Spoiler Alert: If you have not seen PK then you may not want to read this!
I recently watched the movie PK. It was refreshing to see a fun and entertaining movie that had a strong and extremely relevant message. A message like this is not just relevant but much needed in a country where religion has become a tool to control people, inspire fear and further political agendas.
India's approach to religion was beautifully questioned in the movie through a protagonist who was an alien from another planet, thus giving him a completely neutral and unbiased perspective.
In the last few days, I have been reading articles about the discord that has erupted in the aftermath of the release of the film. People burning the posters, vandalizing theaters, talking about how Hindu sentiments have been hurt and being enraged over the "vulgar" posters.
First of all, there is the question of artistic freedom. It is a movie, a work of fiction and fantasy, so interference by various religious groups seems to be a thwarting of the rights of the artists who have created the movie. While Bollywood constantly objectifies women, portraying them as sexual objects, mocks homosexuality and an industry where Honey Singh's questionable lyrics are all too readily embraced, anything which touches upon religion becomes a huge source of conflict.
Then there is the content itself of the movie PK. While in the first half, one sees the confusion of the protagonist, who discovers how different religions have different and even contrary approaches to religion. One sees his inability to understand what makes one valid over another, whom to believe, whom to follow. The second half really shows how the "caretakers" of religion are misleading people for their own narrow purposes. How God is more accessible to the rich, the question of idol worship and of various rituals associated with several religions. Yes, the central figure is a Hindu guru but in no ways is the movie an attack against Hindusim. It is merely a questioning of structured religion and the manipulative leaders who represent the same.
To pull out one or two dialogues out of context of the movie and create a hullabaloo is just ludicrous. People are citing certain dialogues to talk about what hurt their religious sentiments, while the overall message of the movie is completely lost on them.
The article that I read that was really sickening was one in which they brought in the religion of the protagonist Aamir Khan, who plays the character PK, and even linking the funding of the movie to terrorist organizations. This seems so much of a stretch that it is almost comic, albeit in a dark way. It is not Aamir Khan who is raising these questions, it is his on-screen character PK. Just as actors who play villains, rapists and other negative characters on screen can hardly be blamed for promoting that point of view in real life, it is clearly ridiculous to bring Aamir Khan's religion in question. More than that, it is disheartening. Insinuating that his religion inspired him to play this role, is really a low move. That too for an actor who clearly stand for human rights and has always raised questions, embraced unconventional roles and created and acted in some of the most meaningful movies in Bollywood.
And there the needs to be a differentiation between reel life and real life.
It is sad that any attempt to create awareness and question established assumptions is met with violence. It's almost as if everything that PK was talking about is being mirrored in real life. In the movie, the owner of the T.V. channel talks about his reluctance to touch upon religious issues, because of his earlier experiences, where fanatics resorted to violence. Similarly, one sees religious factions resort to violence and slandering in real life.
In some ways, they are validating the content of the movie and rendering it even more relevant in today's world.
I recently watched the movie PK. It was refreshing to see a fun and entertaining movie that had a strong and extremely relevant message. A message like this is not just relevant but much needed in a country where religion has become a tool to control people, inspire fear and further political agendas.
India's approach to religion was beautifully questioned in the movie through a protagonist who was an alien from another planet, thus giving him a completely neutral and unbiased perspective.
In the last few days, I have been reading articles about the discord that has erupted in the aftermath of the release of the film. People burning the posters, vandalizing theaters, talking about how Hindu sentiments have been hurt and being enraged over the "vulgar" posters.
First of all, there is the question of artistic freedom. It is a movie, a work of fiction and fantasy, so interference by various religious groups seems to be a thwarting of the rights of the artists who have created the movie. While Bollywood constantly objectifies women, portraying them as sexual objects, mocks homosexuality and an industry where Honey Singh's questionable lyrics are all too readily embraced, anything which touches upon religion becomes a huge source of conflict.
Then there is the content itself of the movie PK. While in the first half, one sees the confusion of the protagonist, who discovers how different religions have different and even contrary approaches to religion. One sees his inability to understand what makes one valid over another, whom to believe, whom to follow. The second half really shows how the "caretakers" of religion are misleading people for their own narrow purposes. How God is more accessible to the rich, the question of idol worship and of various rituals associated with several religions. Yes, the central figure is a Hindu guru but in no ways is the movie an attack against Hindusim. It is merely a questioning of structured religion and the manipulative leaders who represent the same.
To pull out one or two dialogues out of context of the movie and create a hullabaloo is just ludicrous. People are citing certain dialogues to talk about what hurt their religious sentiments, while the overall message of the movie is completely lost on them.
The article that I read that was really sickening was one in which they brought in the religion of the protagonist Aamir Khan, who plays the character PK, and even linking the funding of the movie to terrorist organizations. This seems so much of a stretch that it is almost comic, albeit in a dark way. It is not Aamir Khan who is raising these questions, it is his on-screen character PK. Just as actors who play villains, rapists and other negative characters on screen can hardly be blamed for promoting that point of view in real life, it is clearly ridiculous to bring Aamir Khan's religion in question. More than that, it is disheartening. Insinuating that his religion inspired him to play this role, is really a low move. That too for an actor who clearly stand for human rights and has always raised questions, embraced unconventional roles and created and acted in some of the most meaningful movies in Bollywood.
And there the needs to be a differentiation between reel life and real life.
It is sad that any attempt to create awareness and question established assumptions is met with violence. It's almost as if everything that PK was talking about is being mirrored in real life. In the movie, the owner of the T.V. channel talks about his reluctance to touch upon religious issues, because of his earlier experiences, where fanatics resorted to violence. Similarly, one sees religious factions resort to violence and slandering in real life.
In some ways, they are validating the content of the movie and rendering it even more relevant in today's world.
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