PK: 5 lessons we learn from the film The much awaited film of the year has released and received a rather warm welcome at the box-office. Considering Rajkumar Hirani's track record of three back-to-back blockbusters and Aamir's penchant for perfection, it is no wonder that PK is garnering attention. Add to that an interesting premise and you have yourself a winner. A path breaking, thought-provoking film that compels you to ponder over why what is right is right and what is wrong is that way, sums up PK . There are many takeaways from the film but here are the five points that can be de rived from PK .
Aamir mir as th the e wid widee-eye eyed, d, mo mousy usy lo look oking ing ali alien en is Aliens exist and they are cute: Aa endearing. He lands from an imposing spaceship into an alien land but soon makes it his own. Learning the ways of the world, he questions everything, challenges every concept and fights for what he thinks is correct. But he often gets confused and since Bhojpuri is his language of choice, he spews choicest words in the rustic dialect. Since his clothes are sourced from the weirdest of places, his fashion-sense is q uirky and cute. The whole effect is rather enticing and if aliens are this cute, we would want more of them.
God exists, God men shouldn't: At a tim time e whe when n chi c hildr ldren en ar are e bein b eing g ma massa ssacre cre d in th the e
name of religion, a film that challenges the concept of different Gods seems to be the need of the hour. While PK doesn't question God and His existence, even supporting the belief in some manner, he does strong ly condemns the farce marketed by the God men. Calling them managers of religion, PK ridicules the marketing gimmicks that the self proclaimed men of God indulge in. He questions the fear that is instilled in the name of religion even commenting once that, " Jo darr gaya woh mandir gaya ."
Religion is all about fashion: For an alien who lands buck naked from his gola (planet),
it is difficult for PK to understand what is the basis of the religious classification. He checks babies for a stamp, assuming they must be marked with the seal of their religion at birth. Failing to find one, he then derives that religion must be all about fashion. After all it is by the clothes and appearance that those around determine if a certain person is a Hindu or a Muslim. The endear ing manner in which he comes to this conclusion is absolutely delightful.
Let go of the one you love, if need be: W hen humans say that they love chicken or
they love fish, they usually mean that they love eating them and not that they are in love with these creatures or so thinks PK. He is not from this planet but he understands love better than humans. Perhaps with his higher intelligence and telepathic abilities, PK learns the language of love and masters it too. Letting go of the one you love is the most difficult thing to do but PK, with his wide -eyed innocence, manages to do just that.
You are a spec s peck, k, not a spec s pectat tat or: The film reinforces the fact that we are mere specks
of dust when put in perspective in terms with the universe. While it is r eassuring to know that there is another planet out there where life exists, it is also rather humbling that we aren't the only life-form in the milky way. However, this is no manner takes away from the fact that we are mighty when it comes to our own plane t. The film manages to make you feel responsible for your actions and the impact it has in terms of the bigger picture. So while we are flecks of fluff we aren't as inconsequential.
No religions were harmed in the making of this film. That’s the gist of a a title card that runs before the credits in the Hindi movie “PK,” directed by Rajkumar Hirani, which states that the film doesn’t intend to hurt the feelings of any community,, sect or religion. community And this sweet, sweet, ambling comedy comedy about an innocent innocent abroad — an alien who touches down in the Rajasthan desert — doesn’t offend, even as it pokes gentle fun at religious differences and hypocrisy. When PK ( Aamir Khan) Khan) lands in Rajasthan, naked and gym-buff, his first encounter with an earthling is a rude one. A man steals his flashing green pendant (it matches his flashing green eyes), a remote control that allows him to call his ship for pickup. After some twists twists and turns — including a quick, PK-less detour to Belgium for a Pakistani Romeo and Indian Juliet love story — our hero acquires language (Hindi) and finds himself in Delhi in search of his pendant. God alone, he’s told, can help him. Guileless, he appeals to God in all his houses: temples, mosques, churches. Sneaking into a maternity ward, he examines an infant from top to bare bottom, looking for a label: is he Christian, Muslim, Hindu?
Mr. Hirani’s other films include “Lage Raho Munna Bhai” (2006), a comedy about a gangster who becomes a Gandhi-inspired good guy. That movie and its slogan, “Gandhigiri,” were so successful successful that they they ushered in a small small real-life wave of Gandhian Gandhian protests. It’s hard to imagine that “PK,” with its slogan “wrong number” (when God’s interlocutors get their wires crossed), will have a similar impact. Mr. Hirani remains an excellent storyteller, weaving his disparate story strands into a convincing, convincin g, satisfying whole — a rare Bollywood feat. Continue reading the main story
But “PK” lacks the redemptive arc of “Lage Raho” — at — at least its hero does. PK, played with earnest sexlessness by Mr. Khan, who possesses one of Hindi cinema’s most ogled bodies, bodies, is another man-boy innocent meant to remind us of our own corruptio corruption. n. He does, but so benignly, that it’s hard to feel the sting.
P.K.
Rajkumar Hirani Director Rajkumar
Writers Rajkumar Hirani, Abhijat Joshi
Stars Aamir Khan, Anushka Sharma,Sanjay Dutt, Boman Irani, Saurabh Shukla
Running Time 2h 33m
Genres Comedy, Drama, Romance, Sci-Fi
Los Angeles, Calif. — Calif. — Why Why is “PK” being deemed “controversial” when the movie aims to inspire people to rise above differences and ex perience unity in diversity? The movie is about an alien’s quest for God.
