WhendidthelasttimeyouhadthefeelingwhilewatchingaBollywoodmoviethatyouarewatchingthebestfilmeverandthensuddenlyafterthemoviegetsoveryoustarttogetmixedfeelingsaboutthemovieyousaw.Admitit;ithasfrequentlybeenthisway.Andthenwhatdoyoudo,yougotowatchthemovierepeatedlytoreinstateyourearlierfeelingaboutthemovie.ThehysteriaandinvincibilitythatBollywoodmakersmanagetocreateintheirstorytelling,iswhatmakesitsospecial.'3Idiots'isthelatestofsuchhystericalmoviewithsuchauraaroundit.
RajkumarHirani'slatestofferingisbasedonapopularcultnovel'5pointsomeone'byChetanBhagat'.So,it'seasytohavelotofexpectationsforthisfilmright?Wrong!See,thisisnotChetanBhagat'sfirstnoveladaptationtothebigscreen,it'shissecond.Thefirstonewasadisastercalled'Hello'basedonhisbook'OnenightataCallCenter'.Hence,therewerelotsofapprehensionsabouthislatestbooktoscreenadaptation.ButhopeswerethereforthecreativeteamforthefilmproductionandthestarofthefilmAamirKhan.BothRajkumarandAamirhaveimpeccablerecordandstatusintheindustry.Hence,theopeningtheygotforthisfilmwasnotsurprising,evenwiththesteepTicketprices.But,whenthewordofmouthbeganthatthisisthebestbollywoodmovieevermade,theexpectationscrossedthelimits.AndthefilmaboutthreeengineeringstudentsinImperialCollegeofEngineering(a.k.a.areferencetoIndianInstituteofTechnology)doesnotdisappoint.Thestoryiswithdifference,butthecharactersareclichédandtruestereotypesoftheirspecies.Eventheseveralofthemoviesequencesthatmakeuslaughinthemoviearefarbeyondbeingoriginal.Butthestoryisnewandrelevanttotoday'syouth.Engineeringandmedicalfieldsofstudyhasstartedtotakeatollontoday'syouthandthemorethanhalfadozenstudentsuicidesthatyouwouldwitnessandhearinthemovieisnotatallaoverreaction.Itisturningintoanepidemic;hencethisfilmisdefinitelyimportant.TheyoungIndiaislappingupthesupportthisfilmprovidestotheircausewithgreathysteriaandisenjoyingthemanyjokesandpotshotsthemovietakesonthecountriesrigideducationalsystemandsocialnorms.ThequirkyandoverthetopturnsthatthelivesoftheseidiotstakeisbringingjoyandhappinesstotheyoungIndia.Ishouldmentionthebestwrittencharacterandsurprisinglythebestactorofthefilm'Chatur'.ChaturisthetypicalIndianstudentthatoneseesaroundthecampusesofIndianColleges.PlayedbynewcomerOmiVaidya,itisthecharactertheaudiencelovedtoseefail.Thoughhedoesnot,hissequenceshavebroughtcheersacrosscollegecampusesinIndia.Thehysteriaof'3Idiots'becomeseasytodecipherfortheIndianaudienceandhencetheyareflockingthetheaterwithlargenumbersandarecheerfullyencouragingthenextpersontogowatchthefilm.
Forrestoftheworldthisfilmisirrelevantandhasnothingnewtoofferintermsofthemovieflowandcharacterdevelopment.Butiftheyareabletoputthataside,theywouldtooprobablyenjoythefunnymomentsthatthismovieprovidesandwouldendupsayingthatthisisthebestBollywoodfilmtheyhaveeverseen.