Good Movies You Haven't Seen: '3 Idiots'

One of the things I had hoped to accomplish with this blog was to make people aware of good movies that they might have missed out on. I'll mostly try to talk about foreign films or independent films (but nothing too artsy) that are easily available through Netflix, Redbox, etc., that you might not have heard of.

So the first movie I'd like to draw your attention to is called "3 Idiots," a film that broke all kinds of records in India in 2009, and is still the highest grossing Bollywood film of all time. With it's huge success in India, I suppose it's no big surprise that the American movie studio, 20th Century Fox, has chosen to give it an official American DVD release. This means that, unlike a lot of Indian films, you shouldn't have to go to a special Indian DVD store to find it. In fact, it's not only available through Netflix, but I've also seen it on video on demand (at least from Optimum cable), on iTunes and Amazon's online rental, and even at the Redbox DVD rental at the Boonton Walmart! With such good availability, you have no excuse for skipping out on this great movie!

What it's about: Three students arrive at one of India's most prestigious engineering universities. One of the students, Farhan, is only there because his parents want him to be an engineer, even though he really dreams of being a photographer. Another student, Raju, hopes to become an engineer to earn money and support his poor family. The third student, Rancho, a genius and a free-thinker, unlike the rest of his classmates, is there for a much different reason-- because he loves to learn. The story basically shows how Rancho's very different outlook on school and learning ends up changing Farhan and Raju's lives for the better. However, things are a bit more complicated than that. As it turns out, 10 years in the future, Rancho has seemingly disappeared, and not kept any kind of contact with his friends. The story of the three students' years at engineering college is actually told as a flashback, as Raju and Farhan drive throughout India searching for their long lost friend.

Why you probably haven't seen it: I think there are two reasons for this. For one, although I appreciate that Fox wanted to promote an Indian film here in the US, I'm a bit disappointed by how they've chosen to market it. For one thing, they really haven't done any advertising for it at all. I'm lucky to have learned about the US DVD release because I saw it on a film blog I read. If you have happened to see the DVD cover online or at the local Redbox, you'd probably agree with me that it's pretty bland. For a Bollywood movie full of vibrant colors, I'm puzzled at why they would choose to give it a boring white cover, that too with an image that makes this look like a brainless college comedy, which it's not. To make things worse, the synopsis on the back of the DVD totally fails to mention that this is a Bollywood movie, and doesn't even make it clear that it's in Hindi with English subtitles. And that's the second reason you probably haven't seen this--even if you have heard of it, perhaps you're unsure if you want to watch a movie with subtitles. All I can say about that is that this film will be totally worth it.

Why You Should Watch It:  If you've never seen a Bollywood film before, I think that "3 Idiots" is a great place to start. Being a big commercial release, this has a lot of the elements you'll typically find in a Bollywood film, such as fun musical numbers, and a little bit of several different genres (mostly comedy, but there's also plenty of drama, and even a small love story). On the other hand, the subject matter and humor are really things that anyone (especially students) could relate to and laugh at, whether they know a lot about Indian culture or not, so this one makes a good introduction for someone who's new to Bollywood.

What I particularly loved about "3 Idiots" was that it's not just another mindless comedy, but it actually aims to teach students, parents, and teachers a lot of important lessons. Fox's description of the movie likens this movie to "Ferris Bueller's Day Off," and I can see the reasons for the comparison. Like "Ferris Bueller," "3 Idiots" is also a great movie for students, which gives us plenty to laugh at as well as plenty to think about afterwards. For example, students can benefit from the valuable lesson that one shouldn't see college as just a means to getting a degree, but they should enjoy what they're learning as well. For parents, it teaches why you shouldn't pressure your children into a certain career, especially if they have another passion. And for teachers, it shows the problems with the Indian education system, which focuses much more on memorization and competition than it does on letting students learn and apply their skills.

Even if you don't care about learning lessons from your comedies, "3 Idiots" still has a lot to offer. This movie is very funny, with a lot of really memorable scenes and jokes, and quotable lines. Personally I would have preferred a little less toilet humor, but there's enough other humor here that this didn't bother me too much. The three lead actors are all great, especially Aamir Khan, who plays Rancho. Even though he's much older than the character he's playing, he appears to be having so much fun with the role that the age discrepancy didn't bother me at all. Like any good commercial Bollywood film, this one has a great soundtrack, although only two songs from it are done as musical numbers, while the rest are used in the background. The film also does a nice job of blending the humor and drama, which makes for a good comedy that also lets you really like and relate to the characters.

If I have any complaints about this movie, they're really few and far between. If I have to say one thing I didn't like, other than a bit too much toilet humor for my liking, was that some of it does get a bit over the top and melodramatic, in particular a scene involving a baby delivery. For those of you who are new to Bollywood, you might find this a little long (164 minutes, which believe it or not, is typical for a Hindi film), however the length didn't really bother me, since the movie is just so much fun. If you're willing to suspend your disbelief a bit and watch a long movie, then I think you'll enjoy "3 Idiots."

Summary: If you'll be ok with the length and with reading English subtitles, "3 Idiots" is a great, fun and memorable movie, and at the very least will be something a little different from the movies you're used to. Except for the one or two issues I pointed out, I couldn't recommend this movie more highly! So what are you waiting for? Go watch it now!

Do you have a suggestion of a lesser-known film I can discuss in a future post? Leave it in the comments section!