Rajkumar Hirani, after having completed two hugely popular and entertaining Munnabhai films, had announced that he wanted to give us a film based on the education system of our country. A few moons later, I heard that his next was to be based on Chetan Bhagat's bestselling Five Point Someone. Hmmm. Mighty exciting, I thought.
And then, '3 Idiots' came. There was a hype that was deafening and my instincts started tingling. Good, bad, confused. Two days ago, I stopped reading everything about the film - articles, reviews - everything. And I saw it today, finally.
Today, I could not help but marvel at that genius man - Hirani. We owe it to him because we can't honestly remember when was the last time we had a good deal of fun at the cinemas and because while we were busy with our mundane lives, this man thought about entertaining us for a few hours by making a light-hearted film. You see, what he does is simple. He visits the old style filmmaking roots of Hrushikesh Mukherjee and Manmohan Desai and creates his own style by taking a leaf out of theirs. His agenda is to entertain us and pass us a message hidden below those laughs, those tears, those characters.
The film is a heart-warming story set against the backdrop of the harsh education system of our country.The thing here is that the makers chose to TELL the story, PASS the message and believe me, the movie never cries out loud from over the rooftops. The movie is fun and frolic, sad and melancholic. But, it has that trademark Hirani style - a new Color, a new palette which we got to see in his previous two films as well. What that color is, I don't know. But, I know it is there. It might be the camera, the story, the characters or all of the above. But, the Hirani-sque touch is very much there. The story follows the lives of two friends Farhan (Madhavan) and Raju (Sharman) who embark on a journey to find their third friend Rancho (Aamir), who since graduation, has vanished. While on the journey, they let their minds wander into the past and reminisce how it was Rancho who changed them all.
Okay, before you argue that Aamir Khan looks too old to play a 20-something student, I advise you to hold your jaw lest it hits the ground too hard. There is no trace of the 44 year old Aamir. He IS the student who Raju set out to carve.
Films like these have an inherent nobility that is too hard to find in films these days. 3 Idiots presents us with two new finds - Chatur (Omi) and Millimetre (couldn't get his name). I will not say much except that they are brilliant and need to be lapped up by filmmakers. 3 Idiots works big time. But, is the movie without its share of faults? How could it be? It is after all from a director who has always made us believe in a story by removing the logical streak from it. Some things are overdone here and there. Case in point, an elderly professor moving his zip up and down, in front of the whole class. Looks highly forced to generate laughs. But...there are times when you'll laugh till your sides ache and there are times when you will want to feel the lump in your throat.
The strength of 3 Idiots lies in what it becomes when it wants to be. When it has to be poignant, it is. When it has to be funny, it is. When it has to be the leave-your-brains-behind type, it is. For example, if you look at Mona Singh's delivery scene, it may look ridiculous. But, the energy is what differentiates it from those Akshay Kumar no-brainers.
Sometime after the film ended, one of my friends asked whose performance I liked the most. I hadn't thought about it at all. So, I asked him a trick question- Whose performance did you not like? He was in the same dilemma I was in. No one strikes a false chord here. Be it Aamir, Sharman, Madhavan, Boman, Kareena, Omi- everyone deserves a pat on the back. One word for Madhavan who I have always found to be a terrific actor. Note the scene at the climax, when Aamir tells him, "Tu meri baat sun na..." and Madhavan retaliates saying, "Nahin, Nahin, Tu meri baat sun...". The way Madhavan does it is so organic and real that I wanted to take some lessons from him.
Thankfully, Hirani chooses to steer clear by not focusing too much on the love story and it works big time. For this is the story of 3 friends and their somewhat uneven life. Muralidharan C. K. needs to be applauded for the sweeping cinematography. Screenwriters Abhijat Joshi, Vidhu Vinod Chopra and Hirani, take a bow!
The audience I was with was in a state of extreme euphoria. I was swept away with them too. I applauded like a child. I really did. I felt a lot good and so did they. Melodramatic even, but also a little feel-good, a little feel sad, but feel-bad? No, that it ain't!
