Development After the success of
3 Idiots, director Rajkumar Hirani and writer Abhijat Joshi started work for their next project. They had written a story about a character who had the ability to get into another person's mind to make that person a better human being. They spent one year to write a story, but it turned out to be similar to
Inception (2010). After watching
Inception, Hirani and Joshi were shocked by the similarities. Eventually, they decided to scrap the film, then Hirani and Joshi reworked on the script, changing the entire tone and angle. It took five years to make the film and three years to write it. In
PK, Khan played nine avatars (costume changes) and, during the course of the film, the actor had to chew over 10,000
betelnut preparations called
paan. Betelnut is a psychoactive stimulant used throughout Asia and characterised by its ability to stain users' mouths red. "In real life
paan is not a habit, I have it once in a while but for this film I chew
paan for every scene. I would at times eat about 100
paans in a day. We had a
paanwala [a
paan maker] on the sets," said Khan in the report. For every take, Khan had to eat a fresh
paan to fill his mouth. Before beginning the shoot, he would eat at least 10–15
paans to get the right color inside his mouth and on his lips. Viral Thakkar was the visual effects supervisor. The visual effects company was Riva Digital at a point employing 100 artists working on the film.
Casting In 2011, Aamir Khan and Anushka Sharma signed on for the film. Khan's nephew
Imran Khan and
Ranbir Kapoor were considered for a role which eventually went to
Sushant Singh Rajput before the release of his debut movie
Kai Po Che (2013). Earlier reports said that Rajkumar Hirani had signed
Arshad Warsi for the film when it was reported that Arshad will be playing an important role. In 2013, Warsi said in an interview "I couldn't have worked out on dates. I wouldn't refuse Raju for anything. In fact, when he offered me the film, I did not even ask for the script, I was like I am ready to come on whenever you want. So that is the connection I share with Raju." Before Rajput and Warsi were signed on,
R. Madhavan and
Sharman Joshi were said to be cast in the film. Junaid Khan, son of Aamir Khan worked as an assistant director in this film.
Characters •
PK: The titular character was written to be a Chaplinesque, bumbling alien and meant to provide an outside view to the quirks and hypocrisies of the Indian society. To further accentuate the alien look, Khan developed a distinct appearance and mannerisms including wearing green contact lenses and not blinking while talking. Khan learned
Bhojpuri for the role with the help of the language expert Shanti Bhushan. Rajkumar Hirani said in an interview, "When we write a script we usually visualize the characters in the film. How they look, talk and walk. But PK is one such character which was very difficult to visualize. We didn't have a reference point. PK was one such character, who didn't have a reference point. A character like him wasn't there in any book, nor did we meet someone like him in real life. We only knew that we wanted the character to be innocent and child-like. Now the question was, who is that actor who could look like a child. Someone who is perfect for the role of PK. The answer was obvious – Aamir Khan." •
Jagat "Jaggu" Janani: PK's friend and confidante, Jaggu is a television news reporter and is instrumental in spreading PK's message. She was envisioned as a fun-loving yet mature and independent woman. The producers wanted a distinct look for Jaggu and ended up trying several options over a few days before settling on one. Sharma said in an interview "Raju Sir wanted me to look happy, chirpy and peppy in
PK. Keeping his brief in mind, the team came up with this look." She revealed that she was not required to cut her hair by remarking, "I have long hair, so hair stylists just wrapped my hair and tucked inside the wig". •
Bhairon Singh: Makers wanted somebody tall and sturdy for the role of Bhairon Singh and that's why Sanjay came in the picture. Vidhu Vinod Chopra shared, "The character Bhairon Singh is shown to be PK's good friend. The idea was that since PK is a tiny person, we wanted someone who in contrast is very huge. Such that, when Bhairon hugs PK, it looks funny as the tiny man would go completely unnoticed in Bhairon's arms."
Title In 2011, in its initial scripting stage, Hirani named the film
Talli, then changed it to
Ek Tha Talli which he loved, but later on came to know that
Ek Tha Tiger was already in production (released in 2012). He dropped the idea and, after many titles, he came up with a title that only had initials,
PK. After starting the film, Hirani felt
PK was not a good enough title. He decided to change the title to
Talli. But after a few weeks of shooting, Hirani decided to go back to the original title.
Themes Firstpost compared
PK to Hirani and Khan's previous collaboration
3 Idiots, as they both involve "A socially awkward and 'different' young man—who walks and talks in a strange, enthusiastic childlike manner—observes the system, questions it, asks you to look at the many ludicrous things that inform it, and eventually brings about a minor revolution." In an interview, Rajkumar Hirani revealed that initially, the plot involved the alien protagonist falling in love with a girl early on, which led him to question religious divisions when he encountered her father’s prejudice. He used his powers to change the father's mindset. However, after watching
Inception, Hirani realised the concept was too similar and scrapped the original second half. The filmmakers also decided against a storyline involving a case against God, as it closely resembled the play
Kanji Viruddh Kanji, which was being adapted into a film (
OMG Oh My God). Ultimately,
PK focused on promoting communal harmony, with both films exploring similar themes but through different approaches.
Filming According to Hirani,
PK is a "satire on Hindu gods and their godmen". Second unit filming was set to begin in late 2012, which was stalled after the rumoured departure of three department heads for the film and bad weather stalling initial shoots. Hirani denied rumours that the film would be delayed, stating that principal filming had always been intended to begin in mid-January 2013 in Delhi and Rajasthan to "capture the winter of Delhi". Shooting officially began on 1 February 2013, with the filming scheduled to occur over a 45-day period. A one-week schedule of shooting of
PK was in June 2013 in
Bruges, Belgium. A 26-day schedule of shooting of
PK started in Delhi from 27 September 2013. == Marketing ==