Emperors New Clothes anyone??!. Review on 3 Idiots

Its been a while since I've reviewed a film, so bear with me if I tend to meander a bit:)

Plot: The film is about the experience of certain students Rancho (Aamir), Farhan (Madhavan), Raju (Sharman), Chatur (Omi Vaidya)...3 Idiots and some....in the high pressure environment of an engineering academy. Its about the challenges they face in the form of parental expectation to perform well, a rigid educational system, an extremely over-achieving, harsh Dean (Boman Irani) called "Virus", and the improbability of getting a job unless they beat the competition and do really well.

In the midst of all this there is Rancho who goes against the system at every possible instance. He dismisses parental expectation, he argues the educational system, he lectures the Dean about everything, and lectures his friends/girlfriend on how they should follow their heart and everything will be alright.....So far so good! Oh, there is also the luminous daughter of the Dean thrown into the mix (Kareena), who is miraculously unaffected by her father's ways, manages to make great life decisions, and falls in love with the hero Rancho and waits ten years to marry him!

But 3 Idiots is also about how the "system", for lack of a better word, forcing these students to contemplate, and in an alarming number of instances, attempt suicide. There are 3 instances of suicide in the film, and we are informed, that India is number 1 in terms of instances of suicide, and that the educational system is to blame to a large extent.

Anyway, the plot wraps up in the "All Iz Well" framework as the central characters all follow their heart, do what they are good at instead of what they are told to do, and therefore, are successful in life!

My take:

Am I the only one who is alarmed by the heavily biased approach of the film??? Did it strike others as well that in the movie, suicide appeared to be the logical approach that most students take in the face of pressure, rather than coping with reality in other ways? When the Raju character (Sharman) states in an interview that it took breaking his bones in a suicidal attempt to realise that he wasnt going to live in fear anymore, and the character was made to look brave and heroic.....it sent shivers down my spine.

In the real world, how many could survive a suicide attempt like the Raju character, and actually emerge unscathed and learn a life lesson from it??? And was pressure and not being able to do what they wanted the only reason the Joy character, and Virus' son kill themselves??? If that was the case, how come Virus' daughters were so sunny in nature and such joyful personalities, and by all accounts happy to be forced to be doctors???

I really think that the movie IS glamorising suicide to a large extent and making it seem like the "System" is the ONLY factor responsible for the large number of suicides in the country...and by the way, very irresponsible to throw out statistics without taking into account that FARMER suicides accounts for the large numbers in India, and the educational system is in NO WAY responsible for that.

Getting back to the bias factor, characters like Chatur and Virus are villanised constantly and made fun of in the movie, made to be the bad guys..when frankly, they were a lot more likeable and REAL than the spineless characters that were Farhan and Raju!

And then there was Rancho!!! Aamir Khan just had to smile with delight at being in the classroom to show how important it is to love what you do. When he was ably leading by example, showing everyone around him with his actions, that this is a self fulfilled man, that he is doing exactly what his heart is telling him to do, and that that is the secret to a happy life.......why oh why, is he made to lecture EVERY single character in the film??? Raju Hirani and Aamir Khan.....you disappointed me with overkill!

It is fairly clear that the film didnt appeal to me in its entirety! What I did like about the film was the fleeting flashback of Aamir as a joyful child in school, enjoying learning for its own sake, (that 5 minute sequence I think should have been the essence of the film), Omi Vaidya and his hilarious dialogue delivery (kya hui?!),I enjoyed Kareena's vibrant presence and her sparkling chemistry with Aamir, and I enjoyed...well actually, that is all I liked. I expected a lot better from both Raju Hirani AND Aamir Khan.