Imagine you are a child. You would have the same questions the character PK does. PK, played by Aamir Khan, innocently and bravely questions: which God should I worship, the God who made everybody or the God whom man has made? One religion tells me to fast on Monday, another sect tells me to fast on Tuesday; Tuesda y; one religion says go to the temple without shoes on, but another says wear shoes inside the church; on e religion says eat after sunset, one says sa ys eat before sunset…it is confusing. Faith should not be blind. blind. And that is why it is nice nic e to see “PK” encourage viewers to ask such questions. “PK” carries a peaceful message: despite all the man man-made -made religions and rituals, God is one. People may have different means of o f approaching divinity; Aamir Khan performs Hindu rituals, he follows Islamic, Christian and Sikh paths to learn that there is o ne God, only different messengers. The character PK provokes viewers to ask the question, if we are all children of one God, then why are people fighting over God and claiming their religion or viewpoint is the only correct one? During one scene, PK shows up with a group of people in religious clothes to prove the point that just because someone is wearing a cross doesn’t make them a Christian, and just because someone has a turban on does not make them a Sikh. Wearing the labels of clothes or religions in itself does not make you “spiritual” or “religious.” PK comes to the conclusion that if God wanted us all to be separate, He would have had different religious labels stamped on us from birth. We as human beings have created the distinctions d istinctions but God gave us all the same color of blood…if God is One, then we are all One… What a beautiful message! Think about it. If we all saw each ea ch other as God’s child, we would be more tolerant, tolerant, there would be no wars, and we would achieve world peace. PK has a real thirst to find God and he does in his own way, shedding light that there is no one “right” path. The path is an individual journey.
While, like all movies, this one too exaggerates ex aggerates at times to make a point and to be entertaining, as the movie’s disclaimer states it is not meant to be offensive. A lot of what is shown in the film actually happens in India. There are a lot of charlatans in the world taking advantage of people financially and emotionally by claiming to know what God wants them to do. At the close of the movie, Aamir Khan says, “Who is Hindu? Who is Muslim?” He alludes that those are man-made labels that are dividing the world and giving different agendas to every ev ery person. But we are children of the same God. The film reminded me of a quote: quo te: “Buddha was not Buddhist. Jesus was no t Christian. Muhammad was not Muslim. They were teachers who taught love. Love was their religion.” That’s what I think the movie is about. abo ut. Love.
'PK': Film Review 7:54 AM PST 12/21/2014 by Lisa Tsering
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Bollywood takes on the archetype of the holy fool An inquisitive space alien ( Aamir Khan) lands on Earth dressed only in his birthday suit, and shakes up society in Rajkumar Hirani’s pleasantly subversive PK subversive PK . The film deftly pokes fun at the foibles of earthlings — earthlings — especially especially their warring religions — religions — with with warmth and compassion, and shines a light on the contradictions of India’s strict India’s strict but unwritten social rules.
This eagerly awaited Khan vehicle is guaranteed brisk business in the week before Christmas, and even if PK if PK doesn’t doesn’t have quite the deep emotional impact of Hirani’s other message films, distributor Disney India’s decision to release the film on a record 4,844 screens worldwide assures robust returns. Read more 'PK' to Get Broad Worldwide Release The film has been kept tightly under wraps in India, with viewers wondering if the titular character — bug-eyed bug-eyed and goofy, with prosthetically enhanced enhanced ears — ears — was was autistic, otherworldly or even God himself. That mystery is dispelled in the first scene, when a glowing spaceship deposits him in the middle of the Rajasthani desert as part of his alien race’s research project. Earthlings, of course, have no idea what to make of him, and quickly dub him PK (“pee kay” means “after drinking,” or “tipsy”). When PK’s one chance to return home is sabotaged, he is forced to undertake an odyssey that will direct him through the minefield of human relationships relationships — and and especially through the inexplicable rituals of religion. In one moving montage, PK joins crowds of nearly every major faith in India, from Jainism to Christianity, Sikhism, Hinduism and Islam (only Buddhists get a pass, it seems). Read more Disney-UTV Unveils Bollywood Slate for 2014 Writer-director Hirani and co-writer Abhijat Joshi stud their scenes with rich comic details: PK learns early on that when he needs something to wear, he can purloin the cast-off clothes of illicit lovers in parked cars, and a running gag finds him in their successively incongruous incongruous and inappropriate outfits. How he learns language, an earthy Bhojpuri dialect from an unlikely source, is another opportunity for some risqué humor. And the familiar face of Mahatma Gandhi is the source of another pointed gag. Read more '3 Idiots' Film Review A wealth of top actors beautifully fill out PK out PK ’s ’s key roles, including including Anushka Sharma as a plucky TV journalist bent on helping PK get home and Sushant Singh Rajput as a young Muslim man she falls in love with against her family’s wishes; Saurabh Shukla as a wealthy Hindu mega-swami; mega-swami; and most memorably, Munnabhai memorably, Munnabhai star Sanjay Dutt as a ruffian wedding band musician. Khan’s touching and at times hilarious performance captures the otherworldly oddness oddness of PK. Rajkumar Hirani holds a unique place in the pantheon of mainstream Indian filmmakers, with a nearly unerring gift for capturing the zeitgeist in films such as Munnabhai as Munnabhai M.B.B.S. M.B.B.S. and Lage and Lage Raho Munnabhai, Munnabhai, which tackled corruption; and 3 Idiots, Idiots, about India’s mad rush of college competition. But like those films did, PK did, PK defies description and dares to go far deeper. Production: Vinod Chopra Chopra Films, Rajkumar Rajkumar Hirani Films Films and Disney-UTV Motion Motion Pictures Cast: Aamir Khan, Anushka Sharma, Boman I rani, Saurabh Shukla, Sushant Singh Rajput and Sanjay Dutt Director: Rajkumar Rajkumar Hirani Screenwriters: Rajkumar Hirani and Abhijat Joshi Producers: Vidhu Vinod Vinod Chopra and Rajkumar Rajkumar Hirani
Executive producer: Sanjiv Kishinchandani Kishinchandani Director of photography: photography: Murleedharan Murleedharan Production designer: designer: Rajnish Hedao, Hedao, Sumit Basu and and Snigdha Basu Sound designer: Resul Pookutty Costume designers: Manoshi Nath and Rushi Sharma Editor: Rajkumar Hirani Hirani Composers: Shantanu Moitra and Ajay – Atul Atul
P. K. is a comedy of ideas about a stranger in the city, who asks questions that no one has asked before. They are innocent, child-like questions, but they bring about catastrophic answers. People who are set in their ways for generations, are forced to reappraise their world when they see it from PK's innocent i nnocent eyes. In the process PK makes loyal friends and powerful foes. Mends broken lives and angers the establishment. P. K.'s childlike curiosity transforms into a spiritual odyssey for him and millions of others. The film is an ambitious and uniquely original exploration of complex philosophies. It is also a simple and humane tale of love, laughter and letting-go. letting -go. Finally, it is a moving saga about a friendship between strangers from worlds apart. — Abhijat Joshi
PK the alien being, a gentle one who encounters the other side of God and religion on earth, in India. He comes across as a simpleton, an i nnocent being who represents his kind from a distant planet. He meets Jaggu, Anushka Sharma, an the plot unravels soon. Of how the contemporary society has been taken over dogmatic preachers from all major religions. Of how the universal message of God is forgotten and of how people are manipulated by the so-called religious leaders, aptly called as Managers by PK. The movie is symbolic of how convoluted our belief system is, be it Hinduism, Islam or Christianity. — Jagdish Keshav
An alien from a distant galaxy, drops in on our planet Earth to study the inhabitants. i nhabitants. What he encounters here, surprises him. It's about how major religions in contemporar contemporary y religions have been hijacked by religious zealots, whom he, PK calls as Managers.
