Movie 'PK' Review

In the age of social media outrage, it is difficult not to become part of it. Social Media, twitter, facebook, whatsapp & discussion forums are buzz with comments as to how movie is anti-Hindu. Even before I decided to watch movie, I was bombarded with all outrageous issues movie ‘PK’ raised. I paid extra attention while watching movie, which I otherwise I would not have paid attention to such idiotic masala movie. I am not a movie reviewer by any criterion but this is small attempt to put down some of the notes I made during movie & some afterthought. Theme of the movie appears to question mindless karmkand/rituals followed by all religion. However Large portion of the movie spent to ridicule hindu karmakand. Movie indeed is preachy and there are holes in the script everywhere. 

Anti-Human Movie

PK is not only anti religion but also anti human as well. I now I am taking bit too far, but isn’t it symbolic, in the first encounter between alien and humans in movie ‘PK’, human steal property (remote control) of the alien.  

Pakistani Connection

Female Lead’s (Anushka Sharma) love interest is Architect student (Sushant Singh Rajput) who happens to be Pakistani. In my opinion, there is nothing wrong in falling love with Pakistani citizen. But in the context of story, it was more to do with story writers own love for ‘Aman ki Asha’ kind of campaign, which has forced them to make Muslim boy a Pakistani. Story writer & director have gone out of the way to show, how nice & polite Pakistani’s are. On the backdrop of Peshawar incident, this looks idiotic & ironical.

Fear of God vs Love of God

Most of the movie is based on questioning hindu karmakand & rituals including way of worship. While usual disclaimer would include that this is work of fiction & didn’t meant to hurt religious sentiment etc, but it becomes very obvious that disproportionate time is spent to criticise mindless rituals we Hindus carry out. Just because movie maker are biased to single out hindus, mindless karmakand doesn’t become valid.  Babas & Sadhus have made business out of superstition of the common people.  Other than social media, most of the folk who have seen movie will react, what wrong they have shown? Most of us agree that likes of Nirmal Baba etc no way represent Hinduism. Yes there are thugs who are there to make money and exploit poor, innocent and vulnerable people.

I liked the fact that movie tried to show that most of us worship god because we fear him. What movie didn’t show is that we have tradition in this country where people have been taught to worship for love of god. However I would like to state that following was certainly in bad taste

1.   Chase sequence of Shiva and lead character might look funny but of course it had malicious intent. While watching movie you know that person was dressed up as lord shiva, but point was being made is, like actor was false god, are we sure that lord shiva is not false god?  

2.   Pontificate on idol worship: There are multiple scenes in the movie where it was implied that idols are false god. “If god made us, how can we make god?”  Murti Puja has been integral to our way of worship.  सगुण साकार(with form and characteristics)  and निर्गुण निराकार ((with form and characteristics) is sacrosanct for Hindus. Instead of going in to rationale of ‘MurtiPuja’ I would just like to quote two shloka from Bhagwad Gita.

मय्यावेश्य मनो ये मां नित्ययुक्ता उपासते

श्रद्धाया परयोपेतास्ते मे युक्ततमा मताः (Bhagwad Gita 2/12)

“The Supreme Personality of Godhead said: Those who fix their minds on My personal form and are always engaged in worshiping Me with great and transcendental faith are considered by Me to be most perfect.” मयि मनः आवेश्य here “मयि” (In me) word is in सगुण साकार(with form and characteristics)

यो यो यां यां तनुं भक्तः श्रद्धायार्चितुमिच्छति ।
तस्य तस्याचलां श्रद्धां तामेव विदधाम्यहम् (Bhagwat Gita 21/7)

“Whatsoever form any devotee seeks to worship with Shraddhâ,—that Shraddhâ of his do I make unwavering”

3.   Superstition: What is superstition? Rituals followed without understanding meaning behind it. It is but obvious that random kripa given by nirmal baba cannot be termed as hindu karmakand. Hindus in general shown as superstitious, most of them trying to cut it short by not playing hard instead were praying hard to achieve goals. While praying is important but karmayoga is part of our culture & theology. Lord Krishna didn’t gifted Mahabharata war victory to Arjuna. Arjuna had to fight hard to win the war. Doing own karma is part of our Dharma; outcome of this karma is dependent on god. Irony committed suicide when ‘PK’ character asks female lead to dance with him because she was sad. You won’t know whether dancing will make you happy or not till the time you dance. Some will feel happy, someone will not. So in a way dancing is also karmakand. But anyways idea of movie was only to question one kind of superstition.

Other Religion criticized?

In following scene, there was attempt made to mock other religion

• Christianity: There was joke on why Jesus is paying for ‘PK’'s sin, since ‘PK’ just came to earth whereas Christ was born 2000 years before.  In other scene one guy talks about conversion to Christianity. Well reason given for not converting is more hilarious. “If god wants me to be Christian, he will make me born to Christian parents”. Does director/story writer suggesting that before 2000 years god didn’t want anyone to be Christian? Isn't it obvious?
• Islam: In reference to bomb blast shown in the movie, ‘PK’ mentions that because some idiots wanted to save their ‘Khuda’ he has lost his kind friend. Again here writers are smart enough to use ‘Khuda’ and not ‘Allah’
• Shikh gentlemen is shown begging for Rs 500. I am sure there must be few beggars who are Sikhs, I am yet to see one. Here again, I don’t see need to show character associated with any religion.   

Characterization of ‘PK’

Questioning plot of the Bollywood movie should be blasphemy, so that no idiot like me tries to make sense out of the movie story.Planet where ‘PK’ comes from Planet where no one lies. They don’t have spoken language. Astronauts are supposed to be smart nut. However Planet where, ‘PK’ came from

•  Doesn't believe in self-defense, hence could not even secure his only communication device with mother ship.
• Language is medium to communicate, even if ‘PK’ didn't understand language or later learned ‘Bhojpuri’. Far away from being astronaut, he sounded idiot.  It was quite apparent, He lacked basic problem solving capability.
• Even though he was not supposed to lie, ‘PK’ lies at the end of the movie. Only inference I can draw is that love makes him to lie. In most part of the movie ‘PK’ not capable of lie was virtue, but in the end he lied so that female lead would not know ‘PK’’s feeling. So in the end of the movie lie was shown virtue, I would not even go in differentiation between fact vs truth (Satya).
•  ‘PK’ could download language in six hours, but has to carry recorded voice of his love interest to his planet. But he was smart enough to carry two bags of battery.
•   ‘PK’ and other aliens could make engineering marvels like spaceship which can even hide behind cloud, but could not make cloths. While I would give benefit of doubt for First trip but even in second trip, Ranbir Kapoor in his special appearance was shown bare chest.   

Will ‘PK’ change anything?

‘Tare Zameen par’ or ‘Three idiots’ or any other movie on social issue hasn't changed much. Yes it has brought some kind of awareness. But again idea of such movie is not bring overnight change but to create sustained narrative in favor of particular ideology. ‘PK’ is certainly part of this sustained effort.