Three Idiots – Movie Review

The much talked about 3 Idiots is a true amalgamation of western ideology of life and Charles Darwin’s survival of the fittest. Aamir Khan’s next hit after Ghajini, 3 Idiots is Rajkumar Hirani and Vidhu Vinod Chopra’s third film together, after the Munnabhai duo.

The plot is based on Chetan Bhagat’s novel Five Point Someone (or so they say) and is played by the three lead actors, Aamir Khan, R. Madhavan and Sharman Joshi in the backdrop of one of India’s finest engineering colleges. Aamir Khan couldn’t get any better than this, and though he is playing the main lead, Chopra ensured he doesn’t overshadow the roles of R. Madhavan and Sharman Joshi. Boman Irani is convincing as the disciplined and authoritative director of the institute.

Anyone who has been through college life, especially that of a professional one set in India, can totally relate to the chaos a fresher goes through. All three characters Ranchordas Chanchar aka Rancho (Aamir), Farhan Qureshi (Madhavan) and Raju Rastogi (Sharman) become roommates and best of friends – friendship in its true spirit blossoms with no boundaries to caste, riches or language. Rancho is the unconventional sort, and distinguishes his personality at every step of his life in the college with his tangential thinking.

“Mugging up” or rote learning as is the educational system in India designed is challenged through Rancho’s ideals, who believes in being original. The impact of academic pressure leading to a number of suicides in colleges is what triggers a rebellious attitude in Rancho, and Farhan and Raju soon fall in line. Thus begins a plethora of events at the institute – the pranks – played in the classrooms, on the seniors, on the teachers, on the Director even. All symbolizing that “common sense” is a true gift to those who can see things simply and in the context of the present. According to Rancho’s ideology, we shouldn’t run after success, but let success come after us. By uncomplicating matters, Farhan is able to stand up to his traditional family to give up engineering and pursue wildlife photography, his true passion. Raju stops living in fear of failure and is able to land himself a secure job. This happy-go-lucky attitude of Rancho even rubs off on the Director’s daughter Pia (Kareena Kapoor), who later becomes the love of his life.

The twist in the movie comes when Rancho disappears after Graduation Day and cuts all contact with his friends. Years later, Farhan, Raju and Pia set out to look for him and find him in the isolated yet serene mountains of Ladakh. They discover that Rancho is actually Phunsook Wangdoo, a scientist, running a small school in Ladakh.

The “slang” packed in pockets of the film is a mix of Hindi, English and even Sanskrit, which creates ripples of laughter among the audience. But behind all this laughter and cheekiness, 3 Idiots brings out a very important realization within us. It teaches us to think out of the box, to look at things with the curiosity of a child and most of all, to follow your heart. The movie leaves you feeling light hearted and optimistic, and assures you that all can be well if you want it to be.