* * * 1/2.
Written by Gyandeep Pattnayak.
And then, '3 Idiots' came. There was a hype that was deafening and my instincts started tingling. Good, bad, confused. Two days ago, I stopped reading everything about the film - articles, reviews - everything. And I saw it today, finally.
Today, I could not help but marvel at that genius man - Hirani. We owe it to him because we can't honestly remember when was the last time we had a good deal of fun at the cinemas and because while we were busy with our mundane lives, this man thought about entertaining us for a few hours by making a light-hearted film. You see, what he does is simple. He visits the old style filmmaking roots of Hrushikesh Mukherjee and Manmohan Desai and creates his own style by taking a leaf out of theirs. His agenda is to entertain us and pass us a message hidden below those laughs, those tears, those characters.
The film is a heart-warming story set against the backdrop of the harsh education system of our country.The thing here is that the makers chose to TELL the story, PASS the message and believe me, the movie never cries out loud from over the rooftops. The movie is fun and frolic, sad and melancholic. But, it has that trademark Hirani style - a new Color, a new palette which we got to see in his previous two films as well. What that color is, I don't know. But, I know it is there. It might be the camera, the story, the characters or all of the above. But, the Hirani-sque touch is very much there. The story follows the lives of two friends Farhan (Madhavan) and Raju (Sharman) who embark on a journey to find their third friend Rancho (Aamir), who since graduation, has vanished. While on the journey, they let their minds wander into the past and reminisce how it was Rancho who changed them all.
Okay, before you argue that Aamir Khan looks too old to play a 20-something student, I advise you to hold your jaw lest it hits the ground too hard. There is no trace of the 44 year old Aamir. He IS the student who Raju set out to carve.
Films like these have an inherent nobility that is too hard to find in films these days. 3 Idiots presents us with two new finds - Chatur (Omi) and Millimetre (couldn't get his name). I will not say much except that they are brilliant and need to be lapped up by filmmakers. 3 Idiots works big time. But, is the movie without its share of faults? How could it be? It is after all from a director who has always made us believe in a story by removing the logical streak from it. Some things are overdone here and there. Case in point, an elderly professor moving his zip up and down, in front of the whole class. Looks highly forced to generate laughs. But...there are times when you'll laugh till your sides ache and there are times when you will want to feel the lump in your throat.
The strength of 3 Idiots lies in what it becomes when it wants to be. When it has to be poignant, it is. When it has to be funny, it is. When it has to be the leave-your-brains-behind type, it is. For example, if you look at Mona Singh's delivery scene, it may look ridiculous. But, the energy is what differentiates it from those Akshay Kumar no-brainers.
Sometime after the film ended, one of my friends asked whose performance I liked the most. I hadn't thought about it at all. So, I asked him a trick question- Whose performance did you not like? He was in the same dilemma I was in. No one strikes a false chord here. Be it Aamir, Sharman, Madhavan, Boman, Kareena, Omi- everyone deserves a pat on the back. One word for Madhavan who I have always found to be a terrific actor. Note the scene at the climax, when Aamir tells him, "Tu meri baat sun na..." and Madhavan retaliates saying, "Nahin, Nahin, Tu meri baat sun...". The way Madhavan does it is so organic and real that I wanted to take some lessons from him.
Thankfully, Hirani chooses to steer clear by not focusing too much on the love story and it works big time. For this is the story of 3 friends and their somewhat uneven life. Muralidharan C. K. needs to be applauded for the sweeping cinematography. Screenwriters Abhijat Joshi, Vidhu Vinod Chopra and Hirani, take a bow!
The audience I was with was in a state of extreme euphoria. I was swept away with them too. I applauded like a child. I really did. I felt a lot good and so did they. Melodramatic even, but also a little feel-good, a little feel sad, but feel-bad? No, that it ain't!
* * * 1/2.
Written by Gyandeep Pattnayak.