— Jagdish Keshav
A human like Alien from a distant di stant civilization arrives on the earth to conduct a research for his people. Within few minutes mi nutes of his arrival, his remote control to his spaceship gets stolen and he gets stranded on the earth. Now how should he go about finding findi ng his remote control in a completely alien world? The only onl y unanimous advice he seems to receive from the people of the earth is that only God could help him. Not having any clue about the concept of God, he sets off on his mission to search for him. He comes across different religions with different Gods which only help him to fall into a confusion. What God should he follow? Which religion does he belong to? Will he ever find God? Will he get to get back to his home? —vspm83
PK is an Alien who visits earth to understand about its 'intelligent' inhabitants, but the very first lesson is a painful one when the th e remote control of his spaceship is stolen. He nce he now faces myriads of problem in a planet where he i s alone unaware and can't even speak its language. But he is helped by a noble soul named Bhairon Singh and hence his search takes him from Rajasthan to Delhi. Here he learns that his remote control can only be returned to him by the heavenly intervention and from here on his tangle with the 'organized religion' starts as he tries various religious solutions but when all of them fails he not only criticizes them as a tool used by the 'managers' of religion religi on to exploit the helpless but also seek refund and in the end redefines religion as something which is Rational , Compassionate and Humane , Not the Superstitious , Hateful, and Heartless one currently propagated to the masses which he calls as the 'Wrong Number'. —Raveesh
A stranger in the city asks questions no one has asked before. His childlike curiosity will take him on a journey of love, laughter, and letting go. — Abhijat Joshi
Synopsis
An alien (Aamir Khan), with a body similar to t he human body, lands on Earth for a research mission on the human world. He gets stranded in Rajasthan as his spaceship's remote control device gets stolen by a vill ager. The alien chases the man in an attempt to retrieve his device back but only manages to take the radio recorder of the thief. He later l ater learns that roaming naked on Earth isn't deemed natural. Thus, he begins stealing clothes and money from couples having sex in cars with open windows. The alien befriends Bhairon Singh (Sanjay Dutt) who assumes the alien is simply a person
suffering a memory loss. Singh helps the alien al ien get accustomed to the village. The alien has the ability to transfer a person's memory to his own brain by holding that person's hands and, hence, he attempts to learn the local l ocal language through this technique. However, he finds out that just grabbing the hands of a stranger, whether male or female, is not accepted, and since he does not speak the l anguage yet, he is unable to explain what he wants. Singh, who interprets this alien's behavior as sexual interest, takes him to a brothel. Over there, the alien holds a prostitute's hand for several hours, and thus learns the language. The alien travels to Delhi as he is informed that it is most likely the place where his stolen device would be sold. Due to his strange behaviour, the people in the city assume him to be tipsy and refer to him as PK. Delhi turns out to be a very large city, and people tell him that only God can help him find the device. However, PK is confused by the various religions and their own different understandings of God. PK later discovers that a godman, Tapasvi Maharaj (Saurabh Shukla), has his device. However, the godman falsely claims to have attained it from the Himalayas, and refuses to return it to PK. Meanwhile, TV reporter Jaggu (Anushka Sharma) meets a man named Sarfaraz (Sushant Singh Rajput) while both are in Bruges. Although Jaggu's father is strongly against a relationship between them due to Sarfaraz being from Pakistan, Jaggu decides to marry Sarfaraz anyway anyway in Bruges. While she waits for Sarfaraz in the town hall, a boy delivers a letter to her that states that the marriage is off due to their differences, with a request to refrain making contact. Jaggu, very disappointed, leaves, discarding the letter by leaving it there on a chair. Later, back in India, Jaggu sees PK distributing leaflets about a mi ssing God. As a reporter, she is interested in this strange man, and makes contact. PK tell s her the whole story. Jaggu convinces her channel head (Boman Irani) to make a TV show with PK, exposing Tapasvi. People in masses get connected to the show and open th eir eyes against the fake godmen. Tapasvi comes to the studio for a confrontation with PK. In the same TV show, Tapasvi brings up Jaggu´s personal matter of her bad experience with Sarfaraz to prove a point. Due to PK's request, Jaggu reluctantly tries to contact Sarfaraz Sarfaraz which leads her to call the Pakistan Embassy in Belgium. The embassy tells Jaggu that Sarfaraz calls them daily to inquire whether Jaggu has called. It turns out that the message in Bruges was a case of mistaken identity by the letter delivery deli very boy. After Jaggu left the town hall, Sarfara Sarfaraz z had arrived and assumed the message was from Jaggu, for him. The misunderstanding between them gets cleared. After hearing this, Tapasvi reluctantly gives PK his device back. In this whole process, PK falls in love with Jaggu but chooses not to tell her as she loves Sarfaraz. Recording Recording tapes with her voice in i n them, he fills fill s his suitcases with batteries to be constantly able to hear them on his home planet. pl anet. While departing, he lies to Jaggu regarding the content of the tapes. Jaggu, having found out the true content of the tapes, painfully keeps quiet. Jaggu later publishes a book about PK and, at a book reading, claims that she misses him deeply due to the memories he has left her with and the impact he had made on her life. The movie ends with PK coming back on Earth a year later for more research with another alien (Ranbir Kapoor).
