When a movie brazenly lampoons blind faith in a country, especially in a country like India, it arouses the furor of devotees and no one would even bat an eyelid if the movie flop miserably. However, rather than creating a huge outrage, Rajkumar Hirani’s PK received a very warm welcome at the box office.

Despite the rising secularization in the world, India is one country where religious and superstitious beliefs still play an important role.

However, as per many, it seems that religion has lost its original and true importance and instead, many fake gurus and supposedly ‘god-men have been dominating this country by instilling fear in the citizens.

Instead of spreading messages of love, peace and forgiveness, guilt and fear are being used to control devotees. And, that’s when PK, the 2014 Indian movie, comes into the picture.

I’d say, indirectly, at least one movie has been able to raise awareness on this issue.

PK – A Summary

When a wide-eyed and sweet alien lands on earth, a man steals the remote control of his spaceship, the only way for him to return back home.

However, he tries to get back his remote control by knocking at the door of god and their temples. Along the way, he meets a heartbroken but dynamic journalist who helps him in his quest.

But what’s makes the movie a record-breaking and stunning one is the different concepts and questions raised in the movie on religion and superstition.

Search God for Answers

In the movie, PK is told that only “god” can help him find his remote control. That is, in other words, the only god can help people find the solutions to their problems. And, that’s when he starts practicing all the different religions, including Hinduism, Christianity and Islam.

However, during his search, PK comes across certain things that raise his suspicions on the human religious system itself.

Is Religion a Fashion?

When PK is told to follow a religion, he tries to understand the basis of religious classification. But when he found no religious seal on newborn babies, he concludes that someone’s clothes and appearance determine their religion.

This makes us wonder whether our fashion sense really defines our religious beliefs? And, whether a person wearing a burqa can only be a follower of the Islamic faith?

The “Wrong Number” Concept

At a certain point in the movie, PK claims that all the godmen are using the ‘wrong number’ to dial god’s house. And, this is exactly what led to lots of controversies in India.

Somewhere, it meant that godmen and gurus were not using the proper and genuine way to help devotees connect to god.

Moreover, when asked what exactly is the right number, PK gives the following answer, “God that created us all” is the only concept people should believe in and not in other “duplicate Gods.”

Fake Gurus and Godmen

Despite the rising criticisms the movie faced, PK still raised a critical point on so-called godmen who manipulated holy verses, instill guilt and fear in people’s hearts and even sexually exploit innocent women, and all in the name of religion.

For example:

Sant Rampal: Indian Religious leader who claimed to be an incarnation of an Indian god was arrested for a contempt case.

Asaram Bapu: Indian Religious leader who was given life imprisonment for sexually assaulting a minor.

Why Men Created God?

Another essential point that PK raised is how mankind can create god and worship those idols, when they believe God created them?

And, how come devotees create temples and shrines to protect god when god himself is the creator of the universe?

PK is a movie that did not question God or his existence. But, instead, it made us wonder why do we have to put our trust in so-called godmen and follow meaningless rituals?

Why can’t we just worship and believe only in god, our creator? Why can’t we have a more direct and personal relationship with God?