All Izzzz Well...Well Almost

3 Idiots
*** 1/2
I don't remember the last time a hindi film gag left me this easily in splits. You see the mother cribbing about the rising prices in the midst of a paralyzed father and the the sister failing to find the right groom. And when the mother serves chapatis prepeared out of the eczema itched rolling pin, you literally laugh off your seats.At least I did. Wow!. Such is the effect. Director Rajkumar Hirani the cult Munnabhai series creator, knows it so well by now. He knows when to play those gags, when and how to hit the right emotional buttons and amid all this, knows how to seamlessly fit those songs in the narrative, with actors actually lip syncing the songs-and you thought lip syncing has become a thing of the past. You do get nostalgic seeing them live those 'engineering' moments. Raju, Farhan and Rancho , they all have different ways to cope up with their lives as students in an engineering college based in Delhi!(Oh common now..isn't that obvious by those frequent footages of India Gate, Rajpath, Cannought Place.The Laxmi Nagars, the Vikas Puris and the Rohinis of the city ain't Delhi-symbolic enough yet.Too Bad!)
And yes, in many ways, 3 idiots is the Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge of 2009. Packed with emotions, gags, endearing characters who make you laugh and cry , 3 idiots is that almost perfect masala film with a good mix of ingredients. In fact, unlike the latter, 3 idiots goes a step further and manages to talk about so many socially relevant issues questioning our flawed education systems that encourages students to becomes robots rather than humans who can deliver and make deliver(literally!..and on a ping pong table at that..yes you heard that right-a ping pong table!!). But..but..but.Did I just say almost perfect? Well yes, 3 idiots is not above flaws. Yep. And even though I see the joote, chappals ready to be flung at me by all those who were just blown away by the movie, I have to admit that I could not overlook the blemishes.
A movie that says so much about the flawed Indian Education System also becomes a good study on caricaturization of its characters. So you have the college principal(Boman Irani rising well above the buffoonery) , the teachers and even the college geek shown as vicious creatures adhering religiously to the rules of the system and showing absolutely no tolerance for anyone defying them. You also have the principal (read monster) well contrasted by the personalities of his nice, endearing daughters. And, yes, one of them(Kareena, earnest) has to fall in love with one of the idiots, and also has to run away from her marriage to the price-tag 'gadha'-all for our magician hero. And of course, values of honesty and bravery find their way into the movie in the form of Raju who manages to get a job on his fearless 'attitude' despite a profile made up of really bad grades, an attempted suicide prompted by the threat of rustication. Phew..wish all of us were this lucky!
But despite the shortcomings, the movie makes for an enjoyable watch. Apart from some wonderfully crafted moments and some witty dialogues, the film also boasts of some fine acting. Despite the fact that the roles of the college students is actually played by some 30 40 something actors,they all,with Aamir getting the meatiest part, do their jobs so effectively that each one of them is literally a hoot. And at the end of it, yes you do feel your heart and say 'All izz well'-ya almost!