PK Movie Review

5 years after 3 Idiots, arguably the most entertaining film of the last decade, Aamir Khan, Rajkumar Hirani and Abhijat Joshi (writer) return with a film titled ‘PK’. Expectations of a wholesome entertainer are sky-high. The buzz around PK has slowly but surely built up and the trailers have created tremendous curiosity amongst the audience. Comparisons with classics like Munnabhai M.B.B.S, Lage Raho Munnabhai and 3 Idiots will be inevitable. So does PK fulfil all those lofty expectations? Let’s find out!

Story: Jagat Janani (Anushka Sharma) encounters a strange man (Aamir Khan) with strange habits and an unusual lingo while traveling in Delhi. He says his name is PK. He says a lot of things which makes Jaggu feel that he is lying. No sane human would take his words as the truth. He pees in public places to get himself locked up in Delhi lockups to escape the rains. He steals money from beggars. He doesn’t understand how life on earth works. He is looking for a thing very dear to him. He asks God for it repeatedly, but doesn’t get any reply. There begins his journey to understand life and in that process he makes us all understand what life is all about.

First things first, when you go to watch a Rajkumar Hirani film, the yardsticks are different. You don’t just pay to get entertained, but also to get enlightened, as each of his films carry a social message. In that regard, PK falls well short in the second half after an outstanding first. The first half is rip roaring and brings the house down with plenty of trademark Hirani moments. In the second half, the pace begins to dip. (Spoiler alert) The bomb blast scene was unnecessary and you fail to understand the purpose it served. The romantic angle between Jaggu and PK was definitely not needed when a cute friendship would have sufficed just as much. The second half felt a little too similar to ‘OMG: Oh My God’ and the TV show scenes just did not hit home the point as well as it should have. It wasn’t even clear what Hirani was trying to say. Was the film about inter-religion marriage, atheism or superstition?

Anushka Sharma, Aamir Khan - PK

Anushka Sharma, Aamir Khan – PK

The technical aspects of PK are top notch. The cinematography is excellent. Both Delhi and Bruges are captured beautifully. The editing by Hirani himself is spot on although the duration could have been cut short by a further 5-10 minutes to speed up proceedings in the second half. The music of PK suits the tone of the film and the songs are pleasing to the ears.

PK has to count amongst the best ever performances of Aamir Khan. To say he is amazing in and as PK would be an understatement. The type of commitment he has shown in the film is terrific. His mannerisms, his expressions and his hold of Bhojpuri sets an example for other actors to emulate. PK will always be a special Aamir Khan role. Anushka is very good as Jagat Janani although there are shades of her character from Jab Tak Hai Jaan in PK. She is charming and lovable. Sushant Singh Rajput plays his part well. Saurabh Shukla is a knockout as the main force of opposition in PK and is probably Hirani’s all out black character. Boman Irani has an insignificant role. Sanjay Dutt has a small role to play, he does well.

Overall, if the first half of PK made us feel like Hirani was at his very best, the second could possibly be his worst so far. It felt like the post-interval portions were directed by a different director and not Hirani. One of the hallmarks of a Hirani film are the strong supporting characters and PK has no character that stands out. There was too much focus on PK and that’s what undid the film. Having said that, PK is definitely better than 95% of the films that are made in Bollywood. It deserves a watch but doesn’t have the repeat value of 3 Idiots or Munnabhai films. Don’t make the mistake of expecting too much and PK will keep you hooked.

Box office: PK is expected to create history with 3 open weeks at the box office, and the goodwill of Rajkumar Hirani and star-power of Aamir Khan will help tremendously. However, the lack of repeat-value, limited appeal towards the masses and a poor second half, might affect the film in the long run.

Rating: ★★★½☆ Way better than most films this year, but you expect more from a Hirani – Aamir film.

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107 Comments

  • Well expectations from Aamir-Hirani combo is too much. But still I have full faith in them that it ‘ll be a memorable movie.
    Will definitely watch it, and Ranbir-Aamir sharing screen space makes me even more excited.

  • Not agree with your review. This movie looks like copy of many comedy Movies and Oh My God. My rating is 2.5/5.

  • Decent film with good message. Aamir at its best. Indeed an Award worthy performance from the perfectionist. However if compared to 3 idiots and Munna bhai series, this one falls way below it. Still a good watch to enjoy Christmas and new Year time.

  • Have already booked the tickets (of course the economical one’s ;-) ) for Sunday afternoon. But @indicine: Only 3.5? We readers (particularly me) depend upon your reviews a lot and most of the times we find it genuine. Seriously it’s 3.5? Means PK is not a masterpiece like 3 idiots, that is for sure. If possible , can we compare it with Munnabhai series, in terms of entertainment?
    Headlines today has given it 4.5 :P

    • Please go and watch the film and decide for yourself. No point comparing the ratings of different films. You except much more from Hirani – Aamir compared to SRK – Farah or Salman – Nadiadwala. All comments on rating comparisons will be deleted.

      Let’s talk about PK. Go watch and post your reviews here!

