3 Idiots

3 Idiots

Dir: Raj Kumar Hirani

Starring: Aamir Khan, Kareena Kapoor, R. Madhavan, Sharman Joshi, Boman Irani, Omi Vaidya

Writer/director Raj Kumar Hirani, the man behind the Munnabhai movies, brings his unique blend of gentle humour and genuine heartstring pulling combined with light preachiness and, yes, even some schmaltz to his loose adaptation of Chetan Bhagat’s novel Five Point Someone. It tells the tale of 3 engineering students (played by Aamir Khan, R. Madhavan and Sharman Joshi) who not only have to learn to succeed in a ruthless competitive environment but to do so on their own terms.

To do this they have to take on a heartless system as well as a tough college administrator (Boman Irani) focused solely on results rather than genuine learning. The ringleader of the trio is Rancho (Khan) who is something of a genius but his questioning of the system brings down on him the ire of his nemesis, Viru Sahastrabuddhe (Irani), or as the students have dubbed him, Virus. Virus also happens to have a nerdy but attractive daughter, Pia (Kareena Kapoor).

That’s the barebones of the plot which isn’t particularly original. The real heart of the movie, however, lies in its terrific performances and its intricate merging of humour and sentimentality. While the comedy does goes over the top occasionally and the sentimentality may not always be heartfelt or authentically earned but overall Hirani gets the balance right. There are some true laugh-out loud moments (such as Piya equating the names of Gujrati dishes to the names of missiles) and some genuine moments which touch your heart (such as when Madhavan finally tells his father – a terrific Parikshat Sahni – what he really wants to do with is life).

Hirani is also well backed up by his cast. The 45-year old Aamir Khan easily carries off looking like a 20-something. It’s not just that he looks young but his whole body language says “college student”. It’s a subtle acting job and he deserves all sorts of kudos for it. Irani (who is never bad, really), Kapoor and Joshi are all very good also (though Madhavan makes less of an impression) but the show is almost stolen by newcomer Omi Vaidya, as an ultra-competitive, Hindi-challenged college-mate of the lead trio. The music (by Shantanu Moitra) is hummable though forgettable and includes a song based on the movie’s catch-phrase “All Izz Well”.

Though the movie stretches the bounds of realism at times this really shouldn’t be held against it. Think of it more as a modern-day fable filled with warmth and humour and with messages galore about knowledge, learning, courage, aspirations, success (and its definition) and friendship.

Cut to chase: All is quite well with this movie. A definite watch.