3 Idiots

a defining anthem for the indian youth indian culture is such that it demands excellence and nothing less is satisfactory. from your first day of life, you have, unknowingly, entered a race. this race and the desire to win consumes everyone involved, and you never even get a chance to decide if you even wanted to run. this is the issue that “3 Idiots” tackles: the pressure and stress placed upon young indian students to achieve success and wealth, throwing any passion and creativity to the wayside. the movie centers around a prestigious engineering college in india, and follows the story of a unique student who challenges the notions of traditional education and advocates for the pursuit of knowledge for one’s own fulfillment, and not for material gain. this movie holds a special place in my heart; watching this at a young age, this seemed like a fun story and nothing more, but returning to this movie as a college student made me realize the truth in the tale. the reason this film works lies in its emotional core. there is a large focus on how certain relationships can become transactional, and how the underlying love and admiration can fade out of sight. the film discusses a father who is willing to sacrifice everything in order for his son to become a successful engineer, but who has never truly asked his son what he wants to pursue. the head of a college looks for nothing but perfection from his students, but forgets to consider that people are inherently imperfect, which is what truly makes everyone unique. the film capitalizes on emotional moments and makes the audience feel in droves. the comedy is fresh and fun, and will make you cry. and then you’ll really cry during the heavy scenes. director raju hirani turns his audience into emotional puppets, and you will dance to his every tune. the acting is also phenomenal all the way around. every major role is played with charisma and passion, and it would be hard to imagine a different cast because of how perfectly each character is personified. aamir khan as the movie’s lead is brilliant. his comic timing has always been supremely underrated, and it shines through yet again. but he also is able to tap into his emotional side for certain scenes, and he delivers tenfold. other notable performances include boman irani as the no-nonsense college president, who brings a real fire to his character, and kareena kapoor, whose playful nature shines bright in her role.  this movie opens to a character’s monologue about how his father announced he would be an engineer exactly one minute after his birth, and he was shipped off to engineering school without anyone even taking a second to ask him what he wanted to do. there is one simple message in this movie. do what you love.