Okay compared to the book reading score, this was a little delayed, but my first theatre experience of 2010 happened within 10 days (and I saw Sherlock Holmes 2 days later.) I saw 3 Idiots on Sunday and absolutely loved the movie.
Aamir Khan doesn’t look a day older than 25 (although he is above 40), Sharman Joshi’s performance has induced laughter as always and Madhavan, even with a completely different personality has succeeded in complimenting the other two excellently.
Although the movie is said to be an adaptation of Chetan Bhagat’s ‘Five Point Someone’ which talks about three guys and their life at IIT (Indian Institute of Technology), how they struggled with their grades, their love troubles, and more importantly GPAs (Grade Point Averages), mugging, assignments and weed; the movie only has tid-bits of the books entwined into its story (steering clear of the weed of course,) which on a broader level delivers a message to the audience (which I’m sure was not the point of the book).
Although the movie is said to be an adaptation of Chetan Bhagat’s ‘Five Point Someone’ which talks about three guys and their life at IIT (Indian Institute of Technology), how they struggled with their grades, their love troubles, and more importantly GPAs (Grade Point Averages), mugging, assignments and weed; the movie only has tid-bits of the books entwined into its story (steering clear of the weed of course,) which on a broader level delivers a message to the audience (which I’m sure was not the point of the book).
Aamir, Sharman and Madhavan (Rancho, Raju and Farhan respectively) are engineering students at ICE (Imperial College of Engineering) Delhi and have Viru Sahasrabuddhe (fondly called ‘Virus’) the disciplinarian Dean; played by Boman Irani who is famous for his Velcro shirts, hook ties and seven and a half minute power naps which are utilized for getting the unproductive work (like shaving, etc.) done. In a college led by a dean whose methods of teaching and approach to education are as old as him, Rancho strives to bring about a change.
He (Rancho) is of the opinion (and I completely agree) that in the rat race to be ahead in this competitive world, we have all forgotten the true meaning of education. We emphasize attaining marks and only that is taught which will help you get the required marks to pass an exam and thus get a job in a reputed company. In the process, we forget the value of learning just for the heck of it. Whatever happened to learning to quench your thirst for knowledge, to satisfy your curiosity?? When asked ‘What is a machine?’ he demonstrates this in the classroom by explaining to his professor in very simple words whereas the professor would not accept his answer just because he did not use the exact words used in the definition, although they summed up to mean the same.
Apart from bringing out the flaw in the focus of our educational system, there’s one message in the movie that I will remember for the rest of my life, and THAT plainly is the reason why those two hundred rupees and three hours spent in the theater were more than worth it! “All is well” pronounced “Alll izzz Well” in the movie are the three golden words that give you the solution to every problem. Well, not the solution per se, but as Rancho puts it – whenever you’re in trouble, place your hand on your heart and say “Aalll izz Well”. That way we fool our heart into believing that everything’s alright. And even though that doesn’t give us the solution to the problem, it makes us stronger to face whatever it is.
More than anything, the movie has forced the audience to THINK. What are we doing with our lives??? Are we just doing whatever we’re doing for the sake of money, or to fulfill our parents’ dreams? But what about our dreams, our passion?? And yes, it got me thinking (more) too.
I had realized somewhere around the beginning of last year that I would want to pursue something where my interest lay, of course after completing what I had already taken on hand. After watching the movie, I was convinced that my decision to choose a different career path after getting my degree is perfectly correct and that raised my spirits.
Also the movie strengthened my belief that worrying unnecessarily gets you nowhere. If anything, it gets further you away from what you want to achieve.
Oops! I almost forgot Kareena, who plays Piya (can’t blame me for the not-so-significant role that she had) – the dean’s daughter who first hates Rancho’s guts and then falls for him (typical Hindi movie romance) and ultimately conspires with Rancho against her father to help Raju. And how can we forget, Chatur Ramalingam (aka Silencer because he silently farts all over the place because of the digestive pills he takes) and his famous speech on Teacher’s Day.
It’s got some great comedy, awesome dialogues and the timing of the three idiots is so amazing that you will roll with laughter and come out of the theatre enlightened. So stop worrying, take a chill pill, go watch the movie and then get back to work with a trouble-free mind. And if nothing else works, put your hand on your heart and say ‘Alll izzz Well’ 😛
Mrs. Writes-a-Latte 