The Aal is Well phenomenon

I had not been able to write a review for '3 Idiots' one of the biggest movies to release in recent times. It's just that so much has been written, tweeted, blogged, discussed about it already, that I had kind of lost the enthusiasm. Ah well, just call it an "idiosyncrasy" of mine. ;)
But I figure, if I have to do justice to this blog, I should talk about it. So rather than a review at this late stage, let me just write down my thoughts about '3 Idiots':

1. Aamir is a super actor who has the uncanny ability to put on a character as if it were a coat. Yes, he often looks too old to play an engg. student but he pulls it off.

2. Madhavan cannot pull it off. He sticks out like a sore thumb and looks too old and overweight to be doing this.

3. Sharman Joshi is a natural. Somebody give this guy more roles. And good roles. Because he can strike a chord and he can act.

4. I did not like the glorification of Aamir's character, Rancho/Phunsuk. He could do no wrong, he had the best lines, everybody loved him. It's time Bollywood grew out of crap characterizations like this. Especially with a talented ensemble cast. Look at Dil Chahta Hai, learn from it.

5. I did not agree with the total vilification and rejection of the education system. The mantra for success is not to bypass hard work. Do what you want to do, but work hard at it also. Passing the buck for failures on the system is taking the easy way out. Root out the inefficiencies in the system but recognize its merits also. Everyone cannot be a maverick.

6. I liked the funny scenes in the movie - from the Chatur speech to Aamir's smartass dialogues. The taut screenplay kept the pace going.

7. The songs though not great by themselves, work when seen in the context of the movie. "Zoobi doobi" has been conceptualised really well.

8. The climax with Aamir assists Mona Singh's delivery was unnecessary and over-the-top. Ya, we get it - the guy's a genius and a hero.

9. Some scenes were refreshing in their irreverence. Like the one where Raju's plight at home with his suffering mother, his paralysed father and his unwed sister is shown in black and white with sitar strains, to underscore the melodrama that was earlier attached to such scenes.

10. I liked 3 Idiots for its performances, its message of following your heart and not giving up, for its humour. I agree that its a feel-good movie though some messages did cause me some alarm. Overall an 8.5/10.

P.S. I also think the movie is quite different from the book. Be true to yourself Chetan.