Thought Overflow

I have 2 things to blog about today. I watched ‘3 Idiots’ last night, and I finished the 2008 video-game, ‘Prince of Persia’ as well. I intend to do reviews of both, in separate posts. As ‘3 Idiots’ is the latest topic on everyone’s lips, I’ll start with that.

Since I’m a weirdo who likes doing things differently, I’ll start with the bottom-line. It’s a good movie, with good acting and direction, with good amounts of humour thrown in—a movie that everyone should watch at least once. However, if one raises the question about how effective it is at getting its message across, then answer is not very favourable.
Yes, the movie does teach stubborn parents the importance of letting their children follow their hearts. It does create a little bit of awareness that careers other than engineering and medicine do exist. But it does nothing new. This message has been being shoved down our throats in newspaper editorials and important speeches. Who has it affected? Those with an open mind continue to keep an open mind, and those with closed minds continue to listen to the speeches, read the editorials, watch the movies, nod their heads solemnly in agreement, and when the time comes, they gently continue to push their children either into the engineering or medical herd.

There’s not much I can write about the movie without giving away the plot, and I think the movie would be far more enjoyable if I leave the story-telling to the director. Simply put, it’s a movie about education…not so much about life in a premier engineering college, instead more about the education system of our countr. Rest assured there is a good enough basic plot that ties the movie together, and enough suspense to keep your mind occupied at the intermission.

The acting is top-notch, as is to be expected from an Aamir Khan starrer. I am a big fan of the way his guy approaches his movies. Apparently having lost bundles of fat and muscle to fit the look of a student, Aamir does a stellar job as an engineering student. There are very subtle things that caught my eye—his style of walking, for example. It’s typical of the way a carefree engineering student would walk, hands in his pockets, swinging his legs slightly in that energetic manner that accompanies youth. Unfortunately, Aamir’s character (Rancho) is given so much of air-time, and is portrayed so charismatically by the prolific actor, that the entire movie seems less like one with a message, and more like one made to glorify that one particular character. Madhavan and Sharman Joshi do a fine job as well and their look matches those of engineering students quite well too. Kareena Kapoor has a minor role to play, but she does a good enough job without creating a fuss. Oh, and lest I forget, Boman Irani is, as usual, fabulous as the crazed, hyper-competitive dean of the college.

Since I’ve already written the bottom-line, I’ll end this ‘impromptu’ with a simple advice…go watch this movie. It’s good, but don’t be drawn in by the hype, and don’t go with great expectations, for these might come in the way of your enjoying the movie. Go watch the movie, and look out for the review of the 2008 video-game Prince of Persia, coming up shortly.