SciFi movies have got to be my least favorite genre and if
they consist of aliens, I avoid them like my least favorite vegetables- I push
away the plate and pretend that they don't exist.
In spite of the impressive star cast, I wasn't going to
watch the movie until I read the controversies surrounding it. The debate it
sparked among people piqued my interest and I finally watched the movie.
After watching the movie, could I stop thinking about the
story? No. Did I enjoy the movie as a whole? Again, no.
I envy Rajkumar Hirani's work and writing. His past movies
have been entertaining and interspersed with important social messages that I
have always agreed with. Let's just say that he and I are on the same
wavelength where opinions about education and religion are concerned.
This movie, however, was a bit of a disappointment for me
and only because the plot didn't flow as seamlessly as his previous movies.
The movie begins with an excellent opening scene and the
first half too, tries to adhere to the main plot. But from there on, the story
starts to crumble under the onus of too many plot turns.
An alien has his 'transmitter medallion thing' stolen and on
his journey to find it, he finds the role religion plays in people's lives.
At first he is introduced to the variety of religions and
learns the differences and similarities between them. Then he learns about the
superstitions associated with each religion and finally the movie becomes all
about debunking the astrologers.
Midway, I had to remind myself that the alien was trying to
get his transmitter back so that he could head home. It seemed that he too had
forgotten about it as he kept asking thought provoking questions to enlighten the
people.
Then he falls in love with Jaggu- the reporter who was
helping him. And all this time I was wondering about how his kind of aliens
behaved on his planet. I mean, he siphons the knowledge of language from a
woman so how did he start speaking in a male voice when apparently the aliens
on his planet didn't speak. I can understand that in the last scene he must
have taught the other inhabitants of his planet the language too, but how did
they develop their own distinctive voices?
And are we to believe that aliens behaved the same way as
humans and fall in love and make filmy sacrifices?
Then there's the small love story between the Indian girl and
Pakistani boy which I thought was kind of sweet even though the conclusion of
that was a bit implausible. It was hard to digest the fact that the guy called
the embassy every day to find out if there were any calls for him from his
lover. He should have had tried to find her and sort everything out. She was a
reporter and he could have easily found out where she lived. I mean, really?
One letter that wasn't even signed and both of them thought that the other had
written it? They didn't recognize the handwriting or anything?
Anyway, that part of the story was hurriedly wrapped up
towards the end along with the actual message of the movie that got lost in all
the chaos.
In my opinion, the alien preaches that there are two types
of gods- the one that created us and the other that is created by the
astrologers, the latter apparently being one that puts fear in our hearts
rather than reverence.
Religion is a sensitive issue and people will never give up
their beliefs by watching a movie. It seemed that the writer did realize this
and that is why the second half seems jumbled. While the alien is trying to
bring forth his point about god, he quickly diverts attention towards Jaggu and
her Pakistani lover.
From thereon, the audience obviously focuses on the
Indian-Pakistani relationships rather than what the movie was supposed to be
about- an impartial person who learns about religion, god and its impact on
society.
The story would have worked if only the script had been
tighter and identified its main plot.
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