One of Bollywood's best. That isn't saying much.

Rating: 6/10 (31 August 2011)

Alright. I know the title sucks. The first image it brings to one's mind is three cross-eyed, bald men with fingers shoved up their noses or something, which wouldn't be a lot off the mark from what the real picture is - three college-brats scratching fake, shiny, resplendent buttocks. But Shakespeare said 'what's in a name?' and let us assume that the great bard was not being rhetorical and delve further into the movie.
Inspired from the book '5 Point Someone' by Chetan Bhagat, or as some critics call him, Satan Bhagat, or the IIT-IIM-douche bag, the movie is about three college students in Imperial College of Engineering, the best fictitious Engineering college of India. Each has a history of his own, and while the past of two of them is open in front of us like a book, the life of the third is barely revealed in the first half. Raju (Sharman Joshi) is the stereotypical nerd, haunted by poverty and has a paralysed father and a mother with a total disregard for hygiene, while Farhan (R. Madhavan) is the dilemma-stricken, schizophrenic (not literally) who is studying to be an engineer but his alter-ego (not literally) wants to be a wildlife photographer.
Much through the initial half, the movie focuses on the trio's life in college. There is fun, frolic and all the other juvenile stuff with occasional mentions of suicide, pressure and the sort. The film tries to accomplish too much in too little only leaving behind a residue of laughter and a feeling of nostalgia for people past their 'my-college- life-was-so-awesome' stage.
Rancho (Aamir Khan) is the protagonist of the film. The smartest among the three, he is also the most gregarious and wild. He is a philosopher, experimentalist and conducts innovations in his room or drifts into monologues about success, how-to-study and other inspirational things. Though not a geek, he trumps the obnoxious mega-nerd, Chatur Ramalingam (Omi Vaidya) in their results, which marks the inception of a long- lasting rivalry, which soon boils over after Rancho plays a particularly nasty prank on the latter. The rest of the story, as Bollywood cinema goes, is about a ghastly principal with a lisp (Boman Irani), friendship, love, pregnant women giving birth using a vacuum cleaner and other pea-brained escapades.
The twist comes mid-way through the movie, thoroughly inappropriate and mistimed. After this point the movies seems to drag on. The humour turns more contrived than nonchalant. The emotions become mawkish instead of touching. There are things that are absolutely implausible in any universe. The movie splashes water onto the sand castle it had built in the first half. The end is hypothetical at its best and this only worsens the case. It manages to leave a 'what the hell just happened?!' taste in your mouth, and I am pretty sure that the movie director, Rajkumar Hirani, wasn't trying to accomplish that.
However, the three lead characters play a grace-saving role; Aamir Khan in particular. It is difficult to find chinks in the acting armour. The then forty four year old Khan brilliantly morphs into the twenty- something Rancho. Giving a flawless performance, he makes you happy when he laughs, sad when he cries and sway-along when he dances. There is an innocuous air about him which is highly appealing, with some members of the female contingent even defining it as 'cute.' Sharman Joshi, one of the most underrated actors of Indian cinema, dons the clothes of Raju Rastogi seamlessly. He looks tailor-made for the role; right from being the economically-challenged superstitious nerd, to getting inebriated and imitating the working of an induction motor, his acting is like a breath of fresh air. Though Madhavan appears slightly sidelined as Farhan, he manages to hold onto the boat well. He is overshadowed by the other two, who are more distinctly characterized, but this is covered by the fact that he is also the narrator of the tale. He entertains us with his antics (which involves stopping an airplane on the runway), his affable nature and always being Rancho's faithful sidekick. Boman Irani does a commendable job as the uncanny principal Viru Sahastrabuddhe, a part similar in ways to the evil Dr. Asthana is Munna Bhai M.B.B.S. The others too meander through; Kareena Kapoor, Javed Jaffrey, Mona Singh and so on, each well placed in their shoes, but none leaving a lasting impression.
Comparisons with the book are inevitable and the film deserves due credit for being one of those rare books that outdoes its paperback version. But then again, comparisons to a wad of used toilet paper are hardly a standard to go by. Most songs are better than the other blockbusters Bollywood has churned out in recent history. They aid the emotional segment of the film. Yipee for that. While the first half of 3 Idiots is certainly worth a watch, but the latter makes you wish that you'd left the theatre in the intermission.