Which is one of those few resolutions that I don’t forget to take every year? One about which I can tell confidently, is to watch the upcoming Aamir Khan movie for that year!
Over these years, his movies have been so influential, in some or the other way, that you can’t just avoid watching them out! Be it the days of Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikandar (a trendsetter movie in those days) & Rangeela, to the recent ones like of Dil Chahta Hai, Lagaan, Rang De Basanti & Taare Zameen Par, Aamir has proved his metal again and again, as the most brillant actor of present times and one who has the courage of trying out new ideas and story lines in his cinemas and seems to be almost like an oasis in the present crowd of irrelevant, meaningless Hindi commercial movies. The excitement which I regain every time after watching his movies, has only inspired me to write this review to share my experience with all!
First of all, 3 Idiots is no exception to this lineage of Aamir Khan movies that have made permanent places in our memories & hearts.My expectations were quite high because of the talented cast & director, the superb idea of a film based on a campus life and more to that, the presence of the perfectionist- Aamir! But, somewhere down the line, it has still left me expecting for more.In what way, I would come chronologically in following sections.
Positve Aspects:-
1) Brilliant performances by all the actors
2) Superb diolagues & some real funny sequences
3) Excellent cinematography
4) The music & picturization of the songs
3 Idiots presents a very interesting, but relevant story of 3 friends and their journey in life while being there in an Engineering college and thenafter. The very idea of a storyline based on a Engg.Campus life has not only interested people like me who have been through this experience of a Engg Campus life, but also others who have studied in any other stream of education.
The movie starts with an exceptional note which is very impressive.Madhavan & Sharman Joshi prove again and again that how excellent actors they are! Throughout the movie, both of these actors do full justice to their roles of students passing through the various phases of their lives, be it scene of dropping down their pants in the ragging scenes(quite bold one to have shot that in a real girl’s hostel at IIM B) and thenafter also, or the emotional scenes & other situations like speaking out their hearts after being drunk and also the’situational comedy’ scenes like the one in the hospital or the night scene at the principal’s house. Kareena Kapoor did not get a meaty & lengthy role to show off her acting skills, but she is nice all throughout! In fact, I liked her screen-presence very much as I had liked her last in’ Jab We Met’.
Bomani Irani is as perfect as the principal, as he is as an actor!.But, the actor who stands out as the discovery of this film, is Omi Vaidya, who is simply brilliant.Till the end, he makes everyone laugh with his excellent comic-timing, hillarious histrionics and acting skills. But, even after taking all this into account, the one actor who excels, is none other than Aamir Khan! He shows up again and again that what is meant by’natural acting’! Be it enacting expressions for any type of situation, or his way of dialogue delivery, Aamir proves once again that he is league ahead of the present genre of Bollywood heroes!
Shantanu Moitra’s music is excellent.The songs have come in naturally in the plot, and all the songs have some refreshing, youthful music which we would keep humming for a long time.Cinematrograhy was brilliant, specially to mention the scences shots in Ladakh and the’Zoobi Doobi’ Song picturized on Aamir and Kareena(the song has some innovative ideas put in its choreography & picturization).
When almost all the aspects were seemingly perfect initially , and I was just hoping to put’3 idiots’ on the same standard as that of few of Aamir’s few last releases like Rang De, Lagaan & Dil Chahta Hai, the only thing which still prevented me doing so and left me regretting and expecting for something more, is the’slightly’weak screenplay of the film.
Negative aspects:-
1) Weak Screenplay & some unrealistic instances
2) Very predictable story line in the second half
3) Extremely conventional and’filmy’ ending of the film
Although the impracticality of some of the situations as described in the film( like, how Aamir could challenge & defend the ragging exercise on the very first day, then how the Engg students could manage the delivery of a baby at their campus itself etc) can be considered as cases of’cinematic-liberty’, but the main dissppointing part of the film is the second half, which becomes extremely predictable! Everything in the sreenplay starts falling in at the right place as one could have wished to(like in a typical Hindi commercial movie)! And there is where, the film just misses the chance of becoming one of the best trend-setting & memorable movies of the recent times! The one film which I kept on remembering in this regard, was ’Dil Chahta Hai’, which was also an extremely youthful movie having shown the story of three young persons, in a very realistic way and truly earned the reputation of being a trend-setter movie of our times! I just wished that 3 Idiots with its excellent & contemporary background, could have excelled in the same manner by being something more than just a’fun movie’. .I just wished that the unconventional note, with which the film begins with initially, had been followed in its ending also and the film had been made a bit more realistic.
But, on an overall note, 3 Idiots is quite a nice movie and sets a trend in its own sense amidst the present league of commercial Hindi movies (amongst which there very few sensible ones to watch out nowadays).The film gives some valuable messages of life which touches our heart and senses. Aamir has done it once again this time, but this time he has left us being more eager to wait for his next release!