Friday 8 January 2010

Please help, is something wrong with me?!



Friends told me it’s a GREAT movie. And Raju Hirani is one of my favorite directors. And I went to watch the movie thinking Mr. Hirani can never go wrong. And I thought Lage raho munna bhai was one of the finest movies in bollywood. and I was wrong.

I hated the movie. And It was super bore. And Not a single scene caught my attention. And I felt I had seen it all.   Except perhaps the child delivery scene. I almost had tears in my eyes thinking how my wife would have felt through and gone through the pain and torment. And not because of the movie.

Each and every scene reminded me of some other scene from some other movie. And Some English, some Malayalam, some recent hits like DIL CHAHTA HAIN etc.And  The jokes were rather stale and tried and tested several times. And I had a strange sense of déjà vu watching the movie. But Aamir Khan looked good for his part and if not for Aamir the movie would have been much worse.

From the first scene where Madhavan diverts a flight and runs through the airport and finally manages to get into a stopped car meant for someone else, it hit my senses in a strange negative way.

Perhaps I expected a lot from Hirani. And I remember watching Lage raho and silently howling. What a plot. And What a screenplay. And What freshness. And I had never seen anything like it.And When the BGM played vande mataram I had my eyes flowing like flooded Brahmaputra, literally if not symbolically.

But may be I am wrong. And May be I am getting too old for silly gags, the box office proves otherwise. And I am the only one in my office and odd one amongst around 20 people I know who has not liked it. Whats wrong with me? Do i need to consult a psychologist and takeup counseling?Please help ! :(


28 comments:

Neha said...

hahahaha, chill buddy..nothing is wrong with you...though I loved three idiots as I had zero expectations from it because we went for it on thursday (a day before it released..we saw the paid preview).. since a long time, i have stopped looking for sense in hindi movies..simple funda - leave your mind behind when you are going for a massala movie and you won't be disappointed..

I didn't like Avatar...I feel the same way about it what you feel for 3i..the effects are good; but three hours of only effects and no good story? nah, not acceptable to me..what will you call me now?

ZB said...

Neha: I am yet to watch Avatar.so cant say what can i call you.hehe.

But I expected some good funda from Hirani. Ok i dont go for salman, SRK movie expecting brainy stuff. but Hirani.!Please. Give us some good cinema, will you!
Thanks...:D

Nona said...

IMO, Hirani was in usual form. An important message in simple form using very popular jokes. If you like his previous movies also, I thought the jokes were of the same quality! The scenes gives you a feeling of deja vu. But still you end up enjoying it.

The only difference between from 3i and his earlier movies was 3i is more melodramatic at some places than this previous works.

ZB said...

Nona: Everyone is talking about 'important message'.What was the message? This is why i say something wrong with me. I couldnt find any message with all my brains put together.

If the message is to change educational system, then i feel its a wrong message.In 3-4 years of engineering there is so much to cover that the professors cant afford to encourage individual creativity. I feel engineering degree is just a break or stamp a person needs. A true engineer is not born by just studying engineering. Its through years of experience that one becomes like Einstein or Raman or Boss.
Thanks.

Raj said...

z. i can tell you exactly why u didn't like the movie. but do u really wanna know?
cuz it isn't something you would have thought about.

Neha said...

Profile pic Kerala me click kiya hai..:D

ZB said...

@Raj:Hell no. I didnt like coz the movie didnt feel genuine and honest.

Munnabhai series had a certain honesty. The emotions were real and honest. This movie lacked that. For instance, the part where Kareena's gonnabe screams about his 1000 dollar shoes..etc. Common. it sounded rather made-up. The Aamir khan's dialogues soon after the scene sounded like from a yash chopra film-about relationships and how you should listen to heart etc,etc. Havent we ehard it a 100000000 times? this is just for an example.I expect much better things from Hirani.

@Neha: Kerala. Wow.

Raj said...

exactly.

HaRy!! said...

well hav'nt seen 3 idiots yet.... and boy the comments to Neha.. :D, well abt the first scene...i think all Indian movies never make sense

The Panorama said...

I loved it. But then again it doesn't take much to please me these days. I steer away for the serious funda movies, simply because in my daily life I am editing stories that just depress me and make me wonder what the f**k is going to happen to the world( riots in Italy yesterday, people dying of a cold wave...the list is long...) so when I went to watch 3 Idiots I wanted to forget all the bad things we humans do to each other.
The whole point he made ZB, was that ratta maro is not the way to education. Follow your dream...doesn't mean that if your dream is to be an engineer, skip classes. Our education system is good on many points but the social pressure on students from parents and society to be something they may not be good at leads to depression and sometimes suicide...
Though I feel teh ragging of Chatur was mean. It wasn't nice. Poor Chatur, though he was hilarious.

But don't feel bad if you didn't like it...it didn't work for you, simple:)

ZB said...

Hary: Thanks dude.

Panorama: I too like seriously entertaining movies. May be i expected too much from Hirani after munnabhai.

The movie is not too bad by Bollywood standards, but pity is that we shouldnt expect much from bollywood. ANything above average is a BONUS.
When will we have good entertainers, which also makes the viewer yell WOW? 3 idiot certainly made me fell like the next idiot.

Aparna said...

