PK review: Aamir Khan steals the show, it's a winner all the way

December 19, 2014

PK reviewMumbai, Dec 19: "Jo darr gaya, wo mandir gaya." It’s difficult to convince you of our impartiality with such a header, but this is where our job begins. In my defense, I begin by telling you that PK is the most ‘different’ Aamir Khan film you have ever seen. Now, let’s start cracking the code.

PK (Aamir Khan) is not his name. In fact, he has no name. His clan doesn’t believe in alienating people on their name, caste, creed, language or religion. Sounds like the preamble of our Constitution? Well, this is the essence of director Rajkumar Hirani’s PK. And it is high on emotions and full of drama.

Who is PK then? Well, he is a humanitarian, who lives in the hearts of millions. See, I am trying to be as secretive as possible about his distinctiveness. Let’s join threads from the scene all of you have seen in the promos. Of course, the transistor scene. So, here is a guy with unblinking eyes, fluttering ears and toned muscles walking towards the most treacherous of places -- in the middle of a desert. He is in Rajasthan. This man is helpless against people who have no moral qualms in making the earth a worse place than what it already is. But he is a firm believer in all things good, and therefore keeps going and soon finds himself in the middle of a megacity -- Delhi, the national capital.

The second part of his adventures begins in Delhi -- He is intrigued by the rules and ways of this big city. PK explores the big bad world with charming innocence and a lot of wit. All of a sudden, he finds himself pitted against a widely followed godman Tapasvi Jee (Saurabh Shukla), and the only person he can trust in this ‘holy’ war is Jagat Janani (Anushka Sharma), a news reporter.

Let's leave the character details here and get down to the nitty-gritties of the theme.

First things first. What is the film about? PK is a man’s journey through the paradoxes of Indian society. He cannot understand the meaning of religion, or the rituals most people busy themselves with. He cannot differentiate between a Hindu and a Muslim. He wonders why godmen ask for money. He disapproves the absurdities that make believers against believers. Think it is too much like Oh My God?

PK's problems are no different from those faced by Kanji Bhai. But the undertone is diagonally opposite. If it was atheists versus believers in OMG, PK showcases a tussle between believers of two different streams. Nobody is denying the existence of god (They didn’t do it in OMG either), but they are not willing to follow the norms set by the managers of religion. Yes, this is the term Hirani has used for godmen and it fits to the core.

This is one masterstroke for a simple reason. India is a country that deals with evils such as poverty, lack of basic amenities and religious corruption. In such a scenario, the almighty becomes the only guiding light. It doesn’t ease off your problems but gives you the strength to sail through the bad weather. It may not sound politically correct, but it suits the popular sentiment. That is to find the root of the problems inside the ‘immediate’ domain, inside your ‘local’ society.

Probably this is the cause behind Hirani’s fascination with the Gandhian philosophy. Bapu didn’t invoke the idea of armed repulsion but infused the unarmed masses with the pride of being a rebellion. This worked at two levels. First, it prepared the followers for a long and ruthless battle which would see many of them crushed under the boots of British army. Second, it complemented our old belief that a physically inferior guy can be heard if he can convince others of his pain. PK has characteristics that’ll remind you of the penetrating power of Gandhian philosophy. He is not a naïve guy, but he believes in others’ virtues. He gets bitten, cries and then goes back to the work he has been doing, like most of us.

There are some very powerful scenes in the film that will make you cry, uneasy in seat, and even laugh sheepishly at times. In one of the remarkable sequences, PK realises that small pieces of paper with an imprint of Gandhi Jee can buy him carrots. He collects big pictures of Gandhi Jee from adjacent walls and gives them to a vendor only to be scolded back in return. Then he says, “Gandhi Jee ki photo ki value sirf ek tarah ke kagaz pe hi hai.”

In another sequence, he goes to a church and watches people offering wine. Unfortunately, he tries to repeat the same inside a mosque and says, “Lagta hai bhagwan ko nariyal paani me maza nahi aa raha tha.” You can easily guess the result.

The makers haven’t spared any major religion of the Indian subcontinent. They have shown some Muslim girls being stopped from going to school in the wake of a fatwa. They didn’t know that something drastic will happen in Pakistan just before the release of PK.

The concept exposes the business of fear: It touches on how everybody from the religious leaders to media pundits are utilising fear to further their own business, or even how it is the biggest threat staring at us today.

Sushant Singh Rajput plays Sarfaraz, a Pakistani who falls victim to the hate game, but ultimately his issue gets resolved because of the open mindedness of some Indians. Didn’t we see #IndiaWithPak

trending on Twitter just a couple of days ago? On second thoughts, there couldn’t be a better timing for the film’s release.

The screenplay is linear and full of ‘talkative’ scenes. The story is perfectly paced at least in the first half. The latter part of the second half is extremely dramatic with crying characters live on air and immediate change of hearts but that’s more like giving the story a logical conclusion. Yes, it appears ‘over the top’ but not for more than five minutes, and that are the only dull moments. In PK’s language ‘lull hai’.

It’s Aamir Khan’s show all the way. It’s amusing to see him make an otherwise ‘absurd concept on paper’ plausible. He is the master of disguise and it’s good to see such a ‘projectionist’ on top of his game. PK will always remain among the most cherished characters in his kitty.

Anushka Sharma is radiant and she is growing in stature. She seems confident and holds her fort in front of Aamir. By the way, her lips didn’t look any different to me, don’t know about you. Saurabh Shukla is the spine of the drama and as expected he doesn’t disappoint.

