Film Review: 3 Idiots

Film Review: 3 IDIOTS.
By some one who sometimes acts like one. 

“When our friends do badly, we feel bad, and when they do better than us, we feel worse”. Most of us would nod mentally at this and admit privately, that it is certainly an insight. ‘3 Idiots’, Raju Hirnani’s latest offering, has quite a few of these that make for interesting viewing.
“Give me some sunshine, give me some rain,
Give me another chance, I wanna grow up once again”,
goes the lines of a song which is already appearing on status updates in the social networking world. Again courtesy this flick, that is becoming the main conversation topic in metros and campuses.

When it comes to movies, it is not so much the story that is important, but the screenplay, that makes all the difference. ‘3 Idiots’ tells the tale of a group of students going through the rites of passage in a college. “Classmates”, a blockbuster in Malayalam, did the same with aplomb and has become almost a cultural reference point in the state of Kerala. ‘3 Idiots’ may acquire similar status in the Hindi film industry.

‘3 Idiots’ too has characters that remain with you for days. The archetypal “teacher’s pet” and the “establishment’s stooge” is very much present in class and throughout the film answering to the roll call of Chatur. In my opinion, it is a brilliantly etched character and portrayed with panache by Omi Vaidya. The oppressive and pompous “Principal” is played by Boman Irani. A wealth of quirks and mannerisms that he adds to the character, makes it come alive and is now defining, what can be termed as a signature Boman Irani presentation. The other players in the dramatis personae, include the main protagonists played by Aamir, Madhavan, and Sharman, who are lower in the introduction hierarchy of this review, purely due to the low relative impact that they have had on the reviewer.

Campus life is one of irreverence and humor. Nearly everything is converted into a joke, and pranks are punctuation marks in the sentence of life here. 3 IDIOTS stays true to that, and therefore is entertaining. Nicknames exist for nearly everyone, with the pride of honor going to “Virus”, the Principal. “Silencer”, is the villain who is also the teacher’s pet, and “Millimeter”, is the title reserved for the street smart, cheeky errand boy at the hostel. The prank played on the Uganda returned Chatur, (a.k.a “Silencer”), as he proceeds to “butter up” the “Virus”, by delivering a speech in his newly learned Hindi language, had nearly everyone rolling in the aisles. To me, it was the high point in the film. The treatment of poverty and the struggle of Sharman’s character Raju Rastogi, is told in the fashion of a spoof, which does not fit in with the tone and tenor of the film, and does jar a bit. If it was to be a spoof, it could have been crafted better and woven into the fabric of the film seamlessly. And while on the subject, the bathroom dance featuring the lead trio in towels, was out of character and avoidable. It is also reminiscent of a similar sequence in a tamil movie.
The link is provided here:Click to watch

And while on "similar sequences" or "shameless lifts" or "creative coincidences", this video gives you an inkling where one of the pranks played by Rancho on the examination invigilator possibly came from.


The hero, who answers to the moniker “Rancho”, is interesting. Aamir manages to pull this of in spite of the body language issues. I guess we are forgiving of a fit 45 year old, playing a 20 year old, since we have been weaned on septuagenarians romancing teenagers! “All is well” is his credo, and it reminds you of the saying in the ‘Bhagwat Geeta’; “whatever happens, happens for the good, whatever will happen will happen for the good, whatever has happened, has happened for the good”. He forms a counter-point to Sharman’s character Raju Rastogi, who is forever anxious, is therefore superstitious and on edge constantly. “Arjuna disease” would be an apt term for the symptoms shown. Therefore, there are low grades, even more tension and a constant worry about failure that acts like a self fulfilling prophecy. A brilliant set up in the plot, according to me, and very true of a lot of students and professionals. Probably what makes us “soft” targets for a lot of foreigners?

The obnoxious and repulsive ritual of ragging that has claimed many innocent lives, is shown in this movie also. However, Rancho is shown to be resisting it and protecting his rights and dignity with his wits and resources that are available at his command. Again, a throw back to the ‘Bhagwat Geeta’, if you ask me. It is a pity that most student unions missed the message completely.


Innovation and the need to promote lateral thinking, is another value espoused. The danger of a “memorize and reproduce” system of education and evaluation, is denounced here, and rightly so. The brutal side of it is used to heighten the drama. Never mind that ‘Dead Poets Society’ handled the theme of parent – child conflict over career choice, in a poignant fashion that can never be matched. Never mind that ‘Scent of a Woman’ also had an oppressive school system that was loaded in favor of the privileged, and where coercion amounting to blackmail, was used to get students to turn witnesses against their peers. ‘3 Idiots’ does all this, with some degree of originality and ‘touch’ that is Indian.

Raju Harnani's Munna Bhai had a Capraesque innocence about it and some of it seeps through here. It is very much in evidence in the placement interview shown, where Raju Rastogi admits to having attempted suicide, and various others misdemeanors. This would have had him blacklisted for life in the real world, but here he magically finds acceptance and employment. Evangelism for the honest life! Such liberties are de riguer in the Indian cinematic idiom and no eyebrows are raised. It is also the reason why the delivery scene with the vacuum cleaner seems to fit in the scheme of things, though anyone from the 'cinema verite' school would have baulked at this .

No Indian movie can be complete without the beautiful girl who has to hate the hero, fight with him and then fall in love with him, only to be separated by the villain, who wants to marry her. ‘3 Idiots’ provides that too. Here the climax is not in an airport, when the hero is about to leave dejected, but is at the next popular venue, the marriage “pandal”, where the heroine tearfully does the 7 pheras. The getaway is tongue and cheek and cause for mirth. Kareena Kapoor looks drop dead gorgeous, and the scene where she visits the boy’s hostel, drunk, is really funny and cute. Especially the kissing sequence. For those of us who in teenage years, practiced kissing the mirror, to see if the nose would come in the way, there is deliverance. Those agonizing years are apparently as universal among youngsters as pimples, according to Raju Hirnani, Abhijat Joshi, Vidhu Vinod Chopra and even Chetan Bhagat?

Not surprising then, that you end up paying almost double at the box office to get in, and find that there are many who are here for the second time, with friends in tow. No wonder Reliance Big Pictures is getting bigger by the year!!

Rating: Wah Wah

Rating Scale:
Wah Wah – excellent
Wah - good
Bah - bad
Baaaaa( not Paaaaa) - horror.
(As in recommended watching for your nasty neighbor or cantankerous colleague and family)

ENDS

THE HILARIOUS, CHATUR KA CHAMATKAR SEQUENCE: LOL


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THE BEHTI HAWA SONG.


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