" Strive for excellence not success cos if you are excellent success will follow you " is what this film wanted to convey and I do agree to it. The same phrase can also be interpreted as , being successful does’nt necessarily mean that you are excellent. In my opinion it goes very well with this film. Beyond doubts it is a commercially successful film but I dont feel it is excellent.
The film aims to convey some serious messages to society . follow your heart, learn to excel and changes in our education system but uses all the fantasies and under rated comic sequences to do so. when a film aims to spread such an important message I dont think it should do that with the aid of cheap vulgar comedy. Right from the beginning vulgarity was an inherent part of the film. Tohfa kobool, Pissing on live wired spoon, loo scenes, delivery through vaccum cleaner, kids electrocuting pissing man, balatkar and stan speech may have made laugh many but then I think I would avoid getting into questions from my kid about all this. I think if the writer had been more creative better ideas could have been thought of. if it is a social message that film aims for then it should have been more comfortable with the family. In order to make people laugh do we really need to make fun of a poor deprived family. There can be poor families in reality also which have paralysed father and marrigable daughter and I would never digest such a situation becoming comic or a matter of entertainment. Social messages here come along with several other messages like vulgarity, indisciplined students, mockery of poor . I think Hirani had a choice to stay away from all this and make a cleaner film like his earlier films.
The film actually failed to touch my heart cos of being offensive in several situations. The punch lines and gags used were also very predictable. I am a lover of comedies and ready to watch any mindless spoof but here I was constantly looking for something hillarious enough to make me laugh for atleast 10 seconds.
As far as the cast performance is concerned I dont think the script required the actors to play any challenging characters.I dont think there is any challenge for aamir to play a college guy. An avarage performance for an avarege role. Aamir is a much better actor and was more intense in TZP. Aamir, Shraman and Madhvan are all fine actors but I failed to notice excellence in their work. I think they did better job in Rang de Basanti. Though I admire Aamir’s efforts to look younger.
I did enjoy the film in bits and pieces and can just recommend it for a time pass. I think it would have been better if I had entered theatre with lesser expectations and would recommend the same to u if u are a quality lover.
In his strive to make a box office success, Hirani’s excellence was missing.