Rajkumar Hirani’s 3 Idiots is one of the few Indian films that will endure in the hearts and minds of audiences. The film depicting the lives of three friends, which came out in 2009, was well received by the general public. Aamir Khan, Ranganathan Madhavan, and Sharman Joshi star as engineering students in the film, which is based on the Chetan Bhagat novel Five Point Someone. On-screen father-and-daughter duo Boman Irani and Kareena Kapoor played an engineering college’s strict principal. Despite sharing the screen with a slew of talented and seasoned performers, actor Omi Vaidya made his Bollywood debut in the film as Chatur Ramalingam a.k.a. The Silencer and won hearts with his outstanding performance. Audiences praised the film’s songs including “All Izz Well,” “Zoobi Doobi,” and “Behti Hawa Sa Tha Woh to Give Me Some Sunshine.” The uniqueness of Hirani’s treatment was also praised.
Three National Awards were given to the film in the categories of Best Popular Film, Best Lyrics, and Best Audiography. The film 3 Idiots was a huge hit at the movie office, both in India and abroad. It was China’s No. 12 favourite film, with a score of 9.4/10 on the popular Korean website Naver.
When our trio first appears in the film, they’re all freshmen at the city’s top engineering school. Ragging sessions establish who the head of the gang will be: newcomer Baba Rancchoddas, as his friends fondly call to him. It all starts with ragging. It’s not just that Rancho teaches his colleagues how to succeed in India’s demanding academic system; they also learn many life mantras from him. You should strive for greatness rather than success in order to make a real difference. You should also question rather than simply accept givens, innovate and experiment rather than copy and cram, and ultimately follow your heart’s calling if you want to make a difference.
This puts the three of them in conflict with the unsmiling Principal Viru Sahastrabuddhe (Boman Irani), who worships the cuckoo because its life begins with murder. There is just one position at the top, according to the Principal, hence they believe the competition should be terminated. It’s embarrassing how careless Principal has been. Whereas model students like Chatur (Omi) end up being duds in the real world, non-conformists (Rancho and Rocket Singh Inc) who don’t give a damn about being on top may be the ultimate winners, isn’t he aware that competition is ineffectual? It’s critical that kids have high IQ and EQ while still being kind and social.
With his unique ability to convey so much while preserving a sense of humour and levity, filmmaker Rajkumar Hirani has created a masterpiece. The film is a giggle riot despite its heavy use of fundas. This film contains various scenes that will have you rolling in the aisles, such as the ragging scene with Omi, Omi’s chamatkar/balatkar speech, the threesome’s wedding crasher scene, and Raju and Kareena’s gloomy dinner with Raju’s mournful mother. You get a near-perfect score when you include the film’s strong emotional core, which occasionally pulls on your heartstrings. A joyful and energising signature melody for 2009 is created by Hirani in 3 Idiots, continuing his simple “humanism alone works” approach from the Lage Raho Munnabhai series. For a while, the second half of the picture drags, especially during the birthing sequence, but it quickly picks up steam.
Aamir Khan’s portrayal of rule-breaker Rancho stands out among the supporting cast. Unlike other movies, this one doesn’t keep its characters completely hidden. Despite their distinct characteristics, Sharman and Madhavan both manage to create likeable rebels. Although Kareena’s role in the film is brief, she still shines. In particular, Boman Irani, who portrays Virus, the ruthless Principal, and newcomer Omi, who perfectly matches the pattern of the top student, although being from the lower socioeconomic class, are deserving of praise.
