earthlings who are forever curious to know if life exists elsewhere in the universe, the people of alien’s planet too were curious and thus the mission to earth.
Then the story goes 5000 kms across to Bruges in Belgium. Here, Jaggu or Jagat Janani (Anushka Sharma) is a media student who meets Sarfaraz (Sushant Singh Rajput), a Pakistani student studying to be an architect who works at the Pakistani Embassy. On the picturesque cobbled streets, they fall in love and decide to get married. But things go wrong and Jaggu returns to India and becomes a television journalist.
One day, she meets PK, a strange man who walks around with a yellow helmet on his head, speaks in a Bhojpuri dialect distributing pamphlets about missing gods and is forever asking questions. And from here, the friendship of PK and Jaggu begins.
Artistes’ Performances:
Aamir Khan, the eternal perfectionist plays PK to perfection. He is good as ever and brings out the humour in various situations with ease. Well, the Bhojpuri accent is an added twist to his character, which PK downloads from a prostitute who is indulgent enough to let him hold her hands for six hours.
Anushka Sharma is a total revelation in the film. To be able to hold her presence while sharing the same frame with Aamir Khan is no mean feat. Her vivacious Jaggu is almost infectious and she fills the film with her youthful exuberance.
Saurabh Shukla as the god-man is totally convincing and provides the right nuances to his character.
Sushant Singh Rajput does not have a lengthy role as expected. But when he is on screen, he is rather cute.
Boman Irani as Cherry is another perfect casting and Parikshit Sahni returns as the father once again.
Sanjay Dutt, plays a small but memorable role.
Technical Excellence:
For those who aren’t aware, PK happens to be a joint production of Rajkumar Hirani, Vidhu Vinod Chopra and Siddharth Roy Kapur. This time around, Rajkumar Hirani has decided to get into production along with directing the film. He also provides screenplay along with Abhijat Joshi and edits the film too. As always, he tries to tell his story convincingly laced with enough emotional scenes. But the added bonus this time is the rather vibrant canvass on which he paints his story.
Music is by Ajay Atul, Shantanu Moitra and Ankit Tiwari. Barring the song between Anushka and Sushant, it is what one can safely call an average album.
Highlights:
- Aamir Khan
- Anushka Sharma
- Comedy
- Direction
Drawbacks:
- Songs not so catchy
- Pace slows down in second half
Analysis:
PK is a rather interesting attempt at narrating a story that touches upon various contentious issues through a character that is not your conventional super hero.
But the beauty of the film is definitely in the initial scenes when Aamir starts narrating his story. There are some really sparkling examples of Rajkumar Hirani’s skill as a director in conceiving scenes like the one where Aamir explains how he figured out that achcha meant different things depending on how it is said.
Through Aamir’s questions, Rajkumar tries to put forth the many questions that Indians in general and young Indians in particular have these days globally.
While he pulls off the first half effortlessly, in the second half, the effort to wrap up the story without appearing too preachy is obvious.
The scenes between PK and Tapasviji become too tame towards the end and suddenly like PK in the film, one sees the overdose of clichés sprinkled all over the film.
The slimy shepherd who steals PK’s remote immediately after he lands on earth, the good-hearted prostitute, a Pakistani boyfriend who ditches the heroine in the last minute, father-daughter issues, a god-man, the friendly and all helpful media boss…
Also, it takes over or rather goes a step further from the highly successful Akshay and Paresh Rawal starrer Oh My God. While tackling the same subject, it intertwines it with a cross border love story between Jaggu and Sarfaraz.
But amidst all these clichés, PK is still adorable for the beautiful performances put in by the lead pair and Rajkumar Hirani’s colourful picturisation.
Go for it, it’s worth the surprise before the credits roll.
Bottomline: Perfect weekend watch
(Venkat can be reached [email protected] or https://twitter.com/greatandhranews)
