“A for Apple, B for Ball…” – 3 Idiots Review

Since watching many Bollywood films at a very young age, I can confidently say that ‘3 idiots’ is one of the best of all time. With the astonishing 19 wins and 10 nominations, 3 idiots has been a huge success all over the world, especially in India. Director Rajkumar Hirani has amazingly created this comedy drama, which manifests stomach aching humour to an arousal of common, emotional issues.

“Pursue excellence, and success will follow…” – Rancho

The film focuses on the lives of three main protagonists: ‘Rancho’ Shamaldas Chanchad(Amir Khan), Farhan Qureshi (Madhavan) and Raju Rastogi (Sharman Joshi). The narrative sums up the stereotypical norms and values of how the Indian parents in India have traditional aspirations for their sons at a very young age, wanting them to become Lawyers, Doctors and in this case Engineers! It cleverly questions the education system of which grades and points are rewarded whereas knowledge and understanding is forgotten. The film begins with the two friends; Farhan and Raju searching for their long lost friend Rancho. A non-linear theme is present throughout the film, going forwards and backwards to the present and past, whilst explaining the story so clearly and explicitly allows us to feel part of their journey.

“Today my respect for that idiot shot up. Most of us went to college just for a degree. No degree meant no plum job, no pretty wife, no credit card, no social status. But none of this mattered to him, he was in college for the joy of learning, he never cared if he was first or last.” – Farhan

Amir Khan’s character Rancho is played out extremely well. His persona of this happy, intelligent, moral character is easily recognized through his dialogue and actions.

For example looking at Rancho’s facial expressions and body language, his character is reinforced by; scratching his head, hands in his pockets, playing the Rubix cube etc. Amir Khan brilliantly perpetuates Rancho’s character, allowing us to fully believe in him. Rancho is an unforgettable character, a friend everyone aspires to have and a person who will believe in you. Rancho heavily goes against the dominant ideology of how his friends’ fates are decided by their parents, the unfair education system and the traditional beliefs. His charismatic, inspiring soul pushes his friends to follow their dreams, for example convincing Raju to follow his ambitions of becoming a wildlife photographer. “All iz well” – his famous quote is constantly repeated throughout the film, providing a sense of encouragement and a speck of hope.

Apart from enjoying Bollywood films, I am not very fond of the gleeful songs in between lengthy scenes. However, having said that the music used in 3 Idiots was incredibly perfect in portraying the emotion, meaning and plot. One of my favorite songs used in this film is “Give me some sunshine”. The song ideally sums up exactly what the protagonist is going through, allowing the audience to empathise with him. The scene provides a shock, where a young student commits suicide due to the pressure and stress of exam deadlines. The song builds up, which made me sit on the edge of my seat, preparing for something pessimistic to occur. I have to say, that the cinematography here was gratifying. In particular, the long shot of the protagonists’ legs in the air along with the scribbled writing by him stating “I QUIT!” is one of my favorite shots (shown below).

The songs lyrics “Give me some sunshine, give me some rain, give me another chance I want to grow up once again” precisely fits with the ambience, emphasising the hardcore reality. I believe that this scene is very moving, as it allows the audience to realise the seriousness of these issues, which can lead to death.

I have to admit, that even though I have watched this film several times, where I even know when the comedy is coming, I still laugh. I believe that this is what you call a film, allowing the audience to never get fed up, arouse emotion, relate to characters and most of all enjoy the humour. The concepts and issues, such as; the difficulty in gaining a degree, parental pressure, financial problems are definitely relatable to mass audiences, thus increasing the viewership.