Hirani has proved it before and he does it again - take a socially relevant topic and present it to make it effective as mass entertainment. In the process, give his message and comment on the society.
His standard ingredients - lot of humor, avoid violence, a good deal of melodrama, have characters that depict various segments of society and...an important one - know how to play with conflict to tell a story well.
As it happens there are moments that seem contrived, there are scenes that are stretched but eventually he manages to provide pretty solid entertainment.
He also uses certain characters, chiefly the antagonist, in a caricature - bring in humor, however give him enough strength in the plot to create obstacles for the protagonist and on the way deliver what he wants to convey.
3 Idiots is another one in the league, a solid concept rendered in Hirani's design. This time banking on Aamir's acting and creating a cast that is always rooting for the hero who is the underdog, who shall eventually upstage the David.
The film starts on a humorous note, about Farhan meeting their ex-college mate so they can find their long-lost roomie. The beginning establishes what language we are dealing with and it gets into flashback to show what transpired till now.
As it builds enough 'image' about the protagonist, Rancho, they introduce him and just like the Munnabhai series, they showcase the basic plot of the film - Rancho has to deal with Principal whose principles are diametrically opposite to Rancho's.
The whole of the 2nd Act is about Ranchos antics within the college, which focuses on him converting his fellow room-mates and taking on the Principal. This is a challenging landscape but Hirani and Abhijat Joshi, co-writer do a pretty effective job in setting-up events that flow seamlessly and take on the story forward.
As you proceed, the story becomes the journey of 3 Idiots especially as it delves into the hassles his two friends, Farhan and Raju have to deal with - their families and the Princi, who is hell-bent on breaking them away from Rancho.
Eventually they pass-out from college with their new-beings. Rancho vanishes. And so when after 5 yrs they get to know his whereabouts they go to find him along with the girl he loved in college.
Though I don't recall Munnabhai too well, I found this one done better, in terms of not trying to preach. Letting the action speak; keeping the dialogues to minimal. Creating a cool protagonist, propping him up with a good circle of characters, who asks brief questions & goes on with his life backing his friends.
What worked for me was the seamless flow of story...and most critically - building a solid antagonist. That Chatur dude is terrific, others are solid but for my money the best actor was Irani, whose character is set-up and arced wonderfully.
The silliest scene for me was the one-scene change of Parikshit Sahni. Deja vu, Munnabhai - one long spiel from Munna on radio and folks change.
The writers do a great job in building Rancho's character. He is not a preacher. He has his own fundas and...he questions. But kind of innocently, and I think this is where they make him extremely love-able.
He is a guiding angel, who can never harm any one. And therein they created a god-like icon, who will help anyone. To enable people to see/hear the message, show a guy who is fearless, who means no harm, who has his secrets, who believes in humanity and who shall help any one. He is the one who every one aspires to be.
Seems Hirani doesn't believe in villains; all antagonist have a change of heart in the end. Everyone is nice and good and the world is wonderful. Well...that's what makes helluva money at box office if you can tell a fluid story. Though, Gajini and Gadar did alright too!
Rating ***
[Max Rating ****]
[Viewed thanks to Bunty on 11th Jan at home, Delhi]
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