3 Idiots

Discerning Bollywood fans are in for a treat: a comedy we can laugh with rather than at. Farhan (Madhavan) and Raju (Joshi) embark on a road trip to Ladakh, in the Himalayas, to track down long-lost buddy Rancho (Khan). The latter is introduced via lengthy flashbacks detailing the antics of the ‘three idiots’ during their college engineering days. But why did Rancho disappear mysteriously after graduating? The film’s main strength lies in its ability to address head-on the possible failure of higher education in contemporary India. This is conveyed via Hirani’s trademark light-hearted touch. Consequently, the clichéd ‘make your passion your profession’ premise never feels preachy. Overlong, this quirky well-acted film proves, as the title track says, that generally ‘all is well’ with commercial Hindi cinema.