Three Idiots: DVD Talk Review of the DVD Movie
Без кейворда
While cultural differences exists, the dilemma facing any graduate (high school or otherwise) is universal. Where do you go? What’s the next step? Are their prospects for all you have learned, or will life once again demonstrate you that spinning your wheels can be (and ultimately is) a serviceable career option. Of course, in the West we take our educational advance as rote. We believe that a degree equals the wish. In other countries, however, parents fret over offspring, pushing and pressuring them as part of an unusual combination of social status and retirement plan. In India, specifically, the drive to be number one often outshines a child’s abilities or acumen. Instead, the request for a good job and an even better position in life are all that’s significant. Oddly enough, the country’s media has shied away from any critical complaint about this tradition – until now. The film, Trio Idiots, broke down barriers within the nation, becoming one of its most successful movies of all time. After sifting through its one hundred sixty four minutes of merriment, it’s effortless to see why.
It’s been over ten years since Farhan (R. Madhavan), Raju (Sharman Joshi), and Rancchoddas , or "Rancho" (Aamir Khan) attended the prestigious ICE – Imperial College of Engineering – for their four year examine of the subject. Originally put off by brown-nosing super student Chatur "the Silencer" (Omi Vaidya) and parochial professor Viru "the Virus" (Boman Irani), they were determined to graduate and get that elusive well paying position. At the time, the aforementioned teacher’s pet was so angry about Rancho’s disrespectful treatment to college that he challenges him to a bet. On September 5th, a decade after graduation, they would all get together to see who had achieved the most.
Along the way, we learn about each student’s secret desires. Farhan would rather be a wildlife photographer, but his domineering dad rejects to hear such nonsense. Raju is embarrassed by his family’s poverty and despairingly wants to please (and provide support for) them. Chatur just wants to be number one. Rancho, on the other forearm, is an enigma. Vehemently opposed to rote memorization and yet consistently the top student in the class, he drives both his roommates and his instructors – including Virus – to distraction. So naturally he falls in love with said teacher’s daughter Pia (Kareena Kapoor).
At almost three hours in length, Three Idiots is the most epic coming of age college hijinx comedy ever. It’s also the most heartwarming, endearing, and insightful. Taking down the draconian philosophy surrounding higher education in India (everything centers on class placement, competition, and oppressive cutthroat tactics), director Rajkumar Hirani mixes melodrama with message to produce a delightful dismissal of such practices. If it stands for anything, Trio Idiots argues for being true to yourself, to go after your fantasies and passions, and to never permit outside coerces to coerce or pressure you into defying your desires. Sprawled over fourteen years and packed with all manner of cinematic styles – farce, musical, serious dramatics, meta commentary – it’s originally hard to get a treat on where Hirani intends to go. Most of the narrative revolves around the past. Some centers on finding Rancho after his post-pomp and circumstance disappearance. In-between, the storyline (taken from a vignette oriented novel by Chetan Bhagat entitled Five Point Someone) establishes the kind of classic close friendship that literally locks the viewer in.
From there on, it’s up to the actors to win us over, and Hirani has picked some prime examples. For their part, Madhavan and Joshi have the firmer roles. They must be decent without being doormats, capable of their own identity without melding into Rancho’s often ridiculous schemes. Of the two, the latter truly stands out, especially when his plotline if given a pair of potentially deadly denouements. As villains, Vaidya and Irani scarcely avoid the moustache twirling tendencies of such old school baddies. Fortunately, Hirani gives them slapstick quirks (clueless confusion and farting, a lisp and a love of powernaps, respectively) to avoid the slip into stereotypes. Kapoor is a real force to be reckoned with, since she is a medical student/doctor, an almost established professional that can’t be played with. Her relationship with a materialistic "butt" is one of Trio Idiots best subplots. That just leaves Bollywood superstar Khan to redeem Rancho – and boy does he ever. While Americans would have no problem with his "go after your bliss/all is well" mantra, he represents a rebellious rogue to the average Indian. Rancho doesn’t believe in the soulless assembly line state of his peer group’s post-adolescence. Instead, he wants to buck tradition, and the actor does so with cool and compassion to spare.
As it motors along, the length permitting all manner of interesting sidelines and subplots to emerge, Trio Idiots remains steadfastly a film about bonding. It argues that, without each other, Farham, Raju, and Rancho would never have survived ICE. It clings to the arcane notion that relationships forged in youth remain hard and prompt even decades later. It drops in diversions (a baby’s birth during a flood, a medical emergency, a suicide, a question of true identity) to see how our trio reacts. The title might suggest stupidity, but the meaning goes deeper than just "being dumb." According to the film, India sees all students from 2nd place downward as "losers," or idiots. Virus is specifically harsh on the students, suggesting the fatal way out of their eventual familial embarrassment and shame. All across the movie, Rancho suggests that success goes after those who truly pursue their desires. While a tad simplistic, it makes for a meaningful last act when Chatur is attempting despairingly to one up his reclusive rival. Some may view Trio Idiots as overstuffed and underplayed. In fact, it’s one of the most satisfying, smile inducing practices in a long time.
