Another mix bag from Bollywood, but we love it!

Rating: 8/10 (21 January 2010)

When did the last time you had the feeling while watching a Bollywood movie that you are watching the best film ever and then suddenly after the movie gets over you start to get mixed feelings about the movie you saw. Admit it; it has frequently been this way. And then what do you do, you go to watch the movie repeatedly to reinstate your earlier feeling about the movie. The hysteria and invincibility that Bollywood makers manage to create in their storytelling, is what makes it so special. '3 Idiots' is the latest of such hysterical movie with such aura around it.
Rajkumar Hirani's latest offering is based on a popular cult novel '5 point someone' by Chetan Bhagat'. So, it's easy to have lot of expectations for this film right? Wrong! See, this is not Chetan Bhagat's first novel adaptation to the big screen, it's his second. The first one was a disaster called 'Hello' based on his book 'One night at a Call Center'. Hence, there were lots of apprehensions about his latest book to screen adaptation. But hopes were there for the creative team for the film production and the star of the film Aamir Khan. Both Rajkumar and Aamir have impeccable record and status in the industry. Hence, the opening they got for this film was not surprising, even with the steep Ticket prices. But, when the word of mouth began that this is the best bollywood movie ever made, the expectations crossed the limits. And the film about three engineering students in Imperial College of Engineering (a.k.a. a reference to Indian Institute of Technology) does not disappoint. The story is with difference, but the characters are clichéd and true stereotypes of their species. Even the several of the movie sequences that make us laugh in the movie are far beyond being original. But the story is new and relevant to today's youth. Engineering and medical fields of study has started to take a toll on today's youth and the more than half a dozen student suicides that you would witness and hear in the movie is not at all a overreaction. It is turning into an epidemic; hence this film is definitely important. The young India is lapping up the support this film provides to their cause with great hysteria and is enjoying the many jokes and potshots the movie takes on the countries rigid educational system and social norms. The quirky and over the top turns that the lives of these idiots take is bringing joy and happiness to the young India. I should mention the best written character and surprisingly the best actor of the film 'Chatur'. Chatur is the typical Indian student that one sees around the campuses of Indian Colleges. Played by newcomer Omi Vaidya, it is the character the audience loved to see fail. Though he does not, his sequences have brought cheers across college campuses in India. The hysteria of '3 Idiots' becomes easy to decipher for the Indian audience and hence they are flocking the theater with large numbers and are cheerfully encouraging the next person to go watch the film.
For rest of the world this film is irrelevant and has nothing new to offer in terms of the movie flow and character development. But if they are able to put that aside, they would too probably enjoy the funny moments that this movie provides and would end up saying that this is the best Bollywood film they have ever seen.