Read this if you have watched ‘PK’, or if you have not watched it yet -

Wednesday, December 31, 2014 Social Lens 2 Comments

#PK #religion #God

It took ‘the so called managers of religions’ about 10 days to collectively start raising voice against ‘PK’. I am surprised to see the charges made against this latest bollywood super hit movie. They claim that people’s feelings are hurt. I wonder how can anybody’s feelings get hurt by a movie? If somebody claims that his girlfriend ditched him, I can imagine feelings playing a role there. But how can a movie, made with the primary purpose of entertainment, and probably with a message to challenge the orthodoxy and hypocrisy of our infinitely old and incredibly pale system, affect anybody’s feelings? And if hurting of feelings can be an outcome, intended or unintended, from a movie, then perhaps opposition parties should quit politics and come into film making! That would have been an easier way to divert the ruling party’s attention from ‘real’ to ‘reel’ life issues and to ‘hurt’ its feelings.

The interesting part in this protest is that through the script the movie has made an intelligent attempt to save itself from such criticism. This is similar to what PK devised to save himself from ‘chaantas’ (a slap on the face) by sticking photos of Gods on his face, and called it a self-defense strategy. Ironically, the illiterate India is yet too far from watching these movies or getting the gist of any of it; and the other learned India is too busy in earning dollars or raising its standards of living.

We have been living in this system from day one, and thus stopped questioning it. We take this inappropriate system for granted. The Modi Sarkar taking initiative about the‘Swatch Bharat Abhiyaan’ becomes a topic of discussion for all of us. We criticize it or appreciate it. But why don’t we realize that how shame it is that we are yet lacking from basic sanitation in place?  This is just one example picked from the pool of hundreds of issues we are to deal today.

None the less, I am happy that we have started making more and more movies now that can challenge the system. Even if the managers of religion will keep trying to save their ‘gaddis’ by creating hulla-gulla about such bold attempts, I am sure the movie will continue being an eye opener for many of us who blindly follow the religion without understanding it. We need to realize that independence from the British government is not enough. There are yet many social issues in our system that stop us from being free in its absolute sense. I profoundly wish that with the ‘Modi leher’ in its full swing, India sets to retaining its glory in coming years; and with this hope in heart, I wish you a very happy new year 2015!

Stay blessed!