3 Idiots is arguably the most awaited movie of the year. Ever since it was announced that Rajkumar Hirani and Aamir Khan were going to get together to make a movie on the education system, the interest of every movie lover (including the author) was piqued. To start with, 3 Idiots is probably the most entertaining movie of the year. And that is saying something, specially in a year which has had a bunch of high profile duds. At the time of writing, according to some reports, the movie has already garnered close to 93 cr in the opening weekend itself. This is an all time high record for any Indian movie. Not that anyone had any doubts on whether the movie was going to recover money or make profits.
But coming from a team which has movies like the Munnabhai series, TZP, RDB, Lagaan and DCH under its belt, the expectations were for something special, a probable classic. Hirani’s greatest asset is his ability to create humor in every situation. And he isn’t someone just content to milk laughs. Lage Raho Munnabhai was perhaps the bravest movie of the decade. Coming after its insanely funny predecessor, Hirani could have just replicated the formula by sending Munna to do either Law or MSc or MBA. But instead he completely forsake the structure of the previous movie and went ahead with the masterstroke of using Gandhi as a key character. In both his movies, there were messages laced subtly in the midst of all the jokes.
Coming to 3 Idiots, it is the story of 3 students viz. Rancho(Aamir Khan), Farhan(Madhavan) and Raju(Sharman Joshi) who study engineering at a college run by Viru Sahastrbuddhe (Boman Irani). Essentially Rancho seems to have to come to college only to point out the problems with the education system and rebel against it along with his faithful sidekicks. The point gets overstated a bit, but it is doused in generous doses of humor to keep it light and enjoyable
The movie employs a bunch of set pieces and turns them on their head with hilarious twists. As an example: the scene where Chatur(played by new face Omi, it is a significant character in the movie) addresses the entire college in chaste hindi without understanding the meaning of what he is saying. But where Hirani sets the movie aside from a mindless comedy is evident in the very next scene when Chatur comes back drunk and questions Rancho on why was he humiliated. In a way even the character of Chatur, who is otherwise one dimensional and irritating, gets a chance to redeem himself.
Hirani keeps it realistic only when he wants it to be, taking a lot of things for granted. But then you are willing to be a part of the joyride which enables you to suspend you disbelief. The second half is definitely more melodramatic, which gives the characters and the viewers a chance to introspect on the issues, the movie highlights. However this is when the problems with the script start to get discomforting. You feel a sense of manipulation, in the way your emotional responses are tickled. There are scenes which virtually beg to you laugh, followed by some real tearjerkers and one painfully long cringe worthy scene. The so called pertinent questions about the education system start to seem like an afterthought in a movie which basically wants to be a blockbuster.
3 Idiots in spite of all its brilliance is a lazy script. For all practical purposes this could have been virtually Munnabhai Btech, with Rancho replacing Munna and Circuit replaced by 2 sidekicks. The rest is the same, an autocratic head of institution and his daughter who falls in love with the protagonist. Even more, the whole scene of Jimmy Shergill having an heart to heart with his father in Lage Raho is replicated in 3 Idiots. And guess what, the father is the same in both: Parikshit Sahni.
As far as performances go, its primarily an Aamir Khan movie, more so than his other multi starrers like RDB or DCH. He rises to the occasion and plays the role with a great deal of conviction. However the effort to play a character half his age shows. In the early part he goes a little overboard with the wide eyed grin, lip smacking and droopy shoulders. However he eases into the role and seems more natural, as the film progresses . Madhavan is adequate in his role; its not really a difficult one for him. Sharman has a couple of scenes, where he shows why he is one of the most underrated actors in Hindi cinema. Boman Irani’s character didn’t seem well etched, and therefore he hams it up a bit to make up. Kareena’s role is a minor one and she is pleasant throughout. The chemistry between Aamir and her was non existent though.
Ultimately 3 Idiots is a movie that will still achieve all of its stated goals, viz make money for all those involved, entertain most people and be another feather in the cap of Aamir and Hirani. But with the kind of resources at their disposal, they could have aimed for something higher.