PK STORY:
An alien lands on earth but loses his remote to go home. Does 'PK' return - and
as he navigates the human world, what does he gain and lose? PK REVIEW: Arriving
on earth, an alien (Aamir) is immediately robbed of the onl y thing he's
wearing, the remote via which he can go home. Knowing nothing of human ways, language, clothing or lies, the alie n searches desperately for his remote, his antics bizarre enough for people to ask if he's 'pee kay' or drunk. One day, 'PK' meets Jaggu (Anushka), a TV reporter who helps him. Can they find PK's remote, now with god-man Tapasvi ji (Shukla)? And do PK and Jaggu also find love?
VIDEOS
PK: Official teaser
PK: Battery Recharge Dance
'PK' funnies: The fat barber
PK: Sachin praises Aamir's performance
PK Hai Kya: Dialogue promo
PK: Raju reminisces about Munna Bhai
PK: Aamir, Anushka reveal new game plan
PK: Rajkumar Hirani busy with editing
PHOTOS
PK is as much a philosophy as a film. It takes the 'stranded alien' theme, familiar from classics like ET, but tells the tale equally from the lonely alien's eyes - at times, evoking the beauti bea utiful ful story sto ry The Th e Little Lit tle Prince Pri nce - as from fro m his human hum an narra nar rator tor 's. 's . Start Sta rting ing with wit h the t he ali en' s desperation, PK captures the fears and falsehoods humans weave around faith. When PK decides to pray for his remote, he's bewildered about whom to and how to pray. PK features bra ve sce nes - money mon ey extra ex tra cted cte d a t temp t emples les,, coc onuts onu ts offer of fer ed in confu co nfu sion sio n a t a churc chu rch, h, god -
men doling out tortuous advice - and strong lines, including a Muslim girl bravely asserting, "Itna chota nahin ho sakta hamara khuda, ki use hamare school jaane pe aitraaz ho." Capturing faith whipped into hate, PK's sterling message, directed sensitively, stands out. As does Aamir Khan as the wide-eyed alien bemused by human life, a paan-chomping Chaplin from outer space, liked by rustic Bhairon Singh (Sanjay Dutt in a warming cameo). PK's simplicity contrasts with Jaggu's complicated life, heartbroken after she thinks her Pakistani Pakistani boyfriend Sarfaraz (Sushant) ditched her in chocolate-box chocolate-box Belgium. Tapasvi warned Jaggu's father (Parikshet Sahani) that her Muslim lover would betray her - does PK pro ve him wrong? wro ng? Anushka presents a sprightly show while Boman Irani stands out as a T V channel head. Some supporting acts and special effects could've been sharper though while at points, editor Raju Hirani should've been sterner with director Raju Hirani in trimming tighter scenes. Between gods, frauds, love and bombs, there are multiple threads here. S ome distract, others impact, like PK hilariously dazed by humans hiding when they make out - except when they announce it with band-baaja on their wedding day.
edit]] Plot[edit A humanoid humanoid alien ( Aamir Aamir Khan Khan) lands on Earth naked on a research mission in Rajasthan but is stranded when the remote control for his spaceship is stolen. He manages to get the thief's cassette recorder, a Panasonic RQ-565D. On the same day in Bruges Bruges,, Jaggu meets Sarfaraz and falls in love with him. Jaggu's father objects to their relationship because Sarfaraz is a Pakistani Muslim Muslim,, while Jaggu is an Indian Hindu Hindu.. He consults godman Tapasvi Maharaj who predicts that Sarfaraz will betray Jaggu. Determined to prove them wrong, Jaggu asks Sarfaraz to marry her. At the wedding chapel, she is heartbroken when she receives a letter calling off the marriage due to their cultural differences. Jaggu returns to India and becomes a TV reporter. She meets the alien and is intrigued to see him distribute leaflets about the "missing" God. She saves him when he attempts to take money from a collection box, earning his trust. The alien tells her that he is a researcher from another planet. His people know nothing about dressing, religion, or verbal communication. They transfer ideas by holding hands. The alien learned to fit in among humans by wearing clothes and using money stolen from "dancing cars". In a flashback, after being accidentally hit by a truck, the alien is befriended by bandmaster Bhairon Singh, who takes him along with his troop. The alien attempts to learn to communicate by grabbing people's hands but they chase him away, believing him to be a pervert. Bhairon takes him to a brothel brothel,, where the alien holds a prostitute's hand for six hours and thus learns the Bhojpuri language.. language Bhairon has a conversation with the alien and suggests that the thief may be in Delhi. The alien leaves for Delhi. Due to his strange behavior, people assume he is drunk and call him "PK" (pee-kay, Hindi for "drunk"). People tell him that only "God" can help him find his remote. PK sincerely practices Indian religions attempting to find "God", to no avail. He later discovers that Tapasvi has his remote, who claims it was a gift from God, and refuses to return it. Jaggu promises PK that she will recover his remote and he can go back home. PK conjectures that Tapasvi and other godmen must be dialing a "wrong number" to communicate with God and are therefore advising the public to engage in meaningless rituals. Jaggu encourages the public to expose fraudulent godmen, godmen , by sending their videos to her news channel. This "wrong number" campaign turns into a popular mass-movement, to the dismay of Tapasvi. Meanwhile, Bhairon finds the thief and contacts PK, telling him that he sold his remote control to Tapasvi. PK realises that Tapasvi was a fraud all along and that it wasn't a "wrong number". Bhairon informs him that they will come to Delhi, but both die in a terrorist attack. The attack is later declared by Tapasvi's group to be stated as protecting their Gods. Tapasvi decides to confront PK on-air. Tapasvi asks PK what the "right number" is. PK says that "God that created us all" is the only concept people should believe in and that the other "duplicate Gods" are created by man. Tapasvi argues, saying that PK is trying to take people away from their Gods and that they will not stand for their Gods being taken away. He claims he has a direct connection to God and refers to his prediction of Sarfaraz's betrayal to try to prove that Muslims are liars. PK disagrees. PK realises that Sarfaraz did not write the letter to Jaggu. She contacts the Pakistani Embassy in Belgium where Sarfaraz worked part-time. The embassy tells her that Sarfaraz still loves her and transfers the line to him, who is now living in Lahore Lahore.. Jaggu and Sarfaraz reconnect, and Tapasvi is forced to return PK's remote, while also being exposed to the whole of India that he had planned to break Jaggu and Sarfaraz through his "predictions". Meanwhile, PK has fallen in love with Jaggu but refrains from telling her because she loves Sarfaraz. Having filled multiple audio tapes with her voice alone, he takes two suitcases full of tapes and extra batteries when leaving for home. After his departure, Jaggu publishes a book about him.
