Why do we need more films like PK!

Till date, I have written just one post on a movie and that was ‘Waltz with Bashir’ (a masterpiece!) so far. The movie offered a new perspective; one that I hadn’t seen through before. 

Closer home, only one man manages to do that for me: Mr. Rajkumar Hirani.

We all are well-versed with his scant but valuable filmography. Some die-hard fans (like me) even know the dates of his previous films releases, must have scanned the internet thoroughly for reviews and even must have argued with people who think otherwise. Taking likeness to a new creepy level, there are legions of fans who swear by his movies and would blindly go to watch his movies, without caring what the ‘critics’ have to say.

I waited the whole year for the release of ‘PK’. I knew and so did everyone that the movie would again create a mass social hysteria among people like his previous films have done! 

 

With just one line in my mind that the film was a “satire on God and Godmen”, I bought the tickets and sat in the auditorium. 

Two and a half hours later, I emerged with puffy eyes, a tear-stained face, a wet handkerchief, a runny nose and a heart filled with raw emotion.

PK stole my heart!!

I am not ashamed to admit that I cried while watching the film. There were moments that took my breath away, made me skip my heartbeat, laugh uproariously like a lunatic, smile with genuine warmth and then shed tears uncontrollably. 

PK has everything! It is a complete family entertainer. There is laughter, sadness, joy, bliss, heartbreak, death (Oh yes!) and even moments that will provoke your thoughts. The writer duo of Hirani and longtime-collaborator Abhijat Joshi have penned down great dialogues, great scenes and genuine funny moments that make up the film. As a member of the audience, I felt delighted and thankful for the gift of Mr. Hirani and his storytelling.

 

But PK’s greatest triumph is in the acting genius of Mr. Aamir Khan!

The perfectionist of the Hindi film industry gets in the skin of the character to the T. He has deftly portrayed childlike curiosity and innocence (which was the real cause of my tears) as he learns to navigate his way around Rajasthan, Delhi and the ways of the human life, in general (Wink! Wink!) . There isn’t a moment when he seems out of character. His chemistry with Anushka Sharma is bang on! It is his acting prowess, which powers the screenplay and makes PK a brilliant film.

I was sure that people will love PK the way I did.

However, one simple conversation in my office’s Whats App group made me realize how wrong I was!!

It all started with a message, which stated how the movie is Anti-Hindu and has only made fun of Hinduism while Christianity and Islam have escaped unscathed! How the movie promotes Hinduism as the religion which just involves idol worship and false practices; that vermin like Tapasvi Baba exist only in Hinduism and not the other religions!

I felt infuriated and bemused at the same time. It takes just one spark to ignite a flame. Instead of keeping my mouth shut, I engaged in a war of words with my fellow colleagues on how the movie made fun of every religion and that people have forgotten to grasp the morality of the film instead of looking over the obvious. Indeed, the more I spoke, the more foolish I felt as I too became the butt of jokes! 

Personally, I feel appalled that people have time to even think on such mundane things. How is the film “Anti-Hindu” in any sense? I felt shocked that people have failed to understand that the movie poked at blind faith; our fear of “God”, even how we are drawn to these filthy “Godmen” like flies to a rotten corpse; on how brainwashing leads to losses in our lives!

When PK makes fun of Jesus and questions his relevance, I laughed hard! Being a Catholic, I felt naturally inclined to have hated the movie for that. But on the contrary, I laughed! PK’s question absolutely made sense to me! Having said that, I wonder what’s gotten into people who are misquoting the movie’s dialogues. I have come several posts on Facebook where requests are being made to boycott the film. There is even a letter written by the Hindu Cell to the minister of cultural affairs asking to ban the film as a particular scene hurts the Hindu sentiments.

I have just thing to say to these people: GUYS, WAKE UP!!

We fellow Indians are like a cowherd. We get easily drawn in mass hysteria, more commonly known as “Herd Instinct.” I can give innumerable examples of the same:

1)      The country’s denouncement of Congress in the general Lok Sabha 2014 elections.

2)      The country’s support of Anna Hazare and his quest for a strict Lokpal bill.

3)      The country’s support for Nirbhaya or protests against terrorist attacks. 

 

4)       The country’s coming together after the 26/11 Mumbai attacks.

It took the effort of one person to unite us all Indians. People forgot race, religion, caste and other trivial things to come together for a cause.

And yet, when it comes to “RELIGION”, we are ready to unsheathe swords and run behind our ‘once-upon-a-time-friends’ to chop their heads off, just because he belongs to an offending ‘religion’.

Off lately, we see and hear news of mass conversions happening in Kerala and Gujarat. Movements started by radical political parties to unite all the Hindus to come together for the sake of a temple. There is a certain mister, who has even issued a deadline for the wipe-out of Islam and Christianity from India. Need I say more?

This is the main thing that ticks me off. The main reason why we need more films like PK;

The existence of religion is the bane of humanity. Religion is the main thing that still separates us from each other. Sure, it is a part of our identity but it makes no sense to hurt each other or kill in the name of religion. If we could all forget the label of a ‘Hindu’, ’Christian’, ’Muslim’, ’Sikh’ or a ‘Jain’ and colour ourselves in the colour of ‘HUMANITY’, the world would be a happier place. As a semi-naked PK parades in front of Tapasvi, questioning whether there is a stamp on his body declaring his allegiance, we too should ask the same question to ourselves the next time someone asks us to declare our ‘allegiance’.

The concept of religion is flawed. That is because it’s creator, Man but not God, is flawed.

I suggest you take time out of our lives to watch ‘PK’ as a film and leave the theatre with a smile rather a frown.

Signing off with this brilliant but crude quote on religion: