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December 30, 2009

3 Idiots: Aim excellence, saali success jhakk maar ke aayegi




I am (Shahrukh) Khan fan, and I liked 3 Idiots. OK, make it loved.

When we saw 2 of the biggest stars of our generation trying to do this movie, we knew that there has to be something special in it, and sure there was, too bad only one could do it, saala, lucky dog (no pun intended). Is it best of the decade, best ever? I have no idea, I have never ever been a good judge of movie, I liked Race after all. But then for me core of every movie lies in the "fun" factor, entertainment value, and then if you sprinkle enough of, what you call, "message", it becomes a movie not to be missed. In this regard, folks, 3I is a darn good one.

Coming to the movie, yes, jahapanah gag is overdone a bit, and caricatures don't exist in real. But then its not about that, right? Its about having fun while watching a movie, and take something along with you, if you can, which can be a joke, smile, or just a simple thought. Yes, every movie has a message, message of peace over war, love over hatred, freindship over animosity, and this movie has its fair share of points as well, which it tries to get across the table, but there are not many which puts in the way 3I does. If the movie is not entertaining enough, I think that whatever "message" it has is lost, and 3I has enough of funny, jokes, and punch lines, even though with the help of caricatures and gags, that never for once you feel that you are being preached or bored.

I have seen so many times how such and such movie's script is discussed as coursework for some college or something, this is one movie I would definitely want to be shown to every student out there. And see, its not about changing the system, like many would like you to believe, even VVC, its about changing your mentality, which in turn can change the system. How parents don't guide, but "force" them to walk on the path they think is right for them, sometimes by force, sometimes by emotional blackmailing of sorts. At the same time its a lesson to kids to try and learn for the sake of learning, not passing. Aim should be attaining the excellence, not degree. Degree might land you a job, nice car, bigger house, but success, the real big success, comes with excellence. Do not compete others, but aim to be excellent in what you are doing. If you are making a blog, don't try to outdo someone else's try to make your own so good that it gets the notice by itself. What a movie, what a motivation it can give to students trying real hard to make their name in this rat race of sorts.

It depends upon you what point you bring home, the loud, repetitve, stupid line, aal izz well, or the the point about doing what you love and loving what you do. After all, you are the viewer, you take the call. As such i am seldom interested in BO stuff, but this movie should break all the record, and deservingly. Big star, good movie, great marketing, has all the components right, hope it does that. This is a true DDLJ moment for Aamir, I don;t htink Ghajini ever was, but this sure is.

Performance wise, Aamir made the character his own, though some times he did look like forcing himself to be a kid, like when Boman is dragging him. But all in all, he nails it, the way he talks, reassures and motivate his friends and audience, is really worth watching. Maddy, Sharman are good in whatever is given to them, which is not exactly much. Loved the scnes of Sharman's family, how they were done in humor, amazing. Kareena is almost non existent. Lot has been said about Boman, but I think he did pretty good, like all Hirani movies, he was a caricature once again, and he did pretty well as that caricature. Gave laughs, played a bad guy, but still never a villain. I am not saying that the plot doesn't have loopholes, or its own fair share of unbelievable ridiculousness, but it is more to make the movie more entertaining, which it does. Also, I am sorry, I am not exactly an Oscar jury, and that too for a reason. I look for entertainment in the movie. Neither was I judging some Science journal that I comment on feasibility of a vacuum cleaner as a suction cup.

Yes, 3I is a collection of Munnabhais, TZP, at some points, even Mohabbatein. but it is a novel effort, and a good movie with enough of fun to make ou remember the point of " Attain Excellence, success saali jhakk maar ke aayegi".

My rating? Catch is as soon as possible, and show it to kids, and tell them how important it is to take interest in what they are doing, and do what they have interest in. Lets have few more Abdul Kalams than Kunals.

Once again, I might go to hell for saying that, still,

I am (Shahrukh) Khan fan, and I LOVED 3 Idiots.


PS: One note to bloggers as well. See this movie and you will understand the importance of being simple. I understand that you want to increase my vocab by using big words, and i appreciate that. But after a while it starts sounding as gibberish, not interesting anymore. And if you fail to explain your point, I think you failed as a writer, now I know I am not the smartest student/reader myself, but you won't be judged as a smart writer if you fail to put your point across. Am I making any sense? I hope I am.

24 comments:

Caulfield said...

What a review man!!!! Though I didn't like the movie much, because it was somewhat illogical to me. The kind of humor, situations suited Munnabhai, and not 3 Idiots. With Munnabhai , you already know it will be an OTT film. The 'Aal izz Well' thing was stupid. The entire scene where the baby starts kicking and crying looked stupid to me.

"I am (Shahrukh) Khan fan, and I liked 3 Idiots. OK, make it loved."
"I am (Shahrukh) Khan fan, and I LOVED 3 Idiots."

Is it mandatory to hate Aamir Khan or Salman Khan if you are a SRK fan? Is it mandatory to hate the competitor of your favorite star. I think not. So that sentence doesn't make sense IMHO.

"Lets have few more Abdul Kalams than Kunals."

I prefer reading Kunals than watching Idiots. Your reviews are more entertaining than the films. :D

But, I am very annoyed with the Rancho character. As the film was based on the novel Five Point Someone, Ryan was the most intelligent guy in terms of studies out of the group. In this film it was Rancho. He was the one who made the other two guys follow him in the novel. So going by that, Rancho was Ryan. But then it was Hari who had girlfriend(Professor's daughter) and not Ryan. So, just because it was played by Aamir Khan and the other two actors weren't as big a star, the girl went to Ryan(Rancho) in the film. How much of Aamir Khan's interruption was involved behind this - I don't know!!

Pardesi said...

All IZZ WELL - people who liked Race and Kambakht IshQ are loving 3 IDIOTS! I do not see any inconsistency there. Great review by the way!

Kunal said...

Caulil: Is it mandatory to hate Aamir Khan or Salman Khan if you are a SRK fan? Is it mandatory to hate the competitor of your favorite star. I think not. So that sentence doesn't make sense IMHO.

Thats what I learned in 2 years of bogging, Cauli :D
There are clear cut demarcations out there, you fan of this star, can't like that one, if you didn't like this thing, means you are a fan of that star, funny, but true ;)

Haven't read the book, so can't say.
And thank you thank you for liking my review, I still would prefer more Abdul Kalams :D

Pardesi: if nothing, atleast I am consistent. Wish I liked Ghajini, that would have been relaly consistent :D
BTW I didn't like KI, but DDD :P

Pardesi said...

How is Abdul Kalam to the point here? Learning is available to all - it is one click away in this Google and WWW age. It is hard to keep intelligence repressed and for the dumb there is no respite in any system. Elitist - BUT true.

Kunal said...

I don;t think learning as is easy for one, second, thats the point, you need to take interest in learning, like you don't need fees, you need uniform ;)

Yes, google, internet, everything is there to help you out, but they are just there to help you out, its you who has to take the initiative.

As I said, you have to do what eyou love, and love what you do, then only you will take the initiative.

Pardesi said...

Love what you do - LOL! That applies to everyone in every job. And yes, giving the job on hand your best is the hallmark of a dedicated person. Not goofing off and peeing on teachers' doorsteps!

Anonymous said...

based on what is going on in Khitpit , what you said is right Kunal-There are clear cut demarcations out there, you fan of this star, can't like that one, if you didn't like this thing, means you are a fan of that star, funny, but true ;)

these guys had no problems with a far worse message in Mohbatten ( No studies , just love and that too in senior school)and with RNBDJ's illogical situations( then it was just a movie) now - baal kee khaal nikalnee hai !!

Pardesi said...

Anon - you can post with your real ID so we know what you like. And who said anyone liked Mohabbatein? Did you? Then good for you!

Khanabadosh said...

HaHa ..Loved your informal way of reviewing..I will call it a Fan (of the movie ;) ) review..

Haven't seen the movie till now.

ps: I think that "anon" is Kunal ;)

Khanabadosh said...

I want to read your "Race" review.

Pardesi said...

Me too, me too!

Kunal said...

Pardesi: "Love what you do - LOL! That applies to everyone in every job."

True, very very true, and that exactly the movie says. Why just as a student, but as anyone, in any field, you have to put in your best, which comes by loving what you are doing.

Kunal said...

Hahaha KB, for that I will have to "revisit" Race ;)

Pardesi said...

And if you love studying then you will do well at that too, without mocking your teachers or vilifying the "system" that prevented you from excelling. Bottom line is - if you are a loser-type then the "system" is at fault, never your own self. If yo are a genius type - like Ranch - then nothing else is needed, according to the film.

Doga said...

Kunal I think i told you that you would like 3 Idiots.

Same as i though Som would hate it and he surely did hate it.

Doga said...

Let me give some 3 Idiots Boxoffice Updates.

1) It has done 80 cr in week 1 in India(including paid previews of 2.5 cr). Only Rab ne(85 cr) and Ghajini(115 cr) have done more in their whole run.

Total expectation = 150 cr.

2) USA : its done 2.15 Mill by last Sunday, expected to break OSO's Record of 3.597 Mill this weekend.

3) UK : 830 K pounds, should end up around 1.7-1.8 Mill Pounds, just less than KANK and K3G.

Doga said...

I will wait to see how MNIK does for my final judgement, but for right now Aamir Khan is number 1.

This decade though SRK is number 1 as a whole.

3 Idiots numbers are just too high to ignore, its like the Sholay or HAHK/DDLJ of Multiplex Era.

Also Aamir Khan becomes the only star ever in the history of Indian Cinema to have 3 All time blockbuster and 2 of the back to back.

Kunal said...

Pardesi: "If yo are a genius type - like Ranch - then nothing else is needed, according to the film."
Let me tweak it a little, I guess it said that if you LOVED something, you will do your best to get it, and no system can come in between then.
And yes, basically the responsibility rests with the student to achieve excellence. No where in my review or discussion have I said that System is to be blamed, I said people's mentality needs to be changed. After all this system only gave so many engineers across the globe, so there must be something right about this system.

But can we actually absolve the system?
Let me quote examples from my time as a student.

In boards exams (10th and 12) of Maths, teachers give marks to you for every step. It is in such a way that even if you just do half steps, without getting at any answer, you still will pass. But then at the same time, even if you did get the right answer, but you missed a step, your marks will be deducted.
Eg: If you wrote something like "x+10=11" and didn't write "=> x=11-10; hence, x=1" you will end up compromising 1 out of 5 marks, thats 20% of marks for not writing one line. Now its not that teachers who grade are not smart enough, they have 5, 10, 15 years of experience, but its about the guidelines issued by CBSE to teachers to grade on such and such step only. If the step is missing, then he/she doesn't get marks for that even if the answer is right.
Now, doesn't it show system's try of making kids mechanical robots? Same is true for Definitions everywhere, Chemistry, Phy, Bio.
Another example, class 8-10, there were 2 kinds of English courses, core A, Core B. Now Core B was traditional chapter question answer kinds, whereas Core A had interactive English. That lets you play with the language, for example you make your own TV shows, radio shows, you become news anchors, along with the basic poster writing and diary entry stuff. Now the moment you reach class 11, everyone goes back to Core B, because its more traditional, and no one wants to mess up in class 12 as such. Now won't you say that system is at fault for not letting kids use their creativity with the language, and hence learn how to converse, rather than cram words, which OFC creates a hell loe of confusions? People know the meanings, but don't know the usage.
Look at History textbooks, lat time I read History text book was in class 10, 12 years down the line, I still know more History than those 10th graders. Thats what system did, wiped off the slate, now its either INC, or British Raj that kids are learning.
Will you absolve system of all this?
There are numerous examples like these, but the basic remains the same, its all depends uopon you as a person, how much interest you take. In SRK terms, when you love a girl, no one can stop you from getting her, now replace that girl with your subject, degree, job, assignment.
And there might be a time that you might not be doing what you actually want to do, but even then, aiming for excellence is the key to success.

Caulfield said...

Kunal, I don't think good marks has something to do with the extraordinary talent you have. Like the example of CBSE you gave, good marks can only be achieved if you are mechanical. If, you don't you still will score good marks, but I don't think the person would TOP just be the practical knowledge. I am currently doing engineering and practical knowledge has nothing to do with the theoretical papers I give.

Also I have one more issue with the film. Chatur insults the professor and the chief guest in a college function infront of everyone. Still he gets away with it!! How??? He should have been expelled from the college for that act. Ok - The Professor sees Chatur's problem and because Chatur can't understand Hindi, Professor knows he isn't the one who is responsible for it. But in that case Aamir Khan should have been thrown out. It was a very simple case to know who is behind it. Professor asks Chatur, Chatur says the letter was given to him by Rancho. The teacher who helped Chatur would have confirmed that he handed out the print out to Rancho.

