Some years back I was browsing through the bookstore Crossword when I noticed a book titled "Five point someone - What not to do at IIT!". I was attracted by the reference to my alma mater and bought it immediately. When I was through with reading the book I somewhat felt disappointed. It didn't make me any happier when I heard that Raju Hirani was going to make a film based on it featuring my favourite actor Aamir Khan.3 Idiots released close to Christmas. Initially I wasn't in a mood to see it because of my grave doubts. The good reviews and the juntas comments on Aamir Khan's blog however got me curious.
For once I thought a movie managed to beat the book that inspired it. It had lots of witty dialogues, smart situations, and a decent emotional content. I enjoyed 3 Idiots. But I did not love it. Unlike the two Munnabhais and Taare Zameen Par it just did not leave me moved. Perhaps the film was too entertaining. I understand the need for telling a message in an engaging and lighthearted fashion. But everything does not have to be turned into a joke like the struggles which Raju's (Sharman Joshi) family faces in lieu of supporting his engineering degree. This is a story of many a students coming to study at IITs or for that matter at medical schools. For me it is not a laughing matter. The funny means by which the other two idiots Rancho (Aamir Khan) and Farhan (Madhavan) help Raju recover from his suicide attempt takes away from the seriousness of the situation that had lead him to take the drastic step.
Further, I thought that the teaching community had been unjustly represented only through the characters of the Dean (Boman Irani) and other professors who insult and make fun of the three lead characters all the time. There are three cases of suicide in it. The race for coming first and the grueling learning system adopted by the engineering college which are responsible for two of these deaths is never really shown.
Except for Rancho and Farhan no one seems to have pursuits beyond studies. You just have to attend one of the several competitions in the areas of dramatics, music and art or the events in the yearly IIT festivals to know this is not true. Innovative ideas are not exactly squashed either. In IIT Bombay's famous Robotics festival you can see innumerable displays of cutting edge designs developed by students coming from all over India to participate. It is now commonplace even in colleges to invite well established figures to deliver keynote lectures at special occasions to inspire the youth to use their talent.
I do agree when the film says that one must pursue what you are passionate about. Some in audience have wrongly come out thinking that it says don't be a doctor or an engineer. Instead it drives home the point that by all means take up that profession but only as long as your heart is in it and not just because it has been mapped by your parents for you from the time you were born. My point however is that you might not really know after class 12th what you want to be. You might need those years in college in order to discover yourself and your passions. Like it is for Farhan to come to a conclusion that he should afterall pursue photography. Of course he knows it would also require him to work hard and struggle but at least it would be for something he loves.
To give 3 Idiots its due it does tell us an important message which could have got lost in all the frolic and entertainment. In Baba Ranchod Das Chanchad's words don't chase success, chase excellence. If you do the latter then success will automatically follow. But if your goal is simply earning big bucks then at some point you may end up taking a wrong route to it. I loved what Aamir Khan said in an interview I caught on tv. Instead of asking our children how many marks they scored in tests or did they come first or second in exams we should ask them did they help their friends, did they do something nice or did they bring a smile on someone's face during the day. Then automatically the focus will shift from the running madly in a race to becoming well rounded individuals with caring hearts.
4 comments:
to add to that-
Cons:
(1) The vaccum cleaner part could have been avoided unless the makers of the movie wanted to refer to something that could be called as “completely different as five point something”.
(2) Many of the scenes/dialogues/punch lines are not at all original. Definition of the book in a hyper-intricated scientific jargon delivered by aamir in a class room scene to make his professor taste his own medicine is whipped up from a common college time joke. Even the Aaamir’s suggestion to carry pencils in space is a common cold war story (in fact the story was that the Russian astrologers said to have used pencils, while Americans apparently spent millions of dollars in designing the pen that defied gravity).
Pros:
(1) The ending is commercially catchy and its worth departing with (specialy the heavenly ladakh in the backdrop). The actors and actresses have performed well, music and directions are commendable.
Assertion: The feat of highest grossing bollyhood movie ever was, in my opinion, partly due to its ‘links’ with Chetan Bhagat’s book five point something, which many youngsters have read and perhaps wanted to ‘check out…what’s new’ like I or many people I know did. Of course, the movie was good from acting, direction, music, theme etc. standpoint of view…but if originality and creativity is to consider it is only worth a “5 point something” in the scale of 10.
@Sud: Thanks for your detailed comment. :-)
I am sure that just as in my case, other people too must have been driven by the curiosity factor linked with Chetan Bhagat's book to check out the movie. However, the earnings of Rs300 crore can only have been achieved with many people going to the theaters to see it again and again. So despite our grievances everybody has loved it and for that I'd like to give 3 Idiots a way higher score than 5 point something. :-)
Thank you for your reply.
