3 Idiots: A Must Watch

I have never seen a Bollywood movie, and this past weekend I experienced my first. 3 Idiots available on Netflix is a coming-of-age comedy made in 2009. The movie focuses on three students (Farthan, Raju, and Rancho) getting educated in engineering at a prestigious college. Each character is relatable. Farthan is a passionate photographer but is getting a degree in engineering to appease his father; while Raju likes engineering, but has anxiety because if he fails he wouldn’t be able to support his family, therefore he lacks self-confidence; and Rancho is passionate about engineering and approaches the subject in a different way. Initially I thought this movie would be Bollywood version of three stooges, but I was wrong. This is its own movie, and everything was executed perfectly. I just wish I knew some information before I watched this movie.

The first thing I wish I knew is that the audio was in English and Hindi, meaning that they switch between both languages. Unless you know Hindi fluently subtitles is a must. I didn't have any problem having subtitles on, I usually have it on no matter what the movie because I retain more dialogue. 

The next aspect I wish I knew was the movie's runtime was close to 3 hours, and half way through the movie I thought it was close to the ending. I was so glad that I was wrong. It could have ended early, but the second half of the movie made it a must watch. up to the half way point we see the main trio develop and have gone through some climax, but there is no rule of thumb that fictional characters can go through one and only one climax. I am so happy how long the movie is and I wouldn't cut anything out of it.

Last note that I wished I knew before watching is most of the movie takes place in a flash back, sometimes a flashback of a flashback. I thought that the first half of the movie would be a flashback, while the later would take place in the present, but I was wrong. majority of the movie takes place in a flashback, while the trio were in college. With all that being said lets transition and discuss the art of the movie.

Chekhov’s gun is a dramatic principle that states if a play shows a gun in the first act, then it must be used during the second act. "One must never place a loaded rifle on the stage if it isn't going to go off. It's wrong to make promises you don't mean to keep." Chekhov, letter to Aleksandr Semenovich Lazarev. Recently, we have been seeing this violation occur in movies such as the new trilogy of Star Wars. In episode seven we are teased that snoke is the powerful adversary, but then he is easily killed off in the following movie, diminishing him being a threat, misleading the audience. There are more sins from the newest Star Wars movie, but this isn’t about Star Wars. In 3 Idiots Chekhov’s gun was beautifully done. There were so many nuggets that were brought up in the beginning and fulfilled later. What amazed me was I thought some of these guns were character development and and wasn't expected it to be brought up again, but when they did it was a delightful surprise.

It's wouldn't be a Bollywood movie is there wasn’t a musical number during the movie. This movie had two musicals both upbeat and chessy in the best way possible. The first one is called “Aal Izz Well” (all is well) and the other was “Zoobi Doobi”. Out of the two musicals Aal Izz Well is may favorite. I think I related to this one more since I am still a student, and it was catchy. The meaning of the song is to not discourage us when we are going through hard times because even when its hard all is well. “Zoobi Doobi” is a love song about falling in love for the first time and how crazy it is.

Even though this is a comedy it doesn’t stray from discussing difficult topics, such as suicide. On three (technically four) occasions suicide was brought up. I won’t mention what happens because of spoilers, but the messages were clear. Suicide is not an answer. There will be people that miss you, need you, love you. A life is more important than the reason you feel like you can’t live no more. Remember the worth of souls is great in the sight of God (D&C 18:10-11). I think that suicide is a heavy subject to discuss and they did not joke about it or lighten it.

One of my favorite scenes of the movie is when the 3 idiots are hungry (poor college students having a bad day) and couldn’t find or afford any food, so they sneak into a wedding they walked by, pretending to belong, and loaded so much food onto the most unrealistic massive plates and got caught by none other than the antagonist of the movie, the director of the college, Virus. By some chance they crashed his daughter’s wedding, and he mercilessly reprehends them in a comedic way.

If you haven't seen a Bollywood movie, give 3 idiots a try. You will laugh, Aal Izz Well will get stuck in your head, you will enjoy the overall message, and you will relate to the characters. Don't miss out on trying something different. I regret that it has taken me this long to see my first Indian film.