Aal Izz Wel, well, almost

Characters in a film inhabits a world which is far more perfect than ours; a world where they know the consequences of their actions, and therefore can take the risk, display the bravado, and win the day. There is no second though, no inhibition, no what if...
Otherwise, how do you explain the behaviour of our heroes in Hindi films?
This was one of the things bothering me while watching Rajkumar Hirani’s ‘3 Idiots’. Otherwise, how do you explain even a silly, but effectively entertaining scene of Aamir Khan’s character spilling chuttney on the other guy’s shoes so that the poor chap will blur out how expensive they really are. Funny!
Actually funny, yes. But you wish they will stop being pretentious and preachy.
With due sympathy to Chetan Bhagat, ‘3 Idiots’ is out-and-out a Rajkumar Hirani film, a new product from the Munnabhai factory, with a bit of Aamir Khan influence thrown in (if the narrative device reminds you of ‘Dil Chahta Hai’, it does not really matter.) What really matter is that it’s a good film which severely fall short of being very good.
The starting point of this review is a blog post by Jabberwock, where he complains how the audience is averse to analysing a film they have liked.
Yes, I too have a problem with that attitude, especially when everyone is going ga-ga over the film. Most of the major newspapers gave the film the highest rating possible, which is a good thing, I don't have any problems with that. But, we must remember that the film is not flawless either. There are flashes of brilliance, there are times when the film makes sense. But at the end of the day, ‘3 Idiots’ fail to break away from the so-called ‘Hindi film formula’ periphery. At the end of the day, it’s just another Hindi film where the hero gets the girls and everything else.
Chetan Bhagat should actually be grateful that the film does not mention his name in the start credits; because ‘3 Idiots’ is not ‘Five Point Someone’. In the novel, the three friends barely able to survive the consequences of their actions. But in the film, they fulfil all the promises they make.
And why not; in the world of movies, they inhabit a perfect world.
Take for example the character Aamir Khan play. He looks perfectly a collegian, 20 something (Kudos to the make-up artist.), yet, his attitude is far from juvenile. When he performs all his juvenile antics, there is an inherent confidence in them, which is unlike any graduate student can even muster.
But then, it’s just a movie. Timepass stuff.
And yes, I enjoyed the film. But then...