Review of PK (2014) by Siddarth A — 16 Nov 2018

PK is a highly enjoyable and complex film that features great performances by Amir Khan and Anushka Sharma. It manages to discuss complex political issues in a fun and entertaining way, while tying in sci-fi elements flawlessly. It's a great discussion of secularism as an inclusiveness of all religions and nationalities, and provides great insight into relations between India and Pakistan.

While the film is comparable to the the 2004 hit Veer-Zaara due to its overarching message about relations between India and Pakistan, it differs from Veer-Zaara by providing an 'outsider's' perspective (in the character of PK, an alien), and is packed full of humor. It's a great film to look at as a continuation of Saba Naqvi Bhaumik's thesis in the article, "Politics of Indian War Films," as the film industry can be seen to be moving in a more secular and inclusive direction over the years. The article demonstrates that from Gadar, to Veer-Zaara, the atmosphere of film has moved from 'othering' Pakistanis and accentuating the divide between India, to discussing secularism in a truly moving way. Now, ten years after Veer-Zaara, PK shows audiences that secularism has increased as international tensions have decreased, and that the deeper issues in the attitudes Pakistan and India can be discussed in a comedic, enjoyable and still thought-provoking way. While Veer-Zaara was a plea for change, PK functions as a celebration of diversity and an encouragement for the continuation of positive change between India and Pakistan, and director Rajkumar Hirani has really done a fantastic job with the film as a whole.

On a more personal note, I absolutely loved this film, and think that it really did something special with its combination of sci-fi and humor. It was really powerful, despite the fact that I am not an avid follower of Indian or Pakistani politics. PK was a fabulous character, and highly enjoyable to watch on screen, and the love story between the characters of Jaggu and Sarfaraz made the movie even more compelling to watch. I would highly recommend PK to anyone who wants to laugh a bit while celebrating diversity, true love, and the innocence of extraterrestrials.