I liked the movie though I disagreed on certain things the movie showed. For example the way Amir showed absolutely no regrets in hiding his true identity from his friends and lover. I think he should have at least apologized for being an imposter and attending the institute under some body else's name.
And one does have to memorise a few things in life. Do you think the doctors can go through 6 intensive years of studying without memorising? One should follow ones dreams but one also must go through certain structured way of studying.It was a fun movie but I would not take it too seriously.

The Panorama said...

I agree with you, ZB and if I was to be 100% film critic I would probably also give the film a more stern review. But what the heck, am into "Vamipire Dairies" these days, so 3 Idiots is totally up my alley:)

Aparna said it so well. As usual she hits the nail on the head:)

But the thing that bothered me the most about the film was the way poor Chatur was treated and how Chatur - bashing was the high point of the film. That sends the wrong message.

Gymnast said...

Something is definitely wrong , ZB. Three idiots is definitely a movie worth taking note of.

As a student , i could empathise with most things in the movie. The message that the system sucks and rat race is killing people is so true and resonates in the mind of every student in the country.

No only the system , the message in the movie about parents , expecatitions , difficulties in following one's passion , everything is so very true.

Yes , few things in the movie was exagerated , but come on..movie is for entertainment.

Three idiots is a movie to be taken seriously unlike what Aparna has said..

I guess i am taking up too much of ur comment space..maybe i should a post on it.

ZB said...

@Aparna:I agree with you entirely. You always have a balanced view and i appreciate it.

When i was in college i hated it, as Gymnast says it below. Once out of college and when i look back i realize that Rate race is there everywhere. In every field. Thats the rule of the nature. Survival of the fittest. And because of the strict system and as you put it *structured way of studying* engineers are born. A certain discipline is needed in life and i am sure the VIRUS in the movie is stretched too far in the movie.

Recent New york technical innovation awards to students of IIT-Madras is an example. No college discourages fresh ideas and innovation. In fact innovation is what engineering is all about.:)

ZB said...

@Panorama: You are right. I was too harsh and probably should have sat watching with a large chocolate-popcorn and a cola and enjoyed it.

Yea, very true.AFter Aamir Khan it was chatur who stole the scene. Great performance. I agree with you, it was chatur bashing and it sent a wrong message:)

ZB said...

@Gymnast: Not so long ago i too was a student and the cool engineering college shown in the movie is anything but real.
It was supposed to be IIT but IIT campuses are nowhere close to the one in the movie.
The movie made a fool out of professors and they show Chatur as master of memorizing .Engineering or physics cannot be mastered by mugging alone.One can mug a formula but not its applications to solve a problem.

Rat race is a real phenomenon and it was there since the beginning of mankind. If a student cant handle the pressure and expectations of his own parents how on earth will he survive the real corporate world. Ask me and i will tell you the difference.

If out of 100 million students who appear for 10th grade exams and 2-3 commit suicide because of pressure, i dont think the system needs to be blamed. If not now at one point the crack is going to show.

The Unsure Ascetic said...

I really liked the movie, it was a welcome break in the season full of forgettable movies.. you must not put your thinking cap when watching commercial hindi movies..as far as the message goes, i think when aamir suceeds with minimal effort and credits it to his passion for engg, it says a lot. In India we underrate passion when it comes to career issues. I think that is the message.

ekta khetan said...

Hmmm Hmmm So, nowZB is thinking and I guess he is in right direction.

Lemme see the movie completely n then I can remarks well:)

I saw paa recently and loved the film. It was typical but still so very engrossing. REad the book buddy. Publicity humger BHagat may find some solace! :)

sujata sengupta said...

I found the film a fun film, but I keep asking why they didnt explain what finally happened to kammo and her parents, also why was kareen planning to marry the same old suhas..did she have no other choice?

All Talk and No Action said...

I have to say that Alll izz Well with you ! :)

I didn't think too much of the movie too.

Characters lacked depth and the story overall just didn't engage the viewer.

It definitely wasn't in the league of the Munnabhai series and even as a standalone product, it just failed to capture the interest and emotions of the viewer.

BK Chowla, said...

If you expect a great deal from a hindi movie,you are bound to get disappointed.
This on e is a clean ,straight line picture without any vulgarity,a family stuff.
Msg?weel none.

rahul s said...

hey...It's a long time since I have read any blog.Now I am back!

I think life has gone too far from the olden days.All the story sources have almost dried up.(Like the mineral oil,now we have to dig deep to get new sources!!! heh)
I din think much of the practicability of 3 idiots while I was watching.I expected a masala 3hrs n I got it.Infact I understand 90 percent of my gen did the same.So I liked the movie just coz it entertained us.Especially we like degrading our education system.I don't know why.
About Avataar,it's 80 percent ditto copy of our own Vietnam Colony.Time for a reverse story drain?? eh...Vietnam COlony with special effects..!eh.

Dhanya said...

I loved the movieee! :) :) Though the 'aal izz well' scenes were lil farfetched :P

Urmi said...

Wish you and your family a very happy and prosperous new year.
I appreciate for your wonderful post. I saw 3 Idiots yesterday and I liked it very much. It is one of the best movie and Aamir Khan's acting was superb.

R. Ramesh said...

hi buddy...lemme c the movie and tell u whether u right or wrong..hehe..sure u doing well otherwise boss...:)

Ire said...

Arre its ok. Nothing is wrong. Chill!

Santanu Sinha Chaudhuri said...

Good to find someone who didn't actually like it. Let box office go to hell, Three Idiots is a movie that has not an iota of refined elegance.