‘PK’: The Alien Who Took on Godmen and Won
Rajkumar Hirani’s 2014 blockbuster film asks us to think critically about faith — and everything else.
The yellow-helmeted PK (Aamir Khan), roams the streets with a cassette player strapped across his body, distributing bright yellow flyers that say, “Missing.” Each flyer features an image of a different god — Shiva, Lakshmi, and more. For six months, PK has been trying to return home, but everyone tells him the same thing: only God can help. After his prayers and pleas keep falling on deaf ears, PK, frustrated with God’s intermediaries, tries to reach out directly.
The movie — about an alien who lands up on Earth and has everyone questioning things we take for granted, from borders to clothes but especially religion — was an unusual one for filmmaker Rajkumar Hirani, whose previous films were less sci-fi and seemingly more quotidian: a gangster who attends medical school and the pressures of academic life. Yet, PK earned both critical and commercial plaudits, becoming the first Indian film to gross over $100 million worldwide and the highest-grossing Indian film of 2014. Today, it seems more relevant than ever.