Fox, whose evidently picked up distribution on this and other Bollywood titles, does a terrific job with this DVD. The terrific Two.35:1 transfer is terrific. The colors are clean and crisp, their primary bounce given digital ‘umph’ via the format. Similarly, there is a nice level of detail, and when you consider that everyone in the cast is playing much, much junior than they are (Khan is in his 40s), the level of grind and professionalism is excellent.
With its always unusual combination of English and Hindi (imagine a Western film where a character speaks in a combination of two languages and you get the idea) the Dolby Digital Five.1 mix is amazing. While not wholly immersive or given over to displays of directional or spatial ambience, the careful collection of dialogue, music, and sound effects is superb. As you know, Indian cinema loves its musical interludes, and the one’s included here are more contemporary, almost tied to the shoe-gazing indie rock of America’s teenage comedies. As for the subtitles, they are effortless to read.
All we get are a collection of Making-of featurettes, each one suggesting a different perspective on the production. One concentrates on the actors, another on the music. A third looks into the movie’s main theme, while the final one highlights the work of the women in the film. Overall, they are insightful if a tad superficial.
Along with the crime drama Ghajini and the sci-fi spectacle Enthiran, Trio Idiots is one of the thickest grossing films in the history of the Indian box office. At well over the one billion rupee mark, it clearly struck a chord with the always picking Bollywood audience. Here, in all its dazzling, original language glory, it’s effortless to see why. It’s entertaining, endearing, and enlightening. Lightly earning a Very Recommended rating, the story of Rancho, Fahran, and Raju will remind you of why movies are magic – as well as how far Tinseltown has fallen into the micromanaged demographical trap. Certainly, Trio Idiots panders to a certain segment of the viewership, but it does so with excellent characters, exceptional warmth, and a lot of heart. Going to college may be a mindless, soulless excursion into the insides of one’s own individual abilities. A least in the case of this career defining excursion, these three idiots have each other. and us.
Want more Gibron Goodness? Come to Bill’s TINSEL Ripped REBORN Blog (Updated Frequently) and Love! Click Here
Three Idiots: DVD Talk Review of the DVD Movie
Без кейворда
While cultural differences exists, the dilemma facing any graduate (high school or otherwise) is universal. Where do you go? What’s the next step? Are their prospects for all you have learned, or will life once again demonstrate you that spinning your wheels can be (and ultimately is) a serviceable career option. Of course, in the West we take our educational advance as rote. We believe that a degree equals the desire. In other countries, however, parents fret over offspring, pushing and pressuring them as part of an unusual combination of social status and retirement plan. In India, specifically, the drive to be number one often outshines a child’s abilities or acumen. Instead, the request for a good job and an even better position in life are all that’s significant. Oddly enough, the country’s media has shied away from any critical complaint about this tradition – until now. The film, Three Idiots, broke down barriers within the nation, becoming one of its most successful movies of all time. After sifting through its one hundred sixty four minutes of merriment, it’s effortless to see why.
It’s been over ten years since Farhan (R. Madhavan), Raju (Sharman Joshi), and Rancchoddas , or "Rancho" (Aamir Khan) attended the prestigious ICE – Imperial College of Engineering – for their four year probe of the subject. Primarily put off by brown-nosing super student Chatur "the Silencer" (Omi Vaidya) and parochial professor Viru "the Virus" (Boman Irani), they were determined to graduate and get that elusive well paying position. At the time, the aforementioned teacher’s pet was so angry about Rancho’s disrespectful treatment to college that he challenges him to a bet. On September 5th, a decade after graduation, they would all get together to see who had achieved the most.
Along the way, we learn about each student’s secret desires. Farhan would rather be a wildlife photographer, but his domineering dad turns down to hear such nonsense. Raju is embarrassed by his family’s poverty and despairingly wants to please (and provide support for) them. Chatur just wants to be number one. Rancho, on the other arm, is an enigma. Vehemently opposed to rote memorization and yet consistently the top student in the class, he drives both his roommates and his instructors – including Virus – to distraction. So naturally he falls in love with said teacher’s daughter Pia (Kareena Kapoor).