One year later, PK returns to Earth on a new research mission on human nature with several other members of his species.
edit]] Cast[edit
Aamir Khan, lead actor actor in PK
Aamir Khan as PK Anushka Sharma as Jagat 'Jaggu' Janani Sahni Sushant Singh Rajput as Sarfaraz Yousaf Boman Irani as Cherry Bajwa Saurabh Shukla as Tapasvi Maharaj Sanjay Dutt as Bhairon Singh Parikshit Sahni as Jayprakash Sahni Amardeep Jha as Jaggu's mother Ram Sethi as an old man (cameo) Reema Debnath as Phuljhadiya, the prostitute Rohitash Gaud as a police (cameo) inspector inspecto r [23] Rukhsaar Rehman as Pakistan embassy receptionist Plabita Borthakur as Borthakur as Jaggu's sister (cameo) (cameo)[24][25] Anil Mange as character dressed as Shiva Shiva[26] Brijendra Kala as idol seller at a temple Rajiv Gupta as Inspector, New Delhi Station Ranbir Kapoor as Kapoor as an alien (cameo) Monali Thakur as Thakur as a Kashmiri girl Michael Pekala as bystander in train station Udesh Limma (Cameo)
edit]] Production[edit edit]] Development [edit “PK” was the only film which began from a d esire to say something. I can’t say what that thing is. The battle was the other way round—how do you say such a serious thing in an entertaining way? For many years, we were struggling, until we finally found a way, where it will be entertaining, won’t be offensive— will hit the right notes, basically. —Rajkumar Hirani , director of pk,in an interview to India Insight .[27]
After the success success of 3 Idiots, director Rajkumar Hirani and writer Abhijat Joshi started work for next [28] project.. They had written a s tory about a character who had the ability to get into another person’s project mind to make that person a better human being. They spent one year to write a story, but it turned
out to be similar to Inception. After watching Inception, Hirani and Joshi were shocked by the similarities. Eventually, they decided to scrap the film, then Hirani and Joshi reworked on the script, changing the entire tone and angle. It took five years to make the film and three years to write it .[29] In PK , Khan played nine avatars and, during the course of the film, the actor had to chew over 10,000 betelnut preparations called paan. Betelnut is a psychoactive stimulant used throughout Asia and characterized by its ability to stain users' mouths red. red .[30] "In real life paan is not a habit, I have it once in a while but for this film I chew paan for every scene. I would at times eat about 100 paans in a day. We had a paanwa paanwala la [a paan maker] on the sets," said Khan in the report. For every take, Khan had to eat a fresh paan to fill his mouth. Before beginning the shoot, he would eat at least 10 – 15 paans to get the right color inside his mouth and on his lips .[31] Viral Thakkar was the visual effects supervisor. The visual effects company was Riva Digital at a point employing 100 artists working on the film. film.[32]
edit]] Casting[edit In 2011, Aamir Khan and Anushka Sharma signed on for the film .[33] Khan's nephew Imran Khan and Ranbir Kapoor were Kapoor were considered for a role which eventually went to Sushant Singh Rajput before the release of his debut movie Kai Po Che.[34] Earlier reports said that Rajkumar Hirani had signed Arshad signed Arshad Warsi for the film when it was reported reporte d[35] that Arshad will be playing an important role. In 2013 Arshad said in an interview "I couldn`t have worked out on dates. I wouldn't refuse Raju for anything. In fact when he offered me the film, I did not even ask for the script, I was like I am ready to come on whenever you want. So that is the connection I share with Raju," .[36] Before Sushant and Arshad were signed on, R. Madhavan and Sharman Joshi were said to be cast in the film..[37][38] Junaid Khan, son of Aamir Khan worked as an assistant director in this film .[39] film
edit]] Characters [edit
PK: The titular character was written to be a Chaplinesque, bumbling alien and meant to provide
an outside view to the quirks and hypocrisies of the Indian society. To further accentuate the alien look, Khan developed a distinct appearance and mannerisms including wearing green contact lenses and not blinking while talking. Khan learned Bhojpuri for the role role[40] with the help of the language expert Shanti Bhushan. Rajkumar Hirani said in an interview, “When we write a
script we usually visualise the characters in the film. How they look, talk and walk. But PK is one such character which was very difficult to visualize. We didn’t have a reference point. PK was one such character, who didn’t have a reference point. A character like him wasn’t there in any
book, nor did we meet someone like him in real life. We only knew that we wanted the character to be innocent and child-like. Now the question was, who is that actor who could look like a Child. Someone who is perfect for the role of PK. The answer was obvious – Aamir Khan." Khan."[41] Jagat "Jaggu" Janini: PK's friend and confidante, 'Jaggu' is a television news reporter and is instrumental in spreading PK's message. She was envisioned as a fun-loving yet mature and independent woman. The producers wanted a distinct look for Jaggu and ended up trying several options over few days before settling on one. Anushka said in an interview “Raju Sir wanted me to look happy, chirpy and peppy in ‘PK’. Keeping his brief in mind, the team came up with this look.” She also reveals she was not required to cut her hair to get the look. “I have long hair, so hair stylists just wrapped my hair and tucked inside the wig” .[42] Bhairon Singh: Makers wanted somebody tall and sturdy for the role of Bhairon Singh and that's why Sanjay came in the picture. Vidhu Vinod Chopra reveals, “The character Bhairon Singh is shown to be PK’s good friend. The idea was that since PK is a tiny person, we wa nted
someone who in contrast is very huge. Such that, when Bhairon hugs PK, it looks funny as the tiny man would go completely unnoticed in Bhairon’s arms. ”[43]
edit]] Title[edit
In 2011, in its initial scripting stage, Rajkumar Hirani named the film 'Talli' then changed it to 'Ek Tha Talli' which he loved but later on came to know that 'Ek Tha Tiger' was already in production (released in 2012). He dropped the idea and, after many titles, he came up with a title that only had initials, 'PK'. After starting the film, Hirani felt PK was not a good enough title. He decided to change the title to 'Talli'. But after a few weeks of shooting, Hirani decided decided to go back to the original title .[44]
