Film

PK

Name: PK
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Science Fiction
Released: 2014
Cast: Aamir Khan, Anushka Sharma, Saurabh Shukla, Boman Irani, Sushant Singh Rajput

Comedy

PK is a gleefully anarchic Bollywood comedy about an alien who lands on Earth and, with radical innocence, interrogates the absurdities of religion, superstition and social hypocrisy. Aamir Khan's performance is a masterclass in physical comedy and childlike wonder. It's playful but purposeful—funny enough to carry a crowd, substantive enough to linger.

TMDb rating

3.9

Should you watch it?

Watch it if you enjoy a fish-out-of-water comedy that uses a naive outsider's literal questions to poke at blind faith, and you don't mind the satire landing with a bit of heart.

Skip it if you want a tight, brisk comedy, because at over two and a half hours the sermon-style jokes and sentiment can feel repetitive and the religious satire may feel pointed.

What it asks of you: A long, leisurely sit at 153 minutes with a gentle opening that gradually builds into bigger laughs and a darker undercurrent; it rewards patience more than quick attention.

Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.

If you liked this

3 Idiots2009

Another Aamir Khan vehicle that blends comedy with genuine social critique, questioning rigid educational systems with the same warmth and humour. Equally crowd-pleasing and unexpectedly moving.

But Nearly four hours long, and the pacing occasionally sags in the middle despite the charm.

Dangal2016

Aamir Khan again, this time grounded in reality but with the same gift for making you care deeply about a character while laughing at the absurdities around them. Masterful storytelling about challenging the status quo.

But The sports-film structure is fairly conventional, and some may find the emotional beats predictable.

Munna Bhai M.B.B.S.2003

A Bollywood comedy that uses humour to gently skewer institutional hypocrisy and corruption, with a heart as big as PK's. Same blend of irreverence and genuine warmth about questioning systems that don't work.

But The comedy style is very Bollywood; if that register feels broad or dated to you, the film won't land.

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from PK

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

The Truman Show1998

Both use an outsider protagonist whose naïveté dismantles the comfortable lies of their world. Same structure, wildly different textures.

An alien-innocent-on-Earth story without the Bollywood spectacle, but with the same philosophical engine: one character asking fundamental questions about reality that everyone else has stopped examining. Both are comedies about enlightenment.

But It's American 90s cinema—subtler in tone, slower paced, far less musical. Some find it too arch or emotionally cool.

Like Stars on Earth2007

Aamir Khan in a gentler, more intimate role, but with the same conviction about seeing the world through a child's eyes and challenging adult assumptions. A beautiful meditation on different ways of thinking.

But It's primarily a drama rather than a comedy, and considerably sadder in tone.

Jab We Met2007

A Bollywood romance that's genuinely witty and character-driven, with Anushka Sharma at her best. The banter sparkles and it's refreshingly anti-formulaic for the genre.

But It's a love story first, so if romance isn't your lane, the appeal drops substantially.

Hysteria2011

Another irreverent Bollywood film that directly questions religious dogma through comedy and a central character asking innocent questions. Similar DNA to PK, slightly smaller in scale.

But Less polished than PK and the messaging occasionally feels heavy-handed rather than earned through the story.

Andhadhun2018

A Hindi film that proves the industry's capacity for ambitious, genre-bending storytelling. Dark, clever, and structured around a protagonist who sees the world differently than everyone else.

But It's a thriller, not a comedy, and considerably darker in register. The tonal shifts may feel jarring if you're expecting lightness.

Bhaag Milkha Bhaag2013

Aamir Khan in a biographical drama about an athlete, with excellent craft and an earnest emotional core. Proof of his range beyond comedy.

But It's a fairly standard sports biography, and the dramatic stakes feel conventional compared to PK's originality.

Synecdoche, New York2008

Both are films about the gap between reality and the stories we tell ourselves—but PK finds lightness in that gap while Synecdoche finds vertigo. Same theme, opposite emotional valence.

A surreal, ambitious film about a man who becomes lost in the artificial worlds he creates, unable to distinguish performance from reality. Like PK, it's fundamentally about how we construct meaning and whether those constructions are real.

But It's dense, melancholic, deliberately frustrating, and requires active intellectual engagement. The opposite of crowd-pleasing. Some find it pretentious or depressing.