  • Amir played the role of alien in the film…first half is good while second half is too boring…..consider paresh rawal a alien in omg and watch it again..thats what movie contains…acting wise amir looks well trained not well acted..for me its 2\5

  • Few are saying that while watching PK , at times it will remind you OMG. Whatever it is, my excitement is going on another level with each review and comment. Can’t wait for Sunday. :D

  • Pk will face huge negetivity in comming days, too much overexpectation from munna bhai n 3i affect the film infact pk opennin ocupancy is lower than kick despite not ramadan period, fell sad for hirani

  • Disappointed! What you said about the supporting characters is too much true. No circuit, no Virus, no Silancer like character.
    and you forgot to mention about song placement. Too many songs in a short span of time. and yes, whoever have watched OMG Oh My God! will not find uniqueness.

  • It has quite evident from the promos that pk was not 3 idiots itz a diffrnt take but some idiots thought it might b anther 3i
    more the xpectation more the dissapoinmt
    yet u watch pk but i am sure that i wil love pk(i likd the concept)

  • May be this isn’t as great as his previous films, but kudos to Hirani, who tackled sensitive issue like religion in a commercial film. No director of his stature would dare to do so.

    I love OMG but remember, it was inspired by the Australian film and Gujarati play. It also had its own flaws. PK tries to tell a fresh story. You can’t succeed each time. Hope the movie stands tall on my expectations :)

  • Before starting I just want to ask first to Aamir Khan, Hirani WHY did you guys wasted my 2 and half hours of mine to tell the same silly message to people over again and again which we have seen in so many movies? Why put the same story which we have seen in many Bollywood, Hollywood movies?

    waited for so called best director of Bollywood Raju Hirani for more than 5 years but what he gave us such a bad movie like PK? such a headache type of movie.. i had a lot of expectation from the movie but it totally disappointed me…. same story, same dialogues, same irritating message and mention the word “PK” over 100 times for full 2 and half HOURS !!

    was expecting something like Munna Bhai but PK seems more worst than Talaash.. don’t ever forget HE is not from this planet…. well can’t tell you the story as i am still feeling headache because of the movie but i have only one suggestion, don’t waste your time and money on such a silly movie, only Aamir Fans can bear it but i have a feeling they will reject it too.

    PK (Besides laughing, singing, dancing etc and even crying, PK gives the same expression) !!Though this sounds similar to ‘Oh My God!’ Music is bad, boring songs and all songs work as loo break.. Editing is weak and cinematography is very very bad

    Director Rajkumar Hirani sorry to say this being your fan but this time impact is no where close to his best work ‘Lage Raho Munnabhai’. Film tries hard but then that should not be visible. Because it is releasing after ‘Oh My God’, the novelty goes away to some extent.. it’s simply a copy of Oh My God , even can call it a remake of OMG..

    Lastly Anushaka Sharma..who is just looking extremely poor in PK, as Katrina had 5 minute role in Dhoom 3 with Aamir she have the same less screen-time in PK & most important thing she was looking extremely ugly (her lips), didn’t match chemistry with Aamir or with Sushant Singh Rajput..

    A must watch for all those in COMA or suffering from various neurological / psychological conditions.. This movie might just CURE your condition…PPPPKKKKKK!!

    [1/5 stars]

  • Disappointed. hasn’t lived up to the expectations .
    anyway, love you aamir, hope pk will collect 50cr today or sunday .
    raju hirani average work not expected from you.. DULL film

  • thumbs up
    1 aamir’s excellent mindblowimg performance
    2 rajus superb direction
    3 strong script by abhijat,vidhu,raju
    4 superb dialogues
    5 cute chemistry btwn aamir-anushka
    6 strong performance by sanju,saurabh,sushanth
    7music though not as gd as previous raju films but still gd especially bhagwan kaha hai tu,luv is vest of time
    8 ranbir’s brilliant special appearance

    thumbs down
    1lack of chemistry btwn anushka-sushanth
    2 editing could hv been better
    3 climax is little silly and nt as gd as expected

    rating
    9.5/10

    verdict-must watch
    pk is better than omg

  • Sure @indicine! Just asked out of curiosity if we can compare PK with Munnabhai series in terms of entertainment :-)
    I can understand it would be an uncomfortable situation for you if people will compare the ratings of other media houses and they will start questioning you based on that.
    Sorry for that headlines today remark . You can delete that comment :)

  • @Indicine

    I can’t understand your point on supporting characters? His previous films had big supporting cast because the script was written in that way. If the story of PK doesn’t really need supporting cast, why should he deliberately bring a strong supporting role? PK, looks like character story

    • @Gaurravv, PK also has plenty of supporting characters but the impact is missing. You don’t take home any of the characters in the film, unlike Munnabhai MBBS – Asthana, Hospital cleaner, Munna’s room-mate, Anand Bhai, Zaheer Bhai and so many more.

      In PK they have tried to include ‘wrong number’, but it doesn’t work as well as ‘All Is Well’, ‘Chemical Locha’, ‘Gandhigiri’, ‘Jaddu Ki Jappi’, ‘Get well soon’. Watch the film, you’ll know what we are talking about.

  • Pk
    Budget 70cr
    stars 5/5
    best acting Aamir khan
    and best movie in 2014
    and first 300cr in india
    and first 600cr worldwide

  • If u compare PK to 3 Idiots it may be below average but in compare to Entertainment or Hamshakal it is awesome. Plz stop comparing it to 3 Idiots.

  • so u give review on the basis of expectation oh cmon i can bet on this that it would a much much better than happy new year despite i have not seen the movie yet

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