edit]] Themes [edit Firstpost compared PK to to Hirani and Khan's previous collaboration 3 Idiots (2009), as they both involve "A socially awkward and 'different' young man —who walks and talks in a strange, enthusiastic childlike manner —observes the system, questions it, asks you to look at the many ludicrous things that inform it, and eventually brings about a minor revolution. "[45]
edit]] Filming[edit According to to Rajkumar Hirani, PK is is a "satire on Hindu god and their godmen" .[46] The co-director Khan began looking for shooting locations in July 2012 .[47] Second unit filming was set to begin in late 2012,,[48] which was stalled after the rumoured departure of three department heads for the film and 2012 bad weather stalling initial shoots. shoots .[49][50] Hirani denied rumours that the film would be delayed, stating that principal filming had always been intended to begin in mid-January 2013 in Delhi and Rajasthan to "capture the winter of Delhi" .[51][52] Shooting officially began on 1 February 2013 ,[53] with the filming scheduled to occur over a 45-day [55][56][57] ][57] period..[54] A 26-day schedule of period of shooting of PK started started in Delhi from 27 September 2013. 2013 .[55][56
Marketing[edit edit]] In July 2014, the makers released a motion poster of the film, revealing the first look. l ook. It featured Aamir featured Aamir Khan posing almost nude, with only a radio cassette recorder covering recorder covering his genitals. genitals.[46] The second motion poster was released on 20 August 2014. It features Aamir in a red angrakha teamed up with white pyjama and a trumpet in his hand. Aamir said at the launch of second poster "There is a story in each and every image that we reveal. We will have a poster campaign and we will reveal eight to 10 posters till the time the film releases." [58] The third motion poster was released on 15 September 2014. This time launched Sanjay Dutt as Bhairon Singh. In this poster Aamir Khan asks the viewers, "Why are you staring? It's not me. Its my friend—Bhairon Singh." In the poster Aamir is seen wearing an oversized police uniform .[59] The fourth motion poster featuring Anushka featuring Anushka Sharma Sharma was released on 16 October 2014. In the poster first Anushka dressed like Aamir holding a transistor and introducing introducing herself as Jagat Janini after Anushka is seen wearing wearing a plain plain T-shirt, shorts, shorts, and long white dress dress..[60] The makers unlocked a teaser trailer on 23 October 2014 .[61] It achieved 3.4 million views on YouTube within five days, days,[62] subsequently receiving 12 million views. It has been regarded as the most viewed movie trailers on YouTube YouTube..[63] The teaser was attached with the film Happy New [64] Year . The makers also released the videos of behind-the-scenes like making of the movie, characters, songs, PK funnies, funnies, PK ki ki bhasha, dialogue promos and battery recharge dance of Aamir [65] and Anushka on YouTube. In August the makers found a new promotional strategy to interact with the audiences by introducing talking standees. This is the first time a Bollywood film used a talking standee at varied locations as a part of its promotions. The standee had Aamir Khan talking to people in a prominent places in popular theatres and multiplexes. multiplexes .[66] On 7 December 2014, Aamir Khan begun the city tour for promotions with Patna. The character he plays speaks in Bhojpuri which is the main language used for communication in Bihar. Aamir said at the event “I have decided to launch the promotional campaign of my film ‘PK’ from Bihar to connect
with the language. My character character speaks Bhojpuri in the film.” H ence, the actor decided to start his
promotional schedule from Bihar. Although he wanted to visit Bhojpur, which is 60 kilometres from Bihar, he could not because of security issues. In Bihar he visited the Litti Chokha stall to try the authentic flavor of the city. city .[67] The Litti Chokha stall owner has renamed his stall in Aamir’s name when he visited him last year, and Aamir couldn’t leave the city without visiting the stall again. T hen the crew proceeded to Varanasi where they had a screening of their film 3 Idiotsand they interacted with the people one-to-one. Aamir Khan made an impromptu visit to Krishana Paan shop to savour a Banarasi pan. The actor specially removed time from his schedule to visit this place. He enjoyed a "mitha banarasi paan" there. After the crew visited Delhi, Ahemdabad, Raipur, Jaipur, Hyderabad, Indore, Bangalore and other locations in India .[68] Aamir and makers also promote promoted d the film in [69] Dubai.. Dubai
edit]] PK : The G ame[edit Indiagames, a part of Disney India’s Interactive business, announced the launch of the official mobile game ‘PK’ based on the film. On 14 December 2014, Aamir Khan, Khan, Anushka Sharma Sharma,, Rajkumar
Hirani, Vidhu Vinod Chopra, Hirani, Chopra , Siddharth Roy Kapur , managing director of Disney of Disney Indiaa Indiaand Sameer Ganapathy, VP and head, Interactive of Disney India launched the game at the Reliance Digital Store in Juhu amidst much fanfare. [70] The game was developed for both feature phones and smartphones. It was launched on Google Play, iOS App store and Windows platform. In the game, the player gets to don many avatars of Aamir Khan as seen in the movie, along with a special avatar of Anushka Sharma, as he embarks upon an exciting endless running adventure. Set against an Indian background, the gamer runs amidst the by-lanes of Delhi, railway tracks in a desert (as seen in the movie), and collect a maximum number of paans (as PK is seen enjoying eating paan in the movie). The gamer has to avoid a number of obstacles on the way, which include cows, buses, Delhi trains, rickshaws, traffic jams, and more. The backdrops in the game give the player the feel of the movie..[71] movie
Release[edit edit]] PK was was earlier scheduled to release on June 6, 2014 .[72] The director (who is also editor of the
