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#177 - 3 Idiots
Rajkumar Hirani, 2009
Two friends start searching for a third friend that went missing ten years ago, while one of them recalls their days studying at an engineering college.
You'd think after the scorn I'd given Moulin Rouge! in my last review that I'd probably end up hating 3 Idiots, which also promised a mix of light-hearted comedy, heavy-handed drama and musical numbers all shot through with colourful vibrancy - and it goes for almost an hour longer than Moulin Rouge!, too. Fortunately, 3 Idiots has just enough substance behind it to reasonably justify having a three-hour running time. It's anchored by some great performances from its three leads, each of whom makes the most of their very familiar roles. Farhan is the narrator who wishes he could be a photographer but is forced to become an engineer by his domineering father, while his friend Raju wants to become an engineer because it's the only way he can adequately provide for his impoverished family. The third lead is Rancho, an extremely talented student whose carefree attitude towards learning puts him at odds with the college's extremely strict dean and another student who becomes an incredibly insufferable rival. The film is a comedy first and foremost, mainly as a result of Rancho's tendency to pull pranks on others or espouse free-spirited wisdom to others. HIs rebellious nature only serves to underline the incredibly damaging attitude to learning that the college takes, which serves to underline a very dark and dramatic side of the story - one incredibly upbeat musical number ends in discovering a student's suicide, for instance. The film finds plenty of plot strands to weave together as part of both its storylines, and though at worst it makes the film come across as contrived and padded, everything ends up paying off in one way or another.
The musical numbers, well, they cover a lot of the bases. Happy number, sad number, falling-in-love number, etc. They might be my least favourite thing about the film (apart from one scene during the film's third act that does come across as a bit too ridiculously sentimental even for this film, though given the circumstances it is somewhat acceptable), but that's a minor complaint. I'm not sure if I'll ever get around to watching 3 Idiots again - it doesn't strike me as a film that would reward repeat viewings all that well, especially given its considerable running time - but it's still a very charming film with a strong emotional base that allows it to bounce between the broadest of comedy and the saddest of drama with surprising ease, to say nothing of its very quirky and colourful characters. Definitely worth at least one viewing.
Rajkumar Hirani, 2009
Two friends start searching for a third friend that went missing ten years ago, while one of them recalls their days studying at an engineering college.
You'd think after the scorn I'd given Moulin Rouge! in my last review that I'd probably end up hating 3 Idiots, which also promised a mix of light-hearted comedy, heavy-handed drama and musical numbers all shot through with colourful vibrancy - and it goes for almost an hour longer than Moulin Rouge!, too. Fortunately, 3 Idiots has just enough substance behind it to reasonably justify having a three-hour running time. It's anchored by some great performances from its three leads, each of whom makes the most of their very familiar roles. Farhan is the narrator who wishes he could be a photographer but is forced to become an engineer by his domineering father, while his friend Raju wants to become an engineer because it's the only way he can adequately provide for his impoverished family. The third lead is Rancho, an extremely talented student whose carefree attitude towards learning puts him at odds with the college's extremely strict dean and another student who becomes an incredibly insufferable rival. The film is a comedy first and foremost, mainly as a result of Rancho's tendency to pull pranks on others or espouse free-spirited wisdom to others. HIs rebellious nature only serves to underline the incredibly damaging attitude to learning that the college takes, which serves to underline a very dark and dramatic side of the story - one incredibly upbeat musical number ends in discovering a student's suicide, for instance. The film finds plenty of plot strands to weave together as part of both its storylines, and though at worst it makes the film come across as contrived and padded, everything ends up paying off in one way or another.
The musical numbers, well, they cover a lot of the bases. Happy number, sad number, falling-in-love number, etc. They might be my least favourite thing about the film (apart from one scene during the film's third act that does come across as a bit too ridiculously sentimental even for this film, though given the circumstances it is somewhat acceptable), but that's a minor complaint. I'm not sure if I'll ever get around to watching 3 Idiots again - it doesn't strike me as a film that would reward repeat viewings all that well, especially given its considerable running time - but it's still a very charming film with a strong emotional base that allows it to bounce between the broadest of comedy and the saddest of drama with surprising ease, to say nothing of its very quirky and colourful characters. Definitely worth at least one viewing.