Aamir Khan is one of the superstars of the Hindi Film Industry, he can make a movie work entirely on his shoulders. He proved that as a mediocre film like "Ghajini" achieved blockbuster success mainly due to him. Few years ago Aamir started a trend of doing one movie at a time, so he has one release every year. First it was "Rang De Basanti" which was a big hit and then "Taare Zameen Par" which was another big hit.
I didn’t watched these two movies on the big screen so I decided that from the next time I will surely watch Aamir’s movies only in theater. Then came "Ghajini", I went only because of Aamir, the movie was decent but I didn’t liked it. One year later "3 Idiots" came and this time I thought to give Aamir another try. Another main reason for me going to this movie was the director Rajkumar Hirani who has given us two wonderful movies of "Munnabhai" series. From the trailers it seemed like Aamir has over acted to compensate for his age, so I was skeptical but I still decided to give it a go. Thank God I did.
This is one of the best Hindi movie I have ever seen. Like all other Rajkumar Hirani movies this one is a satire and places some messages subtly (and sometimes loudly). The story is broadly similar to the famous novel "Five Point Someone" but is no way identical to it. It has an entirely different storyline and a wonderful one. Three college friends dealing with the pressure and the problems faced in the college is really heart touching. Anybody who has gone to a college would instantly identify with the characters.
The connect which Rajkumar Hirani makes with the audience is instantaneous and amazing. I am not an Engineer, I am a Commerce graduate but it doesn’t hamper me in any way in enjoying this movie. Aamir Khan, Madhavan and Sharman Joshi plays their characters perfectly. Mention should be made of other nice characters like Millimeter and Silencer (Omi Vaidya), this guy Omi Vaidya is also a star attraction of the movie. The funny scenes featuring him are simply amazing.
These scenes would make your stomach ache with laughter. All the credit to him for pulling off such a role with panache. Boman Irani as a stereotyped villain is as usual good, he is at his best in Hirani’s movies and once again he delivers. Kareena Kapoor is endearing in her small role. Aamir Khan as expected takes the movie entirely on his shoulders and delivers a flawless performance. R Madhavan and Sharman Joshi provides adequate support by giving a good performance.
The crackling chemistry between the trio is amazing. I was puzzled by the director’s choice of these actors to play college boys when there is immense young talent out there, Hirani said that he wanted three guys who looks like genuine friends, do these 3 look like genuine friends? oh yes they do. They touch our hearts with their friendship with ease. Many heart touching moments in the movie are created by this trio so easily that they don’t seem middle aged anymore. Once you see this movie, you cannot see any other actor playing these characters with such perfection.
The dialogues are funny, the one liners are well delivered by the entire cast. Some funny scenes are simply amazing. I won’t divulge them here as I don’t want to be a spoilsport. Rajkumar Hirani’s narration style is brilliant, he has a unique style of showing things. For e.g. The family of Sharman Joshi is shown as a 50s house with a paralyzed father, coughing mother and an unmarried sister. As soon as the focus is on the family the camera turns black and white and an appropriate music starts playing in the background. The situation in reality is grave but the audience sympathize and laugh both at the same time.
This is in reality Hirani’s biggest achievement, to say something deep in a humorous tone. Many issues prevalent in educational system are touched like excessive pressure and stress on students, excessive importance on grades, difference between learning by rote and by understanding, how our current education system rewards learning by rote and is just treating students like a product out of a factory rather than teaching them to think, invent and innovate.
New concepts like "Aal Iz Well" works well (like "Jadoo ki Jhappi" in Munnabhai series). Some scenes are over-the-top but that adds to the entire drama. There is not a dull moment in this movie. I don’t like many hindi movies, if you look at my blog I haven’t given rave reviews for any Hindi movie, but "3 Idiots" deserve it. Its a superb movie that is lighthearted and sends out a message at the same time. When the audience walked out of the theater everybody was smiling and laughing. Thats the main strength of this movie, the feel-good factor which will touch every person who will watch it. Don’t watch it on your laptop (by downloading or buying pirated DVDs). It would be an injustice not to watch it in a theater. Go and watch it on a big screen. Not many Hindi movies would make me say this but this one is a "Masterpiece". I loved it!!!