I watched this much talked about movie this weekend. The movie is indeed getting tremendous reception and the critics have given thumbs up. After having watched, I have mixed feelings about the movie.
I will not attempt to write a full blown review for much is already written about the movie. Instead I will just point out the highs and lows of the movie.
Challenging the education system, the message the movie gives out is that excellence is achieved through recognizing your area of expertize and perfecting the craft. One's academic interest is not dictated by one's parents. The film makers give a new definition to Idiot which is “I'll Do It On my Terms”.
3 Idiots takes light-hearted jabs at the Indian education system, raising pertinent questions about the relevance of learning by rote, the obsession with high grades, and the dangerous repercussions of parental pressure to pursue traditional streams.
Rajkumar Hirani or otherwise known as Mr. Feelgood did a Patch Adams (A Robin Williams flick) in his Munna Bhai MBBS film. In the second installment Lage Raho Munnabhai, he brought back Gandhian values through Gandhigiri. In 3 Idiots, Hirani challenges the education system through 3 underdogs aka 3 Idiots.
Now let us look at the highs. The biggest high is the narration of the story. The search for Rancho develops the curiosity on the audience as if the audience is on a journey with the other 2 idiots Farhan and Raju through some of the most exotic locations in India. Chatur's (the 'brainy' student) hilarious speech. After asking for a 5 minutes extension from the examiner, Rancho messing up the answer papers to confuse the examiner who refuses to accept their answer papers. Chatur's rants after he fares second place after Rancho. Millimeter mimicking Viru the college principal during the principal's welcome speech to the students.
And finally the lows. Rancho played by Aamir had no chemistry with Pia played by Kareena Kapoor. The Munnabhai hangover was found throughout like poking fun at Kareena's arrogant elite boy friend and “Jaadu ki jhappi” is replaced by “all izz well”. Mona Singh's delivery episode was unnecessary. The biggest let down is Rancho's disguise act at the college. It is hard to imagine a preachy yet brilliant student would sneak into a college and would graduate as a proxy for someone else. It questions the credibility of the lead character.
Hirani's screenplay dilutes the underlying message about following your dreams. 3 Idiots could have been a wonderful light-hearted story about India's education system and the ever-increasing tribe of aspiring engineers. While the idea might have been to narrate a serious thought in a funny manner - the execution of many sequences is more superfluous than clever.
Verdict: 3 Idiots is a feel good film with a positive message. But you never feel for or root for its characters. Watch it for truckloads of laughter and its very relevant messages.
