3 I DIOTS

Movie Review: Rest assured, all ye desi cinema buffs, Aal Izz Well in apna Bollywood. If 2009 can
begin with Dev D and end with 3 Idiots, it is indeed time to sound the seetis and taalis for one of the
most exciting years of contemporary Indian cinema. Truly, this has been the year of the I.d.i.o.t in
movielore: the Intrinsically intelligent, Downright smart, Inimitable, Original and Talented film maker,
actor, story teller, musician, lyricist, dialogue writer and producer.
3 Idiots is the perfect end to an exciting year for India: the year when the aam aadmi voted in progress,
liberalism, secularism and turned his back to corruption, communalism, regionalism. The three idiots,
Rancchoddas Shyamaldas Chanchad (Aamir Khan), Raju Rastogi (Sharman Joshi) and Farhan Qureshi
(R Madhavan), are perfect archetypes of the new age Indian who is essentially a non-conformist,
questioning outmoded givens, choosing to live life on his own terms and chartering new roads that
consciously skirt the rat race. Of course, they begin on the beaten track -- due to societal/parental
pressure -- but refuse to become cogs in the wheel. Naturally, they end up as the Frostian hero (Robert
Frost's Road Not Taken) who made all the difference to his life, and the world, by taking the road less
travelled by.
The film begins with the entry of our threesome in the city's elite engineering college. It takes the first
tryst with the mandatory ragging sessions which enunciate who the leader of the gang is going to be:
new entrant Baba Rancchoddas, as his friends fondly call him. Rancho not only leads his friends
through the maze of India's competitive, high-pressure, rote-heavy, illogical and almost cruel education
system, he tutors them on several life mantras too. Like, running after excellence, not success;
questioning not blindly accepting givens; inventing and experimenting in lieu of copying and
cramming; and essentially following your heart's calling if you truly want to make a difference.
So, you have the threesome embroiled, time and again, in a confrontation with authority, as
represented through the domineering figure of Viru Sahastrabuddhe (Boman Irani), the unsmiling
Principal who venerates the cuckoo because the bird's life begins with murder. Kill the competition,
because there is only one place at the top, believes the Princi. Poor, mistaken Princi! Doesn't he know
that competition is effete, model students like Chatur (Omi) end up as duhs in real life and nonconformists (Rancho and Rocket Singh Inc), who care tuppence about being on top, could end up as
eventual winners. More importantly, they could be high not only in IQ (intelligence quotient) but in EQ
(emotional quotient) too, never losing their humaneness and social networking skills.
The high point of the film is the fact that director Rajkumar Hirani says so much, and more, without
losing his sense of humour and the sheer lightness of being. The film is a laugh riot, despite being high
on fundas. Certain sequences almost have you rolling in the aisle, like the ragging sequence, Omi's
chamatkar/balatkar speech, the threesome's wedding crasher sequence, their mournful meal with
Raju's mournful mum and Rancho's sundry demos to prove how Kareena has chosen the wrong guy for
herself. Add to this, the strong emotional core of the film that makes gentle tugs, now and then, at your
guts, and you have an almost perfect score. Hirani carries forward his simplistic `humanism alone
works' philosophy of the Lage Raho Munnabhai series in 3 Idiots too, making it a warm and vivacious
signature tune to 2009. The second half of the film does falter in parts, specially the child birth sequence,
but it doesn't take long for the film to jump back on track.
Amongst the performances, Aamir Khan is stupendous as the rule-breaker Rancho. But the rest of the
cast doesn't remain in the shadows. Both Sharman and Madhavan manage to carve their independent
characters as lovable rebels too. Even Kareena shines out, despite the minuscule length of her role. A
special mention for Boman Irani who is impeccable as `Virus', the vile Principal and newcomer Omi
who perfectly slips into the stereotype of the best, albeit bakwas student. Shantanu Moitra's music score,
which may have sounded pheeka in the audio version, comes alive on screen with lyricist Swanand
Kirkire giving India its clarion call for 2010: Aal Izz Well. Rush for it.
A word about:

Performances: Believe it or not, but Aamir, Madhavan and Sharman actually look -- and behave -like students. While Aamir pitches in a near-perfect portrayal of Rancho, the free-spirited innovator,
Madhavan and Sharman are perfectly in sync too. Kareena as the independent-minded medical student
is winsome; debutant Omi has a refreshing flair for comedy and Boman Irani doesn't ham or go over
the top even once.
Story: Rajkumar Hirani and Abhijat Joshi script a warm and humanist indictment of India's rudecrude education system that prepares rats for a rat race rather than thinkers for a new world.
Dialogue: Witty and wild, the film walks away with the best comic scene of the year citation with its
uproarious `balatkar' speech.
Music: Shantanu Moitra may not have forced you to pick up the music album of the film but the songs
do come alive on screen, specially Zoobie-Doobie and Aal Izz Well.
Choreography: Avit Diaz has the threesome -- Aamir, Madhavan, Sharman -- kick up some wild fun
in Aal Izz Well, while Bosco-Caesar rightly go retro with Zoobie-Doobie.
Cinematography: The streets of Delhi and the picture postcard beauty of Ladakh are captured in
riveting images by Muraleedharan CK
Styling: Designers Manish Mehrotra, Sheena Parekh and Raghuveer Shetty create the pucca campus
look for our rumbustious kids on the block, complete with ganjis and capris. Kareena too is an
archetypal Dilli gal with her trendy, not flashy ensemble.
Inspiration: Chetan Bhagat's Five Point Someone literally comes alive on screen, although the film
does not kowtow the book verbatim.

2) The movie 3 Idiots has broken all box office records. Raju Hirani, Aamir Khan and Vidhu Vinod Chopra
are laughing their way to banks to encash their Rs. 300 plus crore. Critics are gushing, audiences
cutting across gender and age are packing into theatres in hordes, and declaring that there is no better
film. The pressure to enjoy Three Idiots is almost similar to the pressure to enter the Indian Institute of
Technology (IIT) deviate from the orthodoxy of relentless breathless appreciation and youre likely to
flunk the admission test into your family circle or group of friends.
Undoubtedly, 3 Idiots is a wonderfully made film. The superbly talented Aamir Khan always brings energy
and innovation to his roles and Raju Hirani is perhaps the Hrishikesh Mukherjee of our times, a master of
the art of gentle middle class comedy but told with high tech razzmatazz. Yet, the success of 3 Idiots
reveals that we are on our way to becoming brain dead.
The film tells us that Indias system of higher education is idiotic, teachers are lisping semi-insane brutes
who drive students to suicide, rote learning is always bad and the IITs produce nothing but Lamborghinichasing mercenaries who are only waiting to land corporate jobs in the US. Is that true? The IITs have
produced among others Narayana Murthy, Nandan Nilekani, Jairam Ramesh, the whistleblower
Satyendra Dubey, Magsaysay Award-winner Sandeep Pandey who served on its faculty, and many
among the group that created the inspiring Karadi Tales (the audio story tapes for kids). The IIT winter
festival, luminously titled Mood Indigo once showcased how many talented poets and musicians there
were among its students!
Of course, the film is a fictionalised version of the IITs, and perhaps a better reflection of the vast number
of engineering colleges mushrooming across India, which are indeed soul-less factories where real
education is substituted for cramming. And, of course, we are not meant to take 3 Idiots too seriously, as
it is after all just about having an escapist laugh and not thinking too much. After all, if you think too much
you may discover that 3 Idiots is a dangerous, preachy and sanctimonious film that disdains all forms of

hard work; that subliminally condemns studying as a pathetic exercise in rote learning and scorns the
sadhna of higher education.
The film establishes that unless you are a naturally gifted scientific genius like Ranchordas Chanchad,
theres no point wasting time with your books. Then youre better off singing songs or becoming a wildlife
photographer. As if becoming a wildlife photographer is a sweet extracurricular hobby that doesnt
require hard work and determination and an equal amount of sadhna.
If we continue to lose our minds over films like 3 Idiots, we will soon become a nation of idiots and will
have to hire foreign brains to do our thinking for us because we will be wallowing in hatred of the system
and escapist pleasure. In the same vein as 3 Idiots, Mahesh Manjrekar has made a Marathi film titled
Shikshanaaka Aicha Gho, which literally translates as Screw The Education System. Do we want to
bring up children on the notion that the education system is idiotic and deserves to be screwed?
Of course, there is a need for reform. Of course, there is a need to urgently relieve the pressure and
strain. But where does the pressure come from? It comes from vast numbers that apply not
necessarily from diabolical teachers and emotionally blackmailing parents. The pressure comes from the
fact there are too few IITs, too few medical colleges and too few quality universities. For a country of our
size, why is there only a single All India Institute of Medical Sciences? Why arent there at least ten?
Sure, there are many terrible teachers at our universities. But has any Indian graduate come across a
total caricature like Professor Virus? Instead, graduates in India can provide many stories of learned, and
inspiring teachers who fought to keep students interest alive, that, often in criminalised and politicised
campuses it is the idealistic teacher who is the victim of spoilt brat students who demand high grades
and favours through means fair and foul.
The Nehruvian dream which gave us centres of excellence like the IITs and Indian Institutes of
Managements (IIMs) should be a source of pride for us. These are institutions that students should aspire
to join, not scorn and curse simply because it is fashionable to do so. There is still no substitute for hard
work, no substitute for sadhna and no short cuts to academic excellence.
Human Resource Development Minister Kapil Sibals education reforms for Class 10 board exams are
indeed visionary. But caution has to be exercised that urban middle class children are not pampered into
thinking that anything that causes stress is evil and should be attacked and, worse, not be even
attempted.
Encouraging students to abuse their teachers, hate their books, throw metaphorical tomatoes at all
centres of excellence is to encourage an illiterate lumpen rage against anything that isnt dumbed down to
the shocking level of intellectual nothingness that we seem to be comforted by these days. If our children
cannot use proper grammar, if they cannot spell, if they are unable to sit for examinations, if they are
unable to speak a language correctly, if they are unable to study because they are turned off by stress, if
they are led to believe that all effort is a waste of time, is this the kind of generation we want to rear as
future citizens? Saraswati is a gentle goddess. Maybe we need to change our mode of worship, but let's
not disrespect her.
3 Idiots is a fun caper and thoroughly enjoyable. Yet, at the core of the film is a dark and troubling
cynicism about the future of Indias young. The technicolour fun and games conceals a destructive anger
and a condescending disdain for all those across India who may be aspiring to join centres of excellence
or study or teach in them. The incredible popularity
of the film shows that as a nation we are in no mood to study and are delighted that idiocy is at last
legitimate.
At first place, the movie is not condemning the education system as whole. The message is
clear that we need to monitor the process of teaching and not the subject matter of
teaching.
I am not saying that the present lot of teachers are not inclined to teach in better manner
or they are short of the teaching talent. In fact, we have best pool of teachers which is
reflected by the amount of foreign firms being attracted to IIT's and IIM's to hire Indian
brains. But what about those students, who do not secure admissions in these prestigious
institutions but still have the inner talent and the zeal to succeed?
Also, the movie is not at all saying that don't work hard. Instead the message is that you
work hard in that field which you like the best to be the best in that respective field so that