PK is a fun film with proper dose of ‘gyaan’. It’s a film that shouldn’t be missed and it’s brave because it attempts to create a better world. Another winner from Rajkumar Hirani. It would be hard to stop it from owning the box-office as well.

And yes, don’t leave the theatre till the credit rolls. There is a surprise for you.

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News Network
June 1,2020

Mumbai, Jun 1: Singer-composer Wajid Khan of music director duo Sajid-Wajid, popular for their work on superstar Salman Khan's films such as "Wanted", "Dabangg" and "Ek Tha Tiger", died in early hours of Monday in a city hospital due to complications arising from a kidney infection. He was 42.

Music composer Salim Merchant, who confirmed the news of Wajid's death, said the composer was hospitalised few days ago at Surana Hospital, Chembur where his condition deteriorated.

"He had multiple issues. He had a kidney issue and had a transplant a while ago. But recently he got to know about kidney infection... He was on the ventilator for the last four days, after his situation started getting worse. Kidney infection was the beginning and then he got critical," Salim told PTI.

The music composer duo made their Bollywood debut with Salman's 1998 movie "Pyaar Kiya Toh Darna Kya" and went on to work on actor's various films including "Garv", "Tere Naam", "Tumko Na Bhool Payenge", "Partner" and the popular "Dabangg" franchise.

Wajid also did playback for Salman in chartbusters like "Mera He Jalwa", "Fevicol Se" and for Akshay Kumar in "Chinta Ta Chita Chita" from the film "Rowdy Rathore", among others. He recently co-composed Salman's songs "Pyaar Karona" and "Bhai Bhai", which the actor released on his YouTube channel.

Wajid along with his brother Sajid served as mentor on singing reality shows "Sa Re Ga Ma Pa 2012" and "Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Singing Superstar".

The composer duo also scored IPL 4 theme song, "Dhoom Dhoom Dhoom Dhadaka", which was sung by Wajid.

Soon after the news of the composer's demise broke, many from the film fraternity took to Twitter to pay tributes.

Actor Priyanka Chopra said she will always remember Wajid's smile.

"The one thing I will always remember is Wajid bhai's laugh. Always smiling. Gone too soon. My condolences to his family and everyone grieving. Rest in peace my friend. You are in my thoughts and prayers," she posted on Twitter.

Actor Parineeti Chopra said Wajid was one of the "nicest" men in the industry.

"Always singing. All heart. Always positive. You will truly be missed Wajid bhai," she tweeted.

Actor Varun Dhawan shared a picture of his filmmaker-father David Dhawan with Wajid and remembered the musician as one of the most positive people in Bollywood.

"Shocked hearing this news @wajidkhan7 bhai was extremely close to me and my family. He was one of the most positive people to be around. We will miss you Wajid bhai thank you for the music," he wrote.

Music composer-singer Vishal Dadlani said he was "heartbroken" after hearing the news.

"Both @SajidMusicKhan and @wajidkhan7 have been close & true friends. The kind who might see the light on and show up at our studio in the middle of the night just to meet and talk and share a laugh. Can't believe Wajid and I will never speak again," he wrote.

Singer-composer Shankar Mahadevan said he was still unable to come to terms with the news of Wajid's demise.

"Shocking ! Good bye dear brother.. love you .. till we meet on the other side ! Prayers for your peaceful journey Wajid bhai," he tweeted.

Singer Javed Ali posted, "Feeling Deeply Saddened after hearing shocking news of the sudden demise of Wajid Khan. May his Soul Rest in Peace. My heartfelt condolences to his family. May Allah give strength to the family."

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News Network
May 18,2020

Washington, May 18: Joining hands with the European Commission, actor Leonardo DiCaprio launched the Virunga Fund with seed money of USD 2 million to support Africa's Virunga National Park.

Since Virunga has lost a significant amount of revenue due to COVID shutdown post-March, the fund will be used to support the national park and the communities around, reported Variety.

The fund is aimed at disease prevention efforts, protection of mountain gorilla, and other species.

"I had the great honor of meeting and supporting Virunga's courageous team in their fight against illegal oil drilling in 2013," Variety quoted DiCaprio as saying.

"Virunga urgently needs funds to protect the endangered mountain gorilla population, to provide support to the rangers and the families of rangers who have fallen in the line of duty, and to help deliver essential disease prevention efforts. It's critical that we rally together during this time of incredible crisis," he added.

The 'Titanic' actor had earlier produced a Netflix documentary film 'Virunga' which is based on the national park.

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News Network
July 23,2020

Mumbai, Jul 22: Actor Sara Ali Khan on Wednesday treated her fans to an extremely adorable family picture from a Holi celebration during her childhood days.

"Mother, Daughter- Iggy Potter. Riot of colours with Water Slaughter. Mommy so young I almost forgot her. Gulaal we threw, off-guard we caught her. But it was healthy fun with no totter. After all she's mother dearest- the OG Fautor," the 'Simmba' star poetically captioned the adorable Holi throwback picture on Instagram.

In the picture, Sara was seen coloured in Gulaal along with her mother Amrita Singh and brother Ibrahim Ali Khan. Sara looked loveable in the childhood picture as she wore an endearing smile with her neatly tied hair in a ponytail. Mom Amrita was seen smiling along with the kids, while she held little Ibrahim as he smiled and posed for the camera.

The post on the photo-sharing platform garnered more than 6 lakh likes within an hour of being posted.

Meanwhile, on the film front, Sara Ali Khan is awaiting the release of her latest comedy-drama 'Coolie No.1' with Varun Dhawan.

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