A story about chasing your dreams…
A story about friendship…
A story about the importance of learning and not studies…
A story about chasing excellence…

I have not read the book “Five point someone by Chetan Bhagat” but this movie is loosely based on this novel and well adapted to the big screen.

The three idiots central to the film are Farhan, Raju and Rancho. The story goes in a narrative style with the voice of Farhan (R Madhavan) as he encounters on a journey with his college buddy Raju (Sharman Joshi) and Chatur (Omi Vaidya) who are on their way to meet Rancho (Aamir Khan) the free spirited and smart-ass amongst all the students.
The entire story unfolds in a flashback mode as these three friends approach their destination to meet Rancho which blends seamlessly into the story telling!
The story tells us the journey about these three friends who join the engineering college and how their attitudes change towards their careers and in turn their friendship forms the crux of the movie. The college Principal Viru Sahasrabuddhe (Boman Irani) is always at loggerheads with Rancho and the other friends. They fondly call him Virus. Pia (Kareena Kapoor) is the daughter of the principal and love eventually blossoms between her and Rancho!

I do not want to limit this post by revealing the entire plot and hence would like to tell you the highlights of the film…

This movie sure has raked enough moolah and much higher than what Ghajini did during its release. So I guess this is a declared hit.

The positives first…
Kudos to the team of Raju Hirani and Abhijat Joshi for penning some of the most memorable, witty, slapstick lines in this film.
This is truly a writer/ director’s film. Nowhere do you get to see Aamir overpowering the entire film inspite of the film revolving completely around him.
A 40+ year old pulling off a college lad is not a joke and one has to commend Aamir for easily transforming himself into this loveable Rancho with so much ease! Imagine shedding off the Ghajini six pack abs and then playing badminton continuously for 3 months to be in fit and form like a college lad is what only an Aamir can do!
With so many movies oft repeated in the same formula style ala Dil Chahata Hai, Rang De Basanti… etc, I really wondered if there’s anything more to be done with this kind of premise and with Raju Hirani holding the baton… he does it well and in full splendor!

This movie does have some awesome moments to begin with…

• Watch the speech by Chatur… truly rocking!
• Whenever the story revolves around Raju’s family, it is shown in B/W… watch it to know why?
• Raju’s interview scene
• Farhan’s discussion with his dad
• Rancho’s first meeting with Pia (Kareena Kapoor)
• Rancho is asked to take up a class by Viru Sahasrabuddhe
• Raju admitted in the hospital and how Rancho brings him back to life… Simply awesome!
• MM or Manmohan or Milli meter… leaves quite a mark!
• First it was Jaadoo ki Jhappi in Munnabhai MBBS, Next it was Gandhigiri in Lage raho, now with Aal izz well… Raju Hirani scored a hat trick!

Yes, this film does fall into its own trap here and there…
I guess with such directorial liberties, sometimes it takes you too far…
The “Aall izz well” situations seemed too put on rather than taking it up to a certain level (Unlike the Jaado ki Jhappi or Gandhigiri in his earlier films)
Who said you can really go to any lengths with the college professors (Like peeing on their doorsteps, stealing exam papers) which goes a tad too far!
Rancho’s character ends being unidimensional and does not really show much shades. Being produced in Bollywood Rancho ends up being the quintessential hero who solves all the problems of his peers while nothing really happens to him inspite of some over-the-top situations! I guess this is a typical Bollywood problem and we still can’t do much about it! We expect our hero to rise above anything and that’s what Rancho does… and with Rancho being Aamir… You can imagine the pressure!

You don’t expect the songs to be great in a Raju Hirani film! His movies are too good to care about songs… But if they are any good then it’s just an added bonus.
Well, besides Aal izz well, there are no great songs worth humming…

I guess 3 idiots would truly end this year on a very high note. And just another feather in Aamir, Raju Hirani, Vidhu Vinod Chopra’s cap! Besides the box office status, 3 idiots still remains the best movie of this year.

Coming out of the theatre, going back home and then waking up in the morning I guess I couldn’t recollect much scenes from this film although I thoroughly enjoyed them at the theatre. I don’t know if I will watch it once again…

But you know what?

Aal izz well… is what you feel when you watch 3 idiots!

3 Idiots
My rating **** out of 5 (4 out of 5)
Director – Raju Hirani
Writers – Raju Hirani/ Abhijat Joshi
Music – Shantanu Moitra
Lyrics – Swanand Kirkire
Starring – Aamir Khan, R Madhavan, Sharman Joshi, Boman Irani, Kareena Kapoor, Omi Vaidya