I am saying this from the perspective of having watched 13 movies from around the world in the MAMI festival, in addition to all the movies that were released until November this year - Raju Hirani is a genius. His ability to let the light of positivity and hope shine through in even the darkest of material is probably unmatched. He spins fairy tales out of our frustrations and helplessness and make us believe that redemption is just one attitude adjustment away. His gift is doubly precious because it is so rare in this world of strife, violence and “artistic” art.
Not that he isn’t a great storyteller. Remember that thug with a heart of gold and a naive faith in fellow human beings? You were so busy being charmed by him and his irrepressible side kick, laughing, and wiping the occasional tear that you almost didn’t notice the oxymoronish nature of the protagonist. Neither did one have any quarrels with the simplistic plot.
3 Idiots is artistically a greater film than the Munna Bhai series. It is a lot darker, it has more delineated characters with very real, seemingly insurmountable problems, a more complex narrative structure, and more nuanced performances from much stronger actors. And by God, it is a lot funnier.
Only Hirani, with his ironic humor, could make a film about demeaning ragging, pressure of dreams and hopes of the entire family on young students, two suicides and another attempted suicide so side-splittingly funny.
The matter under discussion is the plight of students in the current education system. Which puts another film by the same actor very strongly in one’s mind. Where 3 Idiots scores over Taare Zameen Par is the light touch with which the director handles the material. While Aamir felt the need (annoyingly so) to stand up and lecture many times in TZP, here Hirani restrains him to a few nuggets here and there, invariably followed by a joke that indicates that the director was determined not to let Aamir take himself seriously.
Before Aamir afficianados take umbrage, I am not being disdainful of him. He is most definitely the pivot of the movie, effortlessly morphing into a young student with limitless wonder for everything, mixing gyaan with pranks with great elan. Most importantly, he gives enough space for other actors to perform and shine.
Which brings me to Sharman Joshi. His character in the movie is perhaps the most well developed. His journey from a boy cowed down by responsibilities that are perhaps too big for him to carry to a man who is sorted and confident is also the most affirming story arc in the movie. There is a certain air of aching vulnerability about Sharman that makes his character entirely believable, lovable, and unexpectedly funny. Watch out for his answer to the question "How does an induction motor start?"
Madhavan's understated performance is the cornerstone of the movie. His Farhan is no hero--and he is the first one to admit it. He is scared to stand up to his father, is upset that his friend scores better than him, and doesn't want to sacrifice his life by marrying a paralyzed Sharman's sister. But as the narrator, his open mindedness and ready faith perhaps colors the entire movie. Great job Maddie!
Kareena is a treat to watch--she exudes confidence from every pore, fills the screen with energy whenever she appears on it and does a bang up job as Pia. The much talked about "dhokla" scene is definitely the highlight of the movie. And watch her delivering instructions to assist her sister's delivery over web cam - she is in a space that is a long long way (in the positive direction) from the body-painted, size-zero-bikini-fitting, brainless bimbo of the Kambakhth Ishq-s of the world. Yay!
I was disappointed with Boman Irani - he plays his character as yet another variation of the medical college principal on Munna Bhai. Expected a lot more from you, Boman!
In a movie that weaves back and forth like this one, editing becomes critical. Raju Hirani does a great job, past seamlessly flowing into the present and then jumping back again, somehow making this tizzy chronology the most logical way to tell the story. And unlike the dramatic transitions in Rang De Basanti, these are more on the lines of, "so where was I?" jumps.
If there was a low point in the film, it is the assisted delivery scene. Using child birth as a metaphor for new beginnings is so yankee! Hell, women give birth in train toilets and lose the baby through the hole here! And this childbirth is perhaps the cleanest in the world - you don't see a drop of blood anywhere. And to have a bunch of Indian men going metrosexually emotional about the first kick of the baby is a little too difficult to swallow. The only thing I liked about this segment is the spontaneous slap Mona delivers on Aamir who asks her to push. :-)
Two songs stand out - Behti hawa sa tha woh and All izz well, but you don't need me to tell that. Kudos to music director Shantanu Moitra and lyricist Swanand Kirkare. Rest of music is unremarkable. Cinematography by CK Muraleedharan is good to stunning in the Ladhakh sequence.
All those who say that the movie has improbable segments and a fairy-talish ending--you have missed the point. Really. Perhaps the best tribute to the power of this movie is that my dad, with 50% vision and much lesser grasp of Hindi enjoyed the movie thoroughly and not once asked me to explain a scene to him!
Go watch it, I say!
Comments
What captivated me was also the audience reaction (I was in a stall seat at Regal :-)). The people around me were spontaenously bursting into "Aal is we--ll", breaking into impromptu whistles - that was so great! And then, the soaring feeling that the "All is Well" song gives you, with its foot-stomping beats and wacky sequences - I gulp as I recall the resounding end to that song - so chilling, and eery in its effectiveness. There were many scenes in which the audience started laughing, and then a suddenly dark moment would have them frozen between a laugh and a sober mood. (The sequence at Sharman's house was wonderful, that way, I felt). 'Five Point Someone' the book on which this movie is slightly based, has similar moments of dark humour, and the movie takes on the spirit of that book so perfectly!
At first even I was put off by the 'birth' sequence - but then I kind of began seeing it as true engineering brains at work in the real world - such as, the Virus Inverter, the vaccuming thing..the movie, I felt, strained at quite a few places, but ultimately managed to pull it off! That's a rare achievement. And also, the pace. It was quite nicely paced from beginning to the end.
Bang on with Madhawan though, he was understated, and unintrusive. Same with Sherman Joshi, and I do wonder why don't we see him more often. :)