you will attend excellence which in turn will fetch success. This is amply exampled in
'rancho's' character who learns to learn and increase his knowledge and does hard work so
as to stand first in every semester. This is because engineering is shown to be his passion.
But, I still appreciate the fact pointed out in the article, that indeed our country has very
few premier institutes and the number of applications are numerous. Our government
should think of this issue with severity if we want to among powerful nations. But thanks to
the existence of disloyal and corrupted ministers we are not going in that direction.
So, in totality the movie is a great attempt to influence one's mind but we need to check
that it is in positive manner.

Released in 2009, 3 Idiots is an Indian comedy-drama surrounding the lives of

three College friends, Farhan, Raju and Rancho. It is loosely adapted from the
novel Five Point Someone by Chetan Bhagat.
"All is well," the three "idiot" heroes of 3 Idiots recite when they become frazzled or nervous, while frantically tapping
their hearts. They know that reciting the oversimplifying phrase will not provide their problems with a solution, or
even a catalyst, but it gives them the onset courage they desperately need at a time of uncertainty and despair. One
character even tries to use the line after an amateurishly-given birth may have gone terribly wrong. It's times like that
when the saying may not be so effective, even if its goal is not to provide certain relief.
But all is well, as they so often say. Rajkumar Hirani's 3 Idiots, my introduction to the world of Bollywood cinema, is a
comedy-drama unlike any one I've ever seen, long, but never drawn out, frantic, but never desperate, and emotional,
but never manipulating. It provides us with three of the most likable characters of the last decade, and with insight to
the culture of Indians and their parents. Rarely has a comedy had this big of a brain in its head and a canvas of
opportunities in mind, while possessing a title not even fit for a farce.
Our title characters are ambitious but stunted Farhan Qureshi (R. Madhavan), jittery, fearful Raju Rastogi (Sharman
Joshi), and borderline prodigy Ranchhoddas "Rancho" Shamaldas Chhanchad (Aamir Khan), three close friends who
attend the Imperial College of Engineering (ICE), one of India's most prestigious colleges where only the best are
accepted. The young boys already are facing some of life's greatest challenges, all of them pursuing the field of
engineering when the only one who seems to have a passion for the material is Rancho. Farhan was forced to become
skilled in the field because of his strict father, and Raju is pursuing the field with the goal of getting his family out of
poverty, with his father's expensive health bills, his mother's fragile core, and his sister's inability to marry all on the
table. Rancho is studying because he feels that one should pursue passion and make a career out of it, so it doesn't feel
like work. If you're passionate and devoted to your work, success will find you - yet this is only one of the countless
morals and insights 3 Idiots provide its viewer with.
The film chronicles their issues in college in flashback, with instances in the presence popping up to show Farhan and
Raju searching for their pal Rancho, who has disappeared and avoided contact for several years now. This is not your
typical flashback film, however. It uses this method much to its advantage, and doesn't feel like a narrative within a
narrative. It seals both stories nicely, but it takes the viewer on a roller-coaster ride of emotions through carefully
constructed events before it even arrives at those endings.
There's a love story in 3 Idiots that I'll spare you the details of; the way it's gone about and conducted isn't as cliche as
one would like to believe. It isn't 100% original, but as far as romantic comedies go, this one seems to have a clear
grasp on its characters, which aren't the usual vapid stereotypes or empty-headed flyweights.
One of their problems in college is the professor/dean of the campus, Viru Sahastrabuddhe (Boman Irani), who the
three derogatorily call "Virus" when his back is turned. Virus is strict and often largely unsympathetic to the problems
of his students, which allows the film to explore a dark topic one assumes a comedy wouldn't dare cross paths with
and that is the issue of Indian teen suicide. One kid had his father have a stroke, rendering him unable to focus on
academics for months, falling gravely behind. Virus is grossly unsympathetic to his case, denying him an extension on
a project he's work so unrealistically hard on but can not perfect.

