Some memorable moviebytes from PK*

It really requires some creative genius and cinematic guts to touch upon issues that Rajkumar Hirani does in PK while keeping other aspects of bollywood style entertainment and box office intact. More so by mitigating commercial risks and coping with controversies.The Hirani - Abhijat style film-making has evolved over the years with sensitive social messages wrapped up in humour, satire and wit by controlling the urge to be preachy. Like a sequel to Lage Raho Munnabhai (the Saurabh Shukla link as godman in both, the lead actress as an RJ in Lage raho and a TV journalist in this one), this movie makes us think and laugh successfully while meeting the entertainment norms as defined by Indian censor board. Hirani must have had a challenging time, balancing precariously and avoiding in-depth treatment of the subject to deliver something seriously funny yet respecting the sentiments of the people, playing safe. While PK a.k.a Aamir Khan, so admirably lures believers and non-believers into the flow of the movie, he leaves us with some points, moments and questions that will stay with us for long:

• Why does the alienation caused by religion and faith need an alien or a special character from outer world to raise some quirky and uneasy questions?
• With 'innocence' (and a suitable dialect to go with it) or inebriated state of mind (drunk / peekay) we can probe a whole lot of things...but with 'experience' (presence of mind, sobriety) we choose to remain silent?
• Does schooling promote rational thinking, has it ever helped in delinking the institution of blind faith and its monetization
• The link between ignorance, fear and faith: jo dar gaya woh mandir gaya :)
• Interesting metaphors like our attire and dressing up, the picture of Mahatma Gandhi, the wrong number, the remote control, cassettes and batteries, and some catch phrases are some cool stuff  that set the right triggers
• The soliloquy of PK while he talks to the idols and the making of gods
• The funny sequence of the character of Lord Shiva and all that follows...
• It was fun to watch Ram Sethi; the comic spark in him is still the same as it was, when he co-starred with Amitabh Bachchan
• Disappointing thing: Perhaps, the second half of the movie could’ve been better, instead of following the Lage raho Munnabhai template... (here it was TV channel instead of FM radio and the presence of Parikshit Sahni in the role of the emotional father)J  

And the surprise element in the climax? For that, just watch the movie, hurry up! for God's sake!

*This is neither a review of the movie nor a critique.