film), Rajkumar Hirani, Hirani, wanted to spend more time editing. Besides, some portions with Sanjay Dutt were yet to be shot. Also, the second season of Satyamev Jayate was to kick off from March. So Aamir was not not sure if he he would be able to promote promote PK in in June. Hence the makers settled for a December release. release.[73][74] PK was was released on 19 December 2014, as the 200th Bollywood release in 2014 2014..[75][76] The release
was later expanded to 6000 screens worldwide, which included 5200 screens in India [77] and 844 screens overseas. overseas.[78] [79][80][81][82] 0][81][82] was initially released in 4844 screens worldwide .[79][8 has been made tax-free in Uttar PK was PK has [83][84][85] [83][8 4][85] Pradesh and Bihar . PK is is the widest Indian movie released in the U.K. (198 screens), Pakistan
(over 70 screens), Australia (35 screens) and outside of India (844 screens in over 40 overseas markets)..[86] PK was markets) was released theatrically in China on 22 May 2015 across 4,600 screens .[87] It had a dubbed Mandarin Chinese version, with Wang Baoqiang voicing Khan's role. role.[88] The film was [89][90] released in in South Korea and Hong Kong on 3 September 2015, 2015 , and in Japan on 29 October [91] 2016.. 2016
edit]] Distribution[edit Koimoi reported rumors of a deal in which the satellite rights were sold for ₹850
million (US$13 million) to Sony Entertainment Television if the domestic business reached ₹3 billion nett..[92][93] The music rights were sold for ₹150 million (US$2.3 million). nett million).[94] DNA reported, "Being the first film to use Rentrak, Aamir Rentrak, Aamir Khan has taken the first initiative to bring in a paradig paradigm m shift from the
usual norms followed in Bollywood. He had clearly enforced the idea of Rentrak to be brought in to bring more accuracy when it comes to box office figures. "[95]
Movie Analysis : PK Directed by : Raju Hirani Imdb link -> http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2338151/ Splendid 1st half, reminds of OMG in 2nd.. still a great Aamir-Hirani entertainer.
Read at your own risk, might contain some spoilers…
We always get plenty of entertaining movies (thanx to our mass audience) releasing every year. But, Hirani movies are often in the category of quality entertainers, ones which we enjoy and in very few scenes we could say - ‘kuch bhi’. Same happens in PK, infact 1st half is so hilarious that I can’t remember last movie which made me laugh so much. The plot of PK deals with a alien PK (Aamir Khan) who lands on Earth, near Jaipur, Rajasthan, and his remote control which he would use to give signal back to his planet to take him back home, gets stolen by one of random guy. Now, PK has to survive on earth without any
knowledge of how people live here, how they earn, whom they worship and many more stuffs. Moments like dancing cars, Gandhi pics collection, fashion understanding (specially where he corrects the fashion of a barber), and different managers of religions… All these makes for a 1st half where you won’t stop laughing. Special men tion to three wonderful scenes, one where PK has a conversation with a guy outside temple, other where he describes to Jaggu how a word on Earth has different meanings like ‘Accha’ in the manner they speak it, and lastly when he lands inside a church with a pooja ki thaali with reactions of ‘anarth about to happen’ along with loud bg. Hirani has always kept a social message or so in his movies mo vies with a well thought of tag for it. It was ‘Jadoo ki jhappi’ in in Munnabhai MBBS, ‘Gandhigiri’ in in Lage Raho Munnabhai, ‘Aal Izz in 3 Idiots and now in PK he comes up with ‘Wrong Number’ . Well’ in 2nd half goes into the direction of OMG (comparison is inevitable). Hirani makes use of ‘Wrong Number’ to to show how some managers of religion misuse belief of people in God to their own advantage. How we people prefer to use our money in worshipping instead of donating to a poor person and many other aspects of religion in our country is wonderfully put up by Hirani. In Oh My God too, we saw it but I would say OMG tried to show more of managers together against Paresh Rawal scenario, whereas in PK we see it as one to one battle where slowly people understand what PK is trying to say holds true. In the last scene from flashback of PK in 1st half, I knew where the story would go now, and sadly that did make me feel ‘Oh no, we have already seen that’ . Still, Hirani makes the 2nd half watchable though it has many flaws flaws with it. Wish he had a different different storyline though.. One of major drawbacks for me was PK-Jaggu (Anushka Sharma) romantic plot, he suddenly has a love feeling for her which was not required, he could still had played a very good fr iend who finds out she is heart-broken by Sarfaraz (Sushant Singh Rajput) and then try to re-unite them. Another flaw was the church scene, I agree that Jaggu had the wrong number in her mind that made her think the letter was by Sarfaraz and not care to call him even. But why would Sarfaraz not try to call either, e ither, that was plain stupid. They should had kept the separation of Jaggu-Sarfaraz in some other convincing manner. Also, the scene where Jaggu calls Pakistan Embassy and all the reaction reaction shots of people there looked so fake, maybe because Hirani never invested in the Sarfaraz story separately. separ ately. And Hirani actually tried to do a Karan Johar KKHH moment where everyone from Jaggu to PK to Boman to Jaggu’s friend and others in the news debate place cries over the romantic story of Jaggu-Sarfaraz. Liked the use of songs like ‘Tum toh thehre pardesi’ and and ‘Aasmaan pe hai khuda’ , they are so apt to the situations, the former is comical while latter very touchy. I love ‘Love is a waste of time’ song, song, but it was forced into narrative trying to add to the unwanted romantic track. Sonu’s other song ‘Bhagwaan hai kahan re tu’ was very emotional one, and brilliantly sung, the visuals were one of main reasons why the song made a great impact on me. While 'Tharki Chokro' is is good to watch dance moves of Aamir in alien style. Ankit was a turn off for me, even though only one line of the song is used, still it Tiwari’s ‘Dar ba dar’ was felt like suddenly I landed into a Bhatt movie from Hirani, should had done away with a bg only. And lastly, lastly, it was very nice to hear hear Shaan’s Shaan’s voice after after a long long time in a pretty pretty good good track ‘Chaar kadam’ .