Kunal said...

Cauli: Kunal, I don't think good marks has something to do with the extraordinary talent you have. Like the example of CBSE you gave, good marks can only be achieved if you are mechanical. If, you don't you still will score good marks, but I don't think the person would TOP just be the practical knowledge. I am currently doing engineering and practical knowledge has nothing to do with the theoretical papers I give.
Won't you call it a fault of system, Cauli?
A system which makes you a robot? Which encourages you to be a robot by giving you better grades when you vomit a rattafied definition, rather than explaining it?
And yes, you re totally right, and I think thats what the point of the movie was.

And the scene you are describing is a comic scene, Cauli. Nothing makes sense, honestly.
You think that goalkeeper can see hand movements of coach standing at halfline, out of the pitch, from the goal post, as shown in CDI?
Or say, one guy going on killing spree inside a don's den as shown in Gulaal? Now, all this is fictitious added for drama, or comedy. No one watces film for logistics, atleast I don't. I never cared about so many things in the movie, and yes, its not one of the most realistic movie, thank god for that, but an entertaining one, with a considerable amount of heart, and message, how cliched this term sounds now :D

Pardesi said...

Coaches signal from the dugout routinely in baseball, and yes players catch these hand movements and pitch accordingly and determine field position.

When the school system encourages learning by rote then you cannot change college without changing the school system.

If IITs (as this is what the prototype of the college in the film is) teach only rote knowledge and nothing good or practical comes out of it, how come IIT grads are the most successful engineers the world over? Is one successful by duping the teachers and luring other lesser intellect friends into fun and games so they crash and burn? By moving to Ladakh? How?

Caulfield said...

Kunal regarding the mechanical and robot thing, my point was - how can Rancho TOP by just practical knowledge? He never was shown studying. One day before the exam he was busy shopping for inverter things and then went to hospital, etc. He never studies like a robot, so how can he top if he doesn't follow the system? Sure he can pass and score good marks but TOP!!!!

As for the coach thing of CDI, initially even I didn't like it because if he was such a genius that he could predict the direction of the shot, what was he doing in the other penalty strokes? Why wasn't he advising her then? But then after Vidya saves the goal, the expression on SRK's face said it all, it was just a fluke which came out well.

Gulaal - The Duniya track that was playing in the background when he was killing the entire army never made me concentrate on the video. I was just enjoying the Duniya track. But 2nd half is a big let down in Gulaal.

Kunal said...

Pardesi: Coaches signal from the dugout routinely in baseball, and yes players catch these hand movements and pitch accordingly and determine field position.

Very different than what SRK did.
SRK moved fingers, whereas in basebass and all, you can see very animated coaches, because there is no way you can see fingers and eyes moving from goal post.
Even when Basketball court is so small, they still have to be so animated to make sure their players see them, even then they miss.

And in the movie it was not a prototype of IIT, it clearly showed a college where prof wanted students to rattafy the definition of machine.

It was based more on average, most of the colleges Not IIT by any means.

Pardesi said...

In Baseball it is hand signals that are seen and interpreted, not any animated dance. Basketball is different, it is fast moving and players cannot focus on coach. But baseball and hockey have time to set up plays so coach to player signals are important.

http://www.justhockey.com.au/index.php?newsID=3575
The scene where the penalty strokes are taken, coaches actually don’t shout to the goalkeeper as shown in the movie. In reality, communication between the coach and the goalkeeper happens through discrete hand signals.
In the Afro-Asian Games women’s hockey final, India’s goalkeeper Helen Mary trusted my intuition about which way the South African would push from the penalty spot. We won the gold in the penalty shootout, thanks to Helen Mary who was a sensation.

It is at "the finest" engineering college according to the principal.

See Mayank Shekhar's review:
"An admission into Imperial College of Engineering, or IIT, to be more precise, is for him, like countless others in this country, a ticket to neighbour’s envy, and parent’s pride."

http://www.hindustantimes.com/reviews/Review-3-Idiots/490735/H1-Article1-490233.aspx

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