3 Idiots (2009)
Three friends at a top engineering college, a terrifying director, and a film that made a whole country laugh about exam pressure.
- Year
- 2009
- Language
- Hindi
- Director
- Rajkumar Hirani
- Starring
- Aamir Khan, R. Madhavan, Sharman Joshi, Kareena Kapoor, Boman Irani
- Also
- Loosely based on Chetan Bhagat's novel Five Point Someone
The story
Farhan and Raju go looking for their old college friend Rancho, who vanished after graduation. In flashbacks we see their years at a prestigious engineering college, where Rancho questions rote learning and clashes with the strict director, nicknamed Virus.
The film is a comedy, but it takes on serious subjects: student suicide, parental pressure and the idea that marks matter more than learning.
Why it matters
- Its message, "All is well", and its critique of rote learning struck a chord with students across Asia.
- It was one of the highest-grossing Indian films of its time and was remade in Tamil as Nanban (2012).
- It is still one of the most re-watched Hindi comedies.
Where to watch
3 Idiots is available on licensed streaming services. Availability changes from country to country and month to month; see how to find a legal stream. Please don't use pirate download sites: they are illegal in India and a common source of malware.
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