I quite agree, the ‘links’ with the book is just a part of the cause that led to gross profit in such an astronomical scale...infact the movie has everything that can cast a bandwagon effect on our people. Happy ending, non-linear but simple storyline, catchy dialogues, petite love story, drama, humour, thought provoking message for all of us (Mr. kapil sibbal included)...all that and more.
However, my assertion of 5 point something on scale of 10 for the movie was for the lack of mind-blowing originality that one seeks in any movie/music scores along with storyline, music, ending, theme etc...…
Even the earlier blockbuster ‘gajani’ lacked any despite its profit in galactic figures and one would figure each of them out if he/she watched the movie ‘momentos’ or read the book ‘momentos mori’…it wasn’t a remake of Murugadoss’s tamil ‘gajini’ but remake of a remake of a blockbuster hollyhood movie based on a book (with acknowledgement). Rather light-years remote from being original.
That being said, I have no idea what makes a film superhit as I am just 0.00000000087 part of the total population. Personally I like some of the nagesh kukunoor’s stuff (e.g. dor) or Madhur Bhandarkar’s flicks…but unfortunately they only bring home awards not mass hysteria…so my judgement is crippled by the want of imagination in the movie I guess..not to talk about naïve sense of business and market risks…
Our music Industry has a similar telltale signs with competition level to compose hit songs skyrocketing. When one realises that the most of the hit songs he/she knows by heart are direct copy of some Korean, indonasian,english Arabic, French and what not..songs it does feel hurt. As a teenger when I heard ‘mere rangme rangne wale..pariyo ho ya ho pariyo ki raani..” from the movie maine pyar kiya the last thing I would have thought was it was a copy from the song ‘final countdown’ (the intro music is ditto).
Now, one Pritam Chakroborty (award wining music director) is sending shockwaves across. His list of ‘inspired’ songs is quite long and all of them are ‘HIT’ (please do check the original songs in internet..):
(1) pehli najar mere..(race) directly lifted from a Korean song delightful girl by choon-Hyang
(2) Iaane jya chahe man baavra (pyaar ke side effect) ---from Kiyani’s song MAHI (album Rung)
(3) Kya mujhe pyaar hai (woh lamhe)-----straight lift off from Indonasian singer peter pan’s ‘tak bisakah’…
(4) Bheegi Bheegi (Gangster) -----from a bangle song ‘prithibi ta naki’ by Moheener Ghoraguli..
(5) Yeh Isk hai (jab we met)---Angunn’s French solo ‘etre une femme’
(6) Aao milo chale (jab we met)----again Peterpan’s ‘dil bela kangku’
(7) Batein kuch ankahisi (metro)---korean song ‘my name is kima sam soon’
(8) O meri jaan (metro)---Amr Diab’s song ‘Ba’edel layali’ (Arabic)
(9) Chal Chale (who lamhe)—world of our own by Seekers
(10) Teri ankhe bhulaiya.. (bhool bhulaiya)---korean song my lecon (album:enter the dragon)
(11) Zara zara (race)—deep within the bamboo grove by Lee-Hom Wang
(12) Ya Ali (Gangster)---Guitara’s Ya ghali
(13) Lamha lambha (Gangster)—‘kal shab dekha maine by waris baig
And there are many from others as well...
But we do have likes of Rehman who apparantly either doesnt believe in "creativity is all about hiding your sources" or peerless at that...
I like his legend of warriors...and also nana..the second one has been seen as yet another oscar ticket..
regs,
sud
@Sud: When I'd first learnt that Pritam had stolen the music for all those songs I was actually unable to believe it. They are all such lovely songs and for which he solely took the credit.
There is indeed a lack of originality in Hindi films which is illustrated by the large percentage of them doing badly. Even the good ones are not able to satisfy us. I haven't seen Momento so I cannot comment on how much similar or different Ghajini was from it. All reviews for Jaane Tu... had found it refreshing. But I had thought that the way its story was unfolded was so like SRK's Chalte Chalte. The basic theme of Wake Up Sid reminds me of Lakshya: of a spoilt brat changing his ways and becoming responsible. With 3 Idiots I felt as if I was watching Taare Zameen Par served Dil Chahta Hai style.
But then I suppose everyone doesn't give importance to all this. Eventually if a film is entertaining and hits a chord with the people, it works just like the beautiful song which we end up humming without worrying about who the actual composer is.
Post a Comment