Special mention to the PK theme, love the choreography of it where PK teaches Jaggu how to charge her battery or be happy when feeling low. In performances, Aamir Khan makes me love him even in a Bhojpuri role so much, and I thought I would finally dislike him for a change in a movie.. but not to be. His looks at times do look odd, but his acting is always on the spot. Love the way he runs in alien manner, kudos to whosoever suggested it. And his comical timing is too good. Anushka Sharma once again irritates, Bombay Velvet Velvet would be the last time when when I would expect her to give a performance to be liked. The problem here once again is same, she overacts. Saurabh Shukla, who plays Tapasvi Maharaj is brilliant, love the scene where he is introduced to us. I could so much connect to that, though Hirani overdid it slightly. Sanjay Dutt is lovable in his small cameo as the Rajasthani guy, first friend of PK on earth. Boman Irani is effective as always. While Sushant Singh Rajput in a 10 min role gets one worthy moment where he questions Jaggu that how uneasy she suddenly felt when he told her he was from Pakistan. And there is a special appearance from a actor actor (you probably already know it) in the last scene of movie.
PK is a enjoyable entertainer despite some problems in 2nd half, it dares to talk a lot about our blind belief in God and how people like Tapasvi manipulate ordinary people to their advantage. Aamir-Hirani combo gives many special moments specially specially in 1st half that may stay for long in our memories for good.
Aamir Khan’s Pk broke all records when the movie was released. Becoming the highest grossing Bollywood film of all time, Pk stood out from the rest of the flicks and was lauded for its unique plot. Aamir Khan’s portrayal of alien Pk, with his green eyes, jutted
out ears and simpleton persona, also delighted the audience to no end. Here are ten life lessons that I garnered from the movie, which subliminally taught us a lot. 1. Never trust strangers!
Yes, never trust them! My parents and schoolteachers made it sure I had grasped this crucial lesson way back in my adolescent years not to trust those whom I knew not. Pk, unfortunately, did not get this concept well. Standing butt naked with his ‘remote control’
pendant slinging from his neck, the humanoid was ecstatic to see the turban clad human in the desert. Taking advantage of Pk’s astonishment, the man snatched his
amulet, thinking it to be of value and jumped onto a running train. Poor Pk, the troubles commenced from thereon! 2. Secrets are best kept hidden!
No need to go around telling anyone you found a stash of GOLD ! Early on in the film, when Jaggu informs an old man regarding a ticket she meant to purchase from someone selling it in black, the old man promises her he would purchase it on her behalf. However, the old man purchases the ticket himself and makes for the theatre instead! As a result, both Jaggu and Sarfaraz are deprived from attending the show! 3. Learn to recognize blessings in disguise!
Often misfortunes and tribulations befall us, making us wonder as to what we did to deserve them. Yet, sometimes these unfortunate incidents present something better and more lasting for us, in the long run! Had that old man not cheated Jaggu and Sarfaraz out of their ticket, both of them wouldn’t have spent quality time together and
as a result, fall in love! This was communicated by the two when, after cornering the old man in a street, they kissed his cheek and exclaimed ‘Thank you!’ 4. Some situations demand thinking on your feet!
Life is a roller coaster and sometimes you might be in for a bumpy ride! Improvisation might save your skin at times, as it did Pk’s when the alien plastered Bhagvan’s imagery across his cheek so that devotees would abstain from slapping him red on the face! The move did prevent Pk’s cheeks from a couple of stinging slaps before Jaggu came to the
rescue! 5. Understanding cultures/traditions is important
I learned that it is imperative for a person to be aware of his/her nation’s diverse cultural traditions. Pk’s lack of knowledge regarding customs led him to asking a bride -to-be
dressed in all white, if her husband had passed away!
6. Money buys everything!
Somehow I knew that always but Pk highlighted this fact more than anything else! When Jaggu needed to pen down Pk’s story in that lockup, what prompted the policeman to
change his mind and allow her into the cell? Yeah you guessed it, a couple of bucks! 7. Co-incidence
Not everything that happens to us in life contains a hidden meaning or is sent down from the heavens! This happened to Pk when he visited a temple and bought a Rs.15 Bhagwan statue. Hopeful, the alien tried out his first wish by requesting for some food and a passerby placed a mouth-watering samosa into his grateful hands! Convinced the Almighty was enclosed in a minute statue and was listening listening to his urges, Pk wished for the ticket back to his planet, his ‘remote control’. This time around, his desired object didn’t quite fall into his lap! 8. Everyone deceives a simpleton!
If you lack adequate knowledge on something or are a simple person in general, every person you meet is liable to take you for a ride! This did happen with Pk, when taking advantage of his simple mindedness, the person who had sold him ‘Bhagvan’ inside the
temple, sold him coconuts and water by stating that inside, God will physically hear his prayers and gr ant ant him his wish! Also, we saw how Bhairon Singh’s ultimate concern in the beginning was if Pk remembered who had run him over or if he had seen his license plate number! All people care about ultimately, is themselves.
9. Priests and preachers can mislead the masses!
Especially in this region of the world, where lack of education and enlightenment hampers logical thinking, religious preachers can mislead the public like Tapasvi did! The reasons can be many, ranging from their desire to get 15 minutes of fame or pocket a hefty sum, you might be tricked into something that is actually not true! 10. It’s better to clear up misunderstandings at the earliest!
Misunderstandings can go a long way in creating hurdles and obstacles in your relations with people. The same happened with Jaggu when she was left on the altar by Sarfaraz on her wedding day and both suspended communication. Only when Pk informed her through his mystic-like powers about the truth behind the letter, did both lovers reconnect. Hence, it is im perative that you clear up all misunderstandings you’re harboring against anyone, right now!
