[Warning: Spoiler Alert]

Saw the much awaited latest Aamir Khan starrer 3 idiots last weekend. Took me a while to write the review coz I was not able to make up my mind about the movie. Believe me or not, thats the real reason.

With the much hoopla about the new look of Aamir in the movie and the aggressive promotional campaign, which involved Aamir and the other 2 idiots being all over the place… the Classy Khan playing hide and seek… and the works… To top Aamir’s excellence was Vidhu Vinod Chopra‘s near-perfect comic escapades. After all, who can ever forget the legend created by Munna Bhai and Circuit. It cant be denied that Munnabhai series have a special place in all our hearts – for they not only entertained but also tackled the profoundest of thoughts with the simplest of means! They enlightened without being preachy!

And so, I was waiting for 3 idiots with bated breath, just like the rest of the country! Expectations were soaring and I wasnt sure if this movie wud meet all of them – Its almost unrealistic and even criminal to demand so!

And then came 25th December 2009 and the verdict was clear: Aamir and VVC had delivered – yet again!

Story
The story is said to be inspired from Chetan Bhagat’s 5 point someone. That was a definite turn-off for me, since I am not a fan of the book. But, what came as a pleasant surprise is that it is not really a copy. The characters are vaguely inspired by the main characters of the book and the backdrop is a college story – that is where the similarity ends. The Rancho-ism is completely the work of the script-writers Rajkumar Hirani and Abhijat Joshi, which is nothing short of brilliant. Yes, there a couple of over the top scenes like the pregnancy scene and the initial peeing scene. But over all, scenes are well-thought of and hilarious! The story is pretty ordinary. The execution is nothing short of marvellous.

Strengths

  • The movie tackles the problem of education system in our country very well. Almost all aspects of education system are covered – including the child “Millimeter” who wants to study but doesnt have enough money to, to the guy who cant handle the deadlines and pressures and ends up taking his own life, to the ragging in Engineering colleges, to the guy whose parents sacrifice their lives to make him study what they like, to the guy who is genuinely passionate about what he is studying.
  • The movie enlightens without preaching, which is slowly becoming the trademark way of the director Raju Hirani.
  • The lyrics by Swanand Kirkire are very well thought of. My fav song of the movie is: “Give me some sunshine“.
  • Some songs are very pleasing to hear, not all. But none interfere with the way the movie moves.
  • Performances by Aamir, Madhavan, Sharman, Omi and Boman Irani deserve a special mention. Aamir is and will always be exceptionally good in all his movies. He looks convincing as a teenager. However, I would rate the best performance in the movie to Boman Irani who plays the harsh-disciplinarian Viru Sahastrabuddhe (ViruS) with a penchant that can only be termed “Brilliant”. Not once does he go over the top… Absolutely brilliant! Sharman, Madhavan and the new lad Omi are all magnificent! Omi’s speech is one of the high points of the movie! Kareena is doable. Thankfully, she doesnt have much role to play! Her best scene is when she confronts her father!
  • Some scenes like the wedding scene, when they crash into their principal’s daughter’s wedding!

Weaknesses

  • Some over the top scenes like the pregnancy scene and the initial pissing scene
  • Rancho’s supposed mystery is quite predictable – there could have been a better climax
  • Even though Aamir is convincing as a teenager, in a few scenes, he does seem like trying a bit too hard, which is a definite put off!

All in all, a must watch!! This is movie we can all relate to… since we have been through the same grind sometime or the other in our lives! 🙂 But, if u ask me to compare it to Munnabhai… I wud still rate Munnabhai a tad better!