Following the stupendous success of "Slumdog Millionaire" in 2008, interest in
Indian cinema increased markedly. Yet that movie, while set in India, was
directed by an Englishman. Most people in the U.S. know very little of real
Indian film, but the number of Bollywood fans is growing rapidly, and they are
almost evangelical in their admiration for Aamir Khan, the star of "
3 Idiots"
and a golden boy in his native country. Of the relatively few exports from that
enormous market to play in American theaters, this 2009 film is one of the best.
It makes a fine entree into the cinematic culture of India, which is, I must
warn you, an acquired taste.
The first thing you may notice is the
language, which entails what linguists call "code switching." Sentences often
begin in Hindi and end in English or vice versa. But much more important to
grasp is the Bollywood aesthetic, which is radically different from Hollywood's;
to enjoy it requires a suspension of the rules that constrain American films.
Ours have rather tightly defined genres: domestic drama, buddy picture, slasher
movie, Broadway musical, sci-fi actioner, and so on. Combining two of them is
rare; three is straight over the top.
Indian film, in contrast, is
kitchen sink filmmaking, throwing together themes and plots from many diverse
genres to create tales of epic scope (this one is nearly three hours long).
These sagas whipsaw the viewer back and forth from farcical parody to ghastly
tragedy to musical fantasy to weepy melodrama to bathroom humor to social
protest to romantic comedy. The plots are frequently Byzantine in their
complexity and the characters hopelessly unrealistic. As in the Hindu epic
Ramayana, they are better thought of as caricatures of love, wisdom, heroism,
foolishness, envy, ambition, and other traits.
Now if you find a frenetic
hodgepodge of styles and a resolute lack of realism irritating, if you can't
accept what will at first seem crazily contradictory conventions, you won't like
Bollywood. If repetitive fart and pee jokes bother you, if the idea of grafting
a "Revenge of the Nerds" sensibility onto "Mamma Mia!" or of having Judd Apatow
direct "Days of Our Lives" strikes you as horrifying, then this movie is not for
you. But if you can wrap your head around these jarring juxtapositions, read
on.
I'll admit I'm not a big Bollywood fan, but I have to give props to
screenwriter-director Rajkumar Hirani for the manic energy and complete
commitment he brings to his interpretation of "Five Point Someone," a novel by
Chetan Bhagat. "
3 Idiots" centers on three students attending the most
prestigious engineering college in India, a pressure cooker of a school. They
include Farhan (R. Madhavan), who is an aspiring but frustrated photographer,
and the impoverished Raju (Sharman Joshi). The charismatic leader of this
triumvirate, Rancho (Kahn), is a witty prankster, a down-to-earth genius, and a
humanitarian guru who makes it his mission to humble the arrogant: to show the
educational authorities their wrongheadedness and the wealthy their
hypocrisy.
While he's at it, this charming idealist saves the life of
Raju's father, crashes a wedding, and wins the heart of Pia, a medical student
(played by the beautiful Kareena Kapoor) who happens to be the daughter of his
nemesis, the dean of the college. The dean is a heartless buffoon (played to the
scenery-chewing hilt by Boman Irani) who is in the habit of driving his students
to suicide, but Rancho gets the better of him. And all of this is accomplished
before the first half of the film is over!
The movie could easily have
ended at midpoint, but no. Rancho mysteriously disappears, and so his friends
embark upon a quest that frames the plot, along with Chatur (Omi Vaidya), an
envious rival who has made a wager with him. They attempt to track him down,
settle the bet, and reunite him with his lost love. We move back and forth in
time and tone with myriad subplots about exam results, summary expulsions,
dreams deferred, job interviews, identity swaps, heartbreaking betrayals,
near-death experiences, miraculous recoveries, and undying
friendship.
There's a runaway bride scene that puts "The Graduate" to
shame, and enough high-stakes medical drama for several soap operas, including
paralysis, a coma, and a bizarre episode in which a team of engineering students
uses car batteries and a vacuum cleaner to deliver a baby during a blackout. And
interspersed with all of this are several wild song-and-dance numbers, one of
them set in a communal bathroom and another that involves flying and a rainstorm
and a cross between the Twist and the Chicken Dance.
In the end, justice
is done and all's right with the world. The challenges our protagonists face --
of fulfilling their parent's old-fashioned expectations in a viciously
competitive educational system and an utterly class-ridden society, or of
following their own personal passions and finding happiness and untold wealth in
the process -- are resolved to everyone's satisfaction. Of course, our saintly
hero finds true love and, after hours of teasing, gets a single kiss. We're in
India, remember, where the good guys must be chaste (though cavorting in their
underwear is apparently just fine).
It's a cheerfully preposterous film
filled with fine performances, one of the most well-made pieces of pabulum I've
seen since the cricket-themed "Laagan," a 2001 Aamir Khan epic of nearly four
hours that received an Academy Award nomination for Best Foreign Language Film.
With a story that aspiring young Indians can relate to, "
3 Idiots" was hugely
popular at home, shattering all sorts of box office records and winning a
ridiculous number of awards.
If you'd like to know more about India,
where tradition and modernity uneasily coexist, then a marathon of broad
tragicomedy and rags-to-riches wish fulfillment is an entertaining way to learn.
Bear in mind that this is nothing like reality. It's hyperreality: what a nation
of 1.2 billion who experience poverty and a daily grind and rapid social change
are hoping for, not what you'll really find if you visit. As such, it reveals
much about their mentality, about their ideals and anxieties, and about what
motivates them. And if you can let go of your American preconceptions, it's a
head-spinning ride that's undeniably fun.
While you're listening to the songs of the soundtrack you can easily recall the scenes of the movie, bollywood style music is a good and new experience to enjoy this cd. This soundtrack really complements a fantastic movie! I love listening to this music as it's showing great stuff Bollywood is turning out and more movies need music like this to complement a movie! It's all on him. I absolutely loved this CD. I recognize that it's not very common but the music, even more when accompanied by the movie, is beautiful. If you haven't seen the movie though... you should, BEFORE buying this.
Babaji ki booti is a doper’s song – the digital sounds and synths have been used quite cleverly to create the feeling of a dope trip. The song has a good hook and melody. But the winner here is the crazy and totally hilarious lyrics by Priya Panchal
After all the quirky and crazy numbers comes a soothing track sung by Shreya Ghosal – Khushamdeed. It’s a song about saying thank you to all your loved ones and at the same time appreciating what life has to offer. Shreya’s honeyed voice and the light guitar-based tune come together to make for a nicely breezy song.
