Maggi Noode Review - 3 Idiots

Almost all of us have memories of a friend (or friends) in college who stood out from the rest. 3 Idiots takes that thought and crystallizes it into a movie that is watchable for the great chemistry between all the actors on-screen. In some ways it is a typical Hindi movie with fun and melodrama in good doses but with one difference - the melodrama is well-contained and levity is used to reduce the seriousness of those moments. In most other ways it is an atypical Hindi movie. Liberally deviating from a book by Chetan Bhagat, the screenplay expands and widens the lens to add in genuine moments of surprise and enjoyment.

Briefly, the movie tracks the intertwined lives of 3 students at a (fictional) college of engineering in New Delhi, a stand-in for an IIT. All this is told in a series of flashbacks as two of the main protagonists are searching for the third one who has been missing since graduation. But that description does not do justice to the movie. It is more than a movie about the search for Rancho, it is also a commentary on the Indian educational system albeit in an off-beat way.

There are numerous moments that stand out, but the most impact comes from the surprise revelation that ushers in the interval. It is a credit to the movie that the post-interval twists are engaging enough to keep you hooked even as you see the final revelation almost immediately. The movie is not perfect, far from it, as it brings up uncomfortable topics and then quickly goes away from them before the movie gets bogged down with maudlin issues. A lesser movie would have proselytized ad nauseam about the demerits of the current educational system but the director, Rajkumar Hirani, lets the end results show his message.

Aamir Khan's career has been linked with 2 other contemporary Khans for most of the last 20 years. However, he has never really been revered by the masses as the other two have. True, his movies have been well-received but the adulation has not met that of the other two. In the last 10 years Aamir Khan has slowly managed to turn some of this adulation his way. In the 2000's his releases have been Lagaan, Dil Chahta Hai, Rang De Basanti, Fanaa, Taare Zameen Par, Ghajini, and 3 Idiots with the solitary misjudgement being Mangal Pandey. Going through that list you will see that he has not repeated a character even once. He has attained success his way and not relied on his image to carry him along. He appears to have finally figured out the pulse of the movie-goers and is making movies that cater to different sets of people each time and striking gold repeatedly.

3 Idiots took me back to my days as a student and I have been thinking of the movie off and on ever since I walked out of the theater. I identified the most with Rancho (many similarities between that character and I) and it brought back some memories, both sweet and bitter, of those days. What a nice way to start a new year (decade?).