Plot of the 3 Idiots
To find his long-lost best buddy and college companion Ranchhodas Chanchad (R. Madhavan), wildlife photographer Farhan Qureshi (Omi Vaidya) receives a phone call from Chatur Ramalingam (Omi Vaidya) in New Delhi, on the plane (Aamir Khan). Though his jet takes off, Farhan fakes a heart attack and makes an emergency landing before fleeing the airport to Raju Rastogi’s house (Sharman Joshi). The two sprint to Imperial College of Engineering, where they run into Chatur, who reminds them about their ten-year wager with Rancho about who would be more successful in the next ten years, and he brags about his more successful career in the United States. Despite Farhan and Raju’s admonishments, he informs them that Rancho has been located in Shimla. As the three of them prepare to leave for Shimla, Farhan looks back on their college days.
Farhan had previously remained at Imperial College due to his father’s insistence that he study engineering. He quickly becomes friends with Raju, his second roommate, who comes from a poor background and is completely reliant on him. Rancho, their third roommate, comes from an affluent family and has a passion for engineering, so the two make friends right once. Dr. Viru Sahastrabuddhe or Virus (Boman Irani), their old college principal, is pretentious and self-centered when Rancho, Raju, and Farhan, who are now close friends, stumble with him. After a few days, he comes to the conclusion that college student Joy Lobo (Ali Fazal), who has a passion for engineering, won’t graduate. They develop a drone camera of him after knowing this, but Virus rejects it. Unfortunately, Joy takes her own life before she can see the footage captured by the drone. In the aftermath of mocking and demeaning Virus in front of the other kids, Rancho sends letters to Raju and Farhan’s parents, blaming them for Joy’s death. The trio is challenged by the parents of Farhan and Raju at their respective residences. When Rancho befriends Virus’s younger daughter Pia Sahastrabuddhe (Kareena Kapoor) while the three are at a wedding, he advises Raju to move into Chatur’s room and not live with Rancho, which Raju agrees to do.. When Rancho and Farhan find out that Chatur has edited his Teachers Day speech to make fun of Virus, they release it in order to humiliate him. A furious Chatur wagers with Rancho that he will be the wealthier in ten years, no matter how insulted he has been. Pia’s egocentric fiancé Suhas Tandon (Olivier Sanjay Lafont) is taunted by Rancho after a few days, and this enrages her even worse. Rancho rushes Raju’s ailing father to the hospital on Pia’s bike when he suffers a stroke and is on the verge of death. After Raju comes to his senses, he rejoins Rancho and Farhan in their quest. Rancho’s personality is recognised by Pia, who falls in love with him. To get around an instructor who won’t accept their papers, the trio rushes to college the next day. Everyone at college now awaits the results, which will arrive in a few days. After Rancho, Raju, and Farhan are in order of importance.
Returning to the present day, Farhan, Raju, and Chatur arrive in Shimla and make their way to Rancho’s house. They find Rancho there. Another young man (Javed Jaffrey) claims his name is Ranchhodas Chanchad aka Rancho and resides in the house, which surprises them. Chatur explains to Farhan and Raju how he found Rancho’s Shimla address by recognising him in a photograph of his secretary, who had travelled to Shimla to meet with foreign scientist Phunsukh Wangdu. Rancho says he recognises Rancho from the photograph because Rancho is trying to sign a contract with Rancho. In the end, Rancho confesses that he is the real Rancho and that the man in college with them was Chhote after all. After his parents died, his gardener’s son was adopted by his gardener’s family. The man’s father instructed him to enrol in college and pass himself off as his son, complete with a Rancho diploma. On top of all this, he lets them know where Chhote is right now: Ladakh. Farhan, Raju, and Chatur then travel to Ladakh.
