I.Did.It.On[my own].Terms - My Thoughts on 3 Idiots (2009)

Saari Umr Hum; Mar Mar Ke Jee Liye
Ek Pal To Ab Humein; Jeene Do Jeene Do ..........

This is the crux of what I write today, only this and nothing else ...... nothing else matters! It's this battle between what we wish to do and what we are forced to do that is the crux of my thoughts today - it is this lament of the poet, this pain of the heart that forces me yet again to write here again today on a matter-of-fact and in-your-face truth that's surprisingly not evident or seen easily .......

As Prof. Viru Saharasbuddhe (Boman Irani in a well-etched and well-written role) pointedly points out, We all start out as one-in-a-million sperms engaged in a race to fertilize a single egg, thus giving the 'race' primacy over all else. Darwin declares that the survival of the fittest is what has brought humans to the fore of God's creations, that the cuckoo cannot live if the crow is not killed, that every achievement of Life is based on the defeats and destructions of the other, that no one can succeed or win as long as the other is not destroyed , that Life can only be savoured if we accept that competitiveness is all there is to life and nothing else other than competitiveness means anything - that Success has to gained at any cost, even if one has to stoop as low as required to conquer

And then there is Rancho (Aamir Khan, brilliant and superlative as always), a do-gooder in the world that has forgotten the meaning of the word 'good', a man of rebellious spirit in a world that is ruled by conventions, a guy who believes that excellence is the be-all-and-end-all of life and that success is only one of the many faces of excellence, that one should study to know the subject and not to get the grade; ........ a man who talks of the heart and preaches about the heart to a world that has lost relevance of the word, 'heart'!

And then there are people like us, people like Raju (Sharman Joshi) and Farhan (R Madhavan) who are forever running in a race, a race that will take them somewhere, but where none have an idea ...... One (Raju) is so bogged down by the pressures of being the next bread-earner of the family that he has forgotten what it feels to be young and happy - the other (Farhan) unable or the better word would be unready to tell his father that engineering is not his cup of tea ....... does this ring a bell somewhere? I do not know about you, but it does ring a strong bell somewhere in my heart! And who has not seen the results of such pressures .......... people turning into nervous wrecks, leading unproductive and frustrating lives, caught in careers that they did not want to be a part of, and all the time wasting their own talents and those of others ........

And then there are others like Lobo (I wish I could remember the actor, he was really superb) who prefer to end their lives rather than live it as stooges of a society that does not recognize their personal identity and considers them only as parts to a mosaic rather than a whole mosaic itself....... A mosaic where the contributing colours lose their own identities, an ocean wherein the contributing rivers lose all traces of their own separate identities ........ It is a strange world, this world of mosaics wherein people as talented as Millimeter (well portrayed by another brilliant actor of whom we know very little) let go of their desires and end up becoming the fix-it guys of guys who should have been able to fix by themselves .......

The idea of financial success has become so well entrenched that the very purpose of education has been defeated, so as Rancho time and again points out, we have all become machines and machines have become the only ones to do what they are meant to do ..... In a memorable quote, Rancho asks rhetorically  "Pehle Engineering Ki, Phir MBA Kar Liya Aur Phir Banking Join Kar Li! Agar Banking Hi Karne Thi, To Engineering Kyoon Ki?" - Can anybody from IIT answer this simple question?

As Rancho observes, in yet another telling comment, "Chaabuk Ke Darr Se To Circus Ka Sher Bhi Stool Par Kudkar Baitthna Seekh Jaata Hai .... Lekin Ussey well-trained Kehte Hain, well-educated Nahin"

Aamir Khan lives Rancho, the character who is so simple as to seem obvious but who's as oblivious to the race of life than anything else ........ As the narrator, Farhan observes,"Hum Sab To Yahan Certificate Lene Aaye Thhey; Woh Akayla Yahaan Paddne Aaya Tha" (we had all come here to obtain Certificates, he was the only one who had come here to learn!) ..... Who could have imagined Aamir, a man of 45 years could infuse life in a character of a 21 year old so well ..... But then Aamir is a legend ..... Koi Shaque?

There is only character that can stand up to him and still remain true to his own call - the character of the perfect student as per the call of the education system - the student who is am embodiment of the system itself and symbolizes the race itself ..... he's Chatur Mahalingam, a man given to the race - for whom what matters is the final post and not what he has seen or observed in the interim ......... Omi as Chatur performs his role with such a feeling of nonchalance that in him one finds remembrances of toppers, present and past and their unswerving and unmoving commitment to the system.......

Madhavan as Farhan is so well bound to the role that one cannot imagine anyone else other than him in that role as is Sharman Joshi as perfect fit to the role. Both of them not only bring a freshness to the character but have been instrumental in creating a perfect three-dimensional look to the movie......

Boman Irani has once again proved his versatility in a highly demanding and challenging role - as a Dean given to not accepting defeat and to an attitude that smacks of high-end determination and competitiveness, the character could have easily degenerated to a farce ... Also there was a real threat of the antagonist actually reprising the role he did in Munnabhai MBBS (Dr. Asthana) but Boman being Boman not only is able to bring about a perfect differentiation to the characters; he is also able to dispel any doubts of deja vu ...... if any

 Kudos to Kareena Kapoor for taking up a role that does not offer her the limelight and furthermore kudos to her for performing her role with a kind of intensity that is the mainstay of performances, valiant and strong ..... Kareena as an actress outshines both her sister, Karisma and her cousin Ranbir with her sheer strong presence and immense potential ......

Raj Kumar Hirani  once again proves himself to be a man to watch out for - after the intensely satisfying and appreciated classics, Raj Kumar again shakes us with a careful and inspired rendition of Chetan Bhagat's 'Five Point Someone'  .. The play may be a loose adaption of the story and there may be many a changes incorporated in the story, still the spirit of the story remains unchanged. The manner in which the internal dynamics of the engineering college has been brought to the fore reflects the director's intimate knowledge of the dynamics pervading the world of Engineering Colleges and also the director's growing disenchantment with a system that confirms to conforming to tradition rather than allowing fresh thought ...... The pint is made time and again that man must follow his heart for that's where real satisfaction lies ...... the key of the success of the film lies in the fact that the film makes it's point without becoming preachy ........

Music in the film is well-adapted to the requirements of the film with each and song standing true to it's potential ....... So while we have the ode to the rebellious spirit of Rancho - Behti Hava Sa Tha Woh well sung by Shaan, that brings in broad relief the characterization of Rancho, 'All izz Well' sung by Shaan and Sonu Nigam also do their bit in popularizing the theme

But for me the song that matters the most is: Give me some sunshine that not only puts the frustration of the system in context but also brings out the pain and angst of the victim.......

It's said that Dronacharya destroyed Eklavya by taking away his thumb, thus depriving him of the opportunity to use his prowess,  the Dronacharya of today goes further than that and takes away the hope itself, leaving nothing but pain and frustration all around

All in all, a very beautiful film but as far as I am concerned, what really moved me was the final climax of the lines I wrote in the beginning......

Give me some Sunshine, give me some rain! 
Give me another chance! Wanna grow up once again!!!