• Skip to main content
  • Skip to header right navigation
  • Skip to after header navigation
  • Skip to site footer
Devour.Asia

Devour.Asia

Connie Veneracion explores Asian food, history and culture

  • Tea
  • Kitchen Tales
    • Pantry Staples
    • Kitchen Tools
    • Cooking Techniques
    • Food Trivia
  • Food Tales
  • Travel Tales
  • Search
  • All Recipes
    • Chinese
    • Japanese
    • Korean
    • Taiwanese
    • Thai
    • Vietnamese
    • Asian Fusion
    • Instant Noodles (Ramen)
  • Tea
  • Kitchen Tales
    • Pantry Staples
    • Kitchen Tools
    • Cooking Techniques
    • Food Trivia
  • Food Tales
  • Travel Tales
  • Pop Tales
  • About
  • Privacy
  • All Recipes
  • Chinese
  • Japanese
  • Korean
  • Taiwanese
  • Thai
  • Vietnamese
  • Fusion
You are here: Home / Pop Tales / Must See: “3 Idiots”

Must See: “3 Idiots”

I don’t know a lot of Indian films. I’ve seen some in parts but never in their entirety. I don’t know too many titles, I know even less artists and then there’s the language and culture barrier. In fact, until last night, the only Indian-themed film I remember seeing was Slumdog Millionaire which is not even a Bollywood film but a British production.

Scene from “3 Idiots” | Image credit: Reliance BIG Pictures
Scene from “3 Idiots” | Image credit: Reliance BIG Pictures

Then, my daughter, Sam, said I should see 3 Idiots. I had this mental image of the three blind men and the elephant. In true stereotype fashion, I presumed that everyone in the film would be wearing traditional Indian garb, the scenes would show a densely populated city and slums, and the story would revolve around cultural issues that we who have been westernized are so quick to pass judgment upon and condemn.

How happy I was to be proved wrong. The theme of 3 Idiots is universal; the film genre defies Western definitions and categorizations. To put it bluntly, 3 Idiots rocked my world and made me reassess what, for me, a good film is all about. It is modern and traditional, it is funny and sentimental, it is a love story, it is a musical and it is a social commentary. The visuals are magnificent. I’ve seen a lot of films shot in India but never until 3 Idiots have I gotten a glimpse of how beautiful India is. No Taj Mahal, no temples, no congested streets and markets teeming with spice stalls. Instead, wide expanse of greenery, pristine desert sand, endless mountain roads and a very modern Imperial College of Engineering.

What is 3 Idiots about? It is a biting commentary told in a light-hearted way on an education system that prioritizes grades over learning. It is the story of three engineering students who had different reasons for being in school. There’s Farhan who wanted to be a wildlife photographer but went to engineering college instead because, from birth, his father had decided that an engineer was what he would be. There’s Raju who had the passion for engineering as profession but who kept getting low grades because of pressure from his family that expected him to succeed to become the breadwinner.

And then there’s Rancho, the irreverent but charming genius and provocateur who defied the rules, challenged the system, humbled his teachers, never afraid of the usual punishments for academic transgressions. When Rancho delivered a line about turning one’s passion into one’s profession, I remarked to Speedy that I could have written the script myself.

The film is almost three hours long but I hardly felt the minutes as they passed. The pace was tight, the dialogues were witty and memorable (well, at least, from the English subtitles), the characters and the plot were engrossing. A beautiful film that once again proves that a multi-million budget and a panoply of computer-generated visuals are not always necessary to deliver fantastic results. If, like me, you know very little about Indian films and Bollywood, 3 Idiots is a good introduction. Watch it with an open mind and heart, and fall in love with Indian cinema.

Inside my Asian kitchen

Various photos illustrating how to remove the alkaline odor of fresh egg noodles

How to Prepare Fresh Egg Noodles

The Secret to Tender Juicy Fried Quails

Popcorn in bowl

How to Cook Regular Popcorn in the Microwave

Asian food tales

XO Sauce from Taipei

About XO Sauce

Fresh seafood cooked streetside in Saigon

Asian Street Food in Mouthwatering Photos

Fried and skewered quail eggs. Tamsui Old Street, Taiwan

Quail Eggs in Asian Cuisines

Explore Asia

Carrot cupcake at The Yellow Chair Cafe, Saigon

The Carrot Cupcake at Yellow Chair Cafe in Saigon

Backpack made of hemp

Hemp, Local Artisans and Thoughtful Consumerism

Embroidered red tote bag bought in Hanoi

Shopping for Bags in Hanoi

October 24, 2012 : Pop Tales
Previous Post: « Blanched vegetables What is blanching and how is it different from parboiling?
Next Post: What is a Crêpe? Is It Really Different From a Pancake? Making crepe in a crepe pan with a spatula »

Sidebar

Asian Pop Tales

Scene from "Kingdom" | Image credit: Netflix

Sorry, Brother, but “Kingdom” Doesn’t Have a Better Storyline Than “Game of Thrones”

Cutting scallions with scissors in "Always Be My Maybe" | Image credit: Netflix

Kimchi-jjigae and Asian-Americans in “Always Be My Maybe”

A typical Japanese breakfast of rice, egg and miso soup at the Coquelicot Manor in "From Up on Poppy Hill" | Image credit: Netflix

“From Up on Poppy Hill”

  • About
  • Privacy & Usage
  • Full Archive

Everything © Connie Veneracion. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.