If anything, we can say 3 Idiots is a message to the parents of the Indian youth and that is to stop applying pressure to
an already stressed out demographic. I've read several articles articulating the point that Indian teenagers are among
one of the highest in suicide rates, and that many parents put an unrealistic amount of pressure, duty, and
responsibility on the child to the point of a physical and mental collapse. You're given the unalienable freedom to
raise your kids with the method you choose, but not every method is perfect, and when your method is one of the ones
that leads to suicide, mental health problems, and perpetuates fear and anxiety in the minds of teenagers, then you
may want to reevaluate your methods.
3 Idiots also provides us with the idea that many Indian children are told what to become in life early and are
discouraged from exploration or even personal ambition. This I can't believe. What an unhappy, uninspiring,
completely wasted life to slog through everyday doing something you loathe all because it was the lucky career choice
of your parents. Yet I'm sure millions have been lead through this same life. It's the worst way of "living through a
person" that I can imagine.
The film runs ten minutes shy of three hours, which for few viewers may seem too long and uncomfortable. I was
skeptical myself walking in rather blind. Almost every Bollywood film I've conducted research on seems to run an
upwards of three hours, some extending and testing the waters to roughly five hours. I previously questioned how I
would be able to visit more with such long runtimes that almost request a day that offers nothing along the lines of
priorities. 3 Idiots brings us expertly crafted characters and such a wonderfully joyous setting that you crave to see
these characters longer, and not just for the obligatory ninety minutes. If other Bollywood works have characters
drawn along the same lines of being relatable, human, and easily accessible and not biased towards race or social
class, I can't see it being a struggle to get through any of the industry's films.
Through every quick-witted song and dance number, through every comedic scene, through every instance of
dramatic despair, emotionally alive moment, solemnly poignant sequence, suspenseful setup, to a lovely, heartfelt
conclusion, 3 Idiots is a wonderful, invaluable endeavor in the world of film. Its actors are beautifully fitting for their
roles, assisted by a script so human and true to life that it is honestly hard to believe, and captured through beautifully
alive cinematography to collectively give us a beautiful package not just in the figurative sense. This is arguably one of
the best comedies I've ever seen.
Starring: Aamir Khan, R. Madhavan, Sharman Joshi, Kareena Kapoor, Boman Irani, Omi Vaidya, Mona Singh, and
Parikshit Sahni. Directed by: Rajkumar Hirani.
"Whatever the problem in life is... just say to yourself 'Aal Izz Well'.. This wont solve your problems but it will give the courage to face it.."
"Chase Excellence and success will follow".. " Life is not about getting marks, grades but chasing your dreams".. These are the golden rules
which 3 IDIOTS teaches you in a very light and entertaining way.. The movie makes you laugh and in the process you learn many golden
rules which can alter your life in a big manner...
3 actors from the path-breaking blockbuster RANG DE BASANTI( Aamir, Sharman, Madhvan) team up together with Rajkumar Hirani.. It
couldn't get bigger! Loosely based on blockbuster novel ' Five Point Someone ' by Chetan Bhagat the movie deals with the present education
system in India that whether getting more marks and better grades is better than gaining knowledge and is mugging up everything more
useful than understanding it..
The movie has many hilarious scenes and everyone in the film form Aamir to Boman Irani to Omi Vaidya were superb in their roles.. Aamir
has outdone himself.. Never in the film he has looked 44 year old... Film's music sounds mediocre but when viewed on the screen then the
music sounds perfect.. Cinematography is awesome and so is the direction.. Raju Hirani's screenplay(you can easily ignore a few loose
points) is a masterpiece and the film will achieve cult status for engineering students in a short period of time.. It has the soul which Five
Point Someone had.. It is easily Aamir Khan's finest film to date.. The film's climax is fantabulous and is a shocker.. It takes everyone by
surprise...
To conclude 3 IDIOTS has the potential to break all records and sweep all awards.. Watch it... You will Love it...