'All Iz Well' in '3 Idiots'

‘3 Idiots’ is one of the most meaningful movies that I have seen throughout my life. Infused with some wacky sense of comedy at times, it stars the widely-acclaimed Aamir Khan alongside Sharman Joshi and R.Madhavan as the main characters in the movie. Kareena Kapoor is the lead actress.

Don't get put-off by the name of the movie, for the movie is anything but about three idiots. Many people, me included, thought this was going to be a foolish movie with petty comedy but that surely wasn't the case. Thus, it is no surprise that this movie has broken the Bollywood box-offive record.

The central-idea to the movie is that Rancho (Khan), Raju (Joshi) and Farhan (Madhavan) are living together in the campus of their university, which is the fictional Imperial College of Engineering, one of the best of its kind in the whole of India. As the name of the college sounds, the three of them are enrolled there to study engineering.

The movie starts in real-time but about quarter of an hour into the movie, the flashback starts. The college episode is all part of the flashback, which is narrated by Farhan.

Actually, the beginning of the plot is regarding the date ‘Sep 5’. It was ten years back that a nerdy maniac, Chatur Ramalingam, had placed a bet with Rancho on who would be successful in life in ten years time.

And so, it was 10 years already, and Chatur called on Raju and Farhan to follow him to meet Rancho, to see who was indeed more successful in life. And then, as they travel to find Rancho, who had disappeared, they had to undergo a lot of detours. One of the climax of the story is when viewers find out Rancho isn’t actually Rancho. But you would only understand by watching the movie.

As their journey to search for Rancho progressed, the flashback on what transpired 10 years back made the whole picture much clearer. Their life at college was obviously the focus of the flashback.

From that, viewers know that Rancho was a bright student with bags of potential but he disliked the education system which was all directed towards who-has-the-most-marks kind a type of thing.

Many a times, he would challenge the professors and lecturers at the classes with his rhetorical ideas. He even challenged the head of the campus, Professor Sahastrabudhhe, with his uncanny fundamentals. The Professor was absolutely ticked off by Rancho’s behavior and was totally fed up with him.

The Professor always said, “Life is a race....” And as Rancho got more out-of-hand in the eyes of the Professor, he attempted to break the strong friendship bond between Rancho and Raju and Farhan. Professor Sahastrabudhhe did so by calling Raju’s and Farhan’s parents and informing them of the menace in the form of Rancho who was disturbing their children’s education.

Although Rancho was always lambasting the professors and didn’t pay much attention in class, he used to claim the top-spot in the exams. This is a stark contrast to what his two friends used to get – they were always at the rear-end of the marks list. This caused Raju to reconsider his friendship with Rancho at one point.

I wouldn’t like to spoil your appetite in wanting to watch the movie, so I would leave the rest of the story to you. Just to add on a little bit more, Pia (Kapoor), the daughter of Professor Sahastrabudhhe, began developing feelings for Rancho, much to the dismay of her father.

On a personal note, I like the movie most because of its messages which can be closely related to our daily lives. For instance, parents who pre-determine the fate of their children’s careers the moment they are born.

The other messages range from students who commit suicide due to the pressure of education to the rigid education system in which nerdy individuals who memorize textbooks are rewarded whilst visionary budding talents are wasted.

The mantra coined by Rancho, “All Iz Well”, reflects Rancho’s belief that we should focus on the present and live it as it is, instead of worrying over the future in the case of Raju, who used to constantly think of the fate of his yet unmarried 28 year-old sister.

In addition to that, Rancho’s dislike of the default education system in India would lead him to start his own school that is conducive to the growth of budding talents. He says in the movie, “Choose excellence – and success will follow.”

There is much more to the movie than what I have penned here. Perhaps, my explanation would do no justice to the real greatness of the movie. My sincere advice is for you to watch the movie.

Even if you are not Hindi-literate, just watch it for quite a bit of the talking is done in English. The sure thing here is that the movie has a very deep meaning and it is something different to what we are used to watching.

The Verdict:

Overall Rating: 9/10

Have you watched '3 Idiots'? If yes, what are your reservations? Feel free to share your thoughts by leaving a comment below.