Rancho and Pia met their senior year of high school, fell in love, and began dating. After Farhan and Raju broke into Virus’s house as Rancho sneaked in to propose to Pia, Virus threatened to rusticate Raju or have Rancho rusticated, prompting a distraught Raju to attempt suicide and end up in a coma. His confidence was restored, and he went into his job placement interview with newfound gusto, and was hired. Meanwhile, Farhan successfully challenged his father and was hired by the photographer who had served as an inspiration to him during their two-month rehabilitation period. Virus faked the exam to ensure Raju’s failure, but Rancho and Farhan were able to grab the question paper from Virus’s office after Pia helped them break in. The three were rusticated in the middle of the night once Virus learned what had happened despite Raju’s protests and refusal to use the paper. A torrential downpour prevented Rancho from getting her to the hospital. With the help of Pia on a webcam and other students, Rancho delivered the baby in an emergency ventouse while they were on their way out of the institute with Pia’s sister Mona. He realised his mistake and Rancho’s genius, so Virus allowed them stay for their examinations and handed Rancho an extremely rare Space Pen as thanks for their cooperation. Virus In their final year of college, Rancho came in first place, but they unexpectedly left the graduation ceremony without informing anyone and disappeared.
To get back on track: after picking up Pia from her wedding ceremony, Farhan, Chatur, and Raju head out of town to a school in Ladakh allegedly run by Rancho, where they finally meet him just as Chatur insults Rancho for his apparent position as a schoolmaster and has him sign a “Declaration of Defeat,” then walks away in apparent victory. Phunsukh Wangdu is Rancho’s real name, and when he tells Pia his real name, he cancels the contract with Chatur. An humiliated Chatur chases after them, as do Mr. Wangdu, Pia, Farhan, and Raju.
3 Idiots trivia
- Although it appears in the film as the Imperial College of Engineering, the Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore is where the three main characters attend school (IIMB).
- Aamir suggested that the actors get drunk in real life before filming the drunken scene to make it look more authentic. There were so many retakes that the camera roll supply was low that the crew was forced to go out and buy more for the shoot. According to reports, Hirani repeatedly requested retakes to keep the actors busy until the rolls came.
- Producer Vidhu Vinod Chopra revealed in an interview that the film’s flying helicopter was the brainchild of Dia Mirza.
- Actor Shah Rukh Khan was initially courted for the role of Rancho. However, he turned it down due to conflicting commitments, and the part went to Aamir instead.
- Kareena was first choice of Rajkumar Hirani. As a result, he went directly to her about playing Pia in the film.
- The film was meant to feature a cameo appearance by actor Sanjay Dutt, but he never showed up. Farhan or Raju, actor Arshad Warsi was also contacted to portray one of the roles. Although it would have been nice to join them, there were no available times. These two roles were reportedly also offered to John Abraham and Saif Ali Khan, according to sources. The roles finally went to Madhavan and Sharman.
- Aamir can be seen swaying from side to side throughout the flick. The actor was inspired by his nephew.
- Although the filmmaker had intended to put baby delivery scene in his previous comedy Munna Bhai M.B.B.S., where it would have served as one of the film’s most important scenes, he ultimately decided it wasn’t necessary and instead inserted it here where it made more sense.
- In the movie, Sharman is admitted to the Fortis Hospital in Noida after trying suicide there.
- Some claim that the film was shot backwards, with the present-day sequences appearing first. After that, the scenes that took place at the university were filmed.
- This meticulously-prepared actor, known as Aamir, went on an extreme diet and refused to even touch his birthday cake on the day of his birthday. In order to lose weight for the role, the actor admitted, “I am surviving on milk and a few bananas.”
- It was promised by Vidhu Vinod Chopra that the film will be formally uploaded on YouTube within 12 weeks after its theatrical release, however this never happened. The film was finally released after a long wait.
- Phunsukh Wangdu was inspired by Leh-based engineer Sonam Wangchuk.
- Director Dr. Viru Sahastrabuddhe, also known as Virus, was played by actor Boman Irani in the film.
- In terms of worldwide box office, it’s one of the first Bollywood films to surpass Rs 200 crore. Moreover, it’s Aamir Khan’s first film with a earning of more than Rs 200 crore. 3 Idiots brought in 395 crores worldwide. The movie was a big hit in China, and there were discussions about developing a sequel.
- If the first film is successful, there may be another in the series. Based on Aamir’s word, the film’s sequel will be written by Abhijat Joshi.