At almost three hours in length, Three Idiots is the most epic coming of age college hijinx comedy ever. It’s also the most heartwarming, endearing, and insightful. Taking down the draconian philosophy surrounding higher education in India (everything centers on class placement, competition, and oppressive cutthroat tactics), director Rajkumar Hirani mixes melodrama with message to supply a delightful dismissal of such practices. If it stands for anything, Three Idiots argues for being true to yourself, to go after your wishes and passions, and to never permit outside coerces to coerce or pressure you into defying your desires. Sprawled over fourteen years and packed with all manner of cinematic styles – farce, musical, serious dramatics, meta commentary – it’s originally hard to get a treat on where Hirani intends to go. Most of the narrative revolves around the past. Some centers on finding Rancho after his post-pomp and circumstance disappearance. In-between, the storyline (taken from a vignette oriented novel by Chetan Bhagat entitled Five Point Someone) establishes the kind of classic close friendship that literally locks the viewer in.
From there on, it’s up to the actors to win us over, and Hirani has picked some prime examples. For their part, Madhavan and Joshi have the tighter roles. They must be decent without being doormats, capable of their own identity without melding into Rancho’s often ridiculous schemes. Of the two, the latter truly stands out, especially when his plotline if given a pair of potentially deadly denouements. As villains, Vaidya and Irani slightly avoid the moustache twirling tendencies of such old school baddies. Fortunately, Hirani gives them slapstick quirks (clueless confusion and farting, a lisp and a love of powernaps, respectively) to avoid the slip into stereotypes. Kapoor is a real force to be reckoned with, since she is a medical student/doctor, an almost established professional that can’t be played with. Her relationship with a materialistic "donk" is one of Trio Idiots best subplots. That just leaves Bollywood superstar Khan to redeem Rancho – and boy does he ever. While Americans would have no problem with his "go after your bliss/all is well" mantra, he represents a rebellious rogue to the average Indian. Rancho doesn’t believe in the soulless assembly line state of his peer group’s post-adolescence. Instead, he wants to buck tradition, and the actor does so with cool and compassion to spare.
As it motors along, the length permitting all manner of interesting sidelines and subplots to emerge, Three Idiots remains steadfastly a film about bonding. It argues that, without each other, Farham, Raju, and Rancho would never have survived ICE. It clings to the arcane notion that relationships forged in youth remain hard and quick even decades later. It drops in diversions (a baby’s birth during a flood, a medical emergency, a suicide, a question of true identity) to see how our trio reacts. The title might suggest stupidity, but the meaning goes deeper than just "being dumb." According to the film, India sees all students from 2nd place downward as "losers," or idiots. Virus is specifically harsh on the students, suggesting the fatal way out of their eventual familial embarrassment and shame. All via the movie, Rancho suggests that success goes after those who truly pursue their desires. While a tad simplistic, it makes for a meaningful last act when Chatur is attempting despairingly to one up his reclusive rival. Some may view Trio Idiots as overstuffed and underplayed. In fact, it’s one of the most satisfying, smile inducing practices in a long time.
Fox, whose evidently picked up distribution on this and other Bollywood titles, does a terrific job with this DVD. The terrific Two.35:1 transfer is terrific. The colors are clean and crisp, their primary bounce given digital ‘umph’ via the format. Similarly, there is a nice level of detail, and when you consider that everyone in the cast is playing much, much junior than they are (Khan is in his 40s), the level of grind and professionalism is excellent.
With its always unusual combination of English and Hindi (imagine a Western film where a character speaks in a combination of two languages and you get the idea) the Dolby Digital Five.1 mix is amazing. While not wholly immersive or given over to displays of directional or spatial ambience, the careful collection of dialogue, music, and sound effects is superb. As you know, Indian cinema loves its musical interludes, and the one’s included here are more contemporary, almost tied to the shoe-gazing indie rock of America’s teenage comedies. As for the subtitles, they are effortless to read.
All we get are a collection of Making-of featurettes, each one suggesting a different perspective on the production. One concentrates on the actors, another on the music. A third looks into the movie’s main theme, while the final one highlights the work of the women in the film. Overall, they are insightful if a tad superficial.
Along with the crime drama Ghajini and the sci-fi spectacle Enthiran, Three Idiots is one of the largest grossing films in the history of the Indian box office. At well over the one billion rupee mark, it clearly struck a chord with the always picking Bollywood audience. Here, in all its dazzling, original language glory, it’s effortless to see why. It’s entertaining, endearing, and enlightening. Lightly earning a Very Recommended rating, the story of Rancho, Fahran, and Raju will remind you of why movies are magic – as well as how far Tinseltown has fallen into the micromanaged demographical trap. Certainly, Three Idiots panders to a certain segment of the viewership, but it does so with fine characters, exceptional warmth, and a lot of heart. Going to college may be a mindless, soulless excursion into the insides of one’s own individual abilities. A least in the case of this career defining journey, these three idiots have each other. and us.
Want more Gibron Goodness? Come to Bill’s TINSEL Ripped REBORN Blog (Updated Frequently) and Love! Click Here