Fontanilla, Elijah Angeli

Santiago, Leoniella Allysa

Tadena, Jonald Ray
IS102 - Thomson

3 Idiots - Critique Paper

INTRODUCTION

3 Idiots is an Indian award winning film, directed by Rajkumar Hirani and was
released in December 25, 2009 in India. This movie become a superhit and won more than 20
awards specifically the best sound recording and re-recording. It earned almost 70 million
dollars worldwide. The movie was adapted from a Chetan Bhagat’s novel, Five Point
Someone. Prof. Pankaj Chandra (Director of the Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore)
together with their school staffs and students, imparted a huge impact on the movie, they
shared their experiences and expressions that enabled to show the aspirations, issues, and,
concerns of engineering students. It mostly took place at Imperial College of Engineering,
known to be one of the most great engineering colleges in India. The movie tackles about the
life of the three engineering students played by Aamir Khan as Rancho short for Ranchoddas
known to be a perfect example of genuine wisdom, Raju Rastogi acted by Sharman Joshi, and
Farhan Qureshi performed by R. Madhavan. The movie portrays the lives of college students,
that no matter how hard the challenges that may come in our way, it is still important to be
strong. In addition, we will not have the things we want in life if we do not invest and put
effort in it. The aim of this paper is to establish how the society may be affected by the caste
system in education, decision of a father for his child, and act of giving for marriage (dowry)
which were shown in the film. This paper is done through a marxist approach since the said
arguments focus more on the social practices happening in India.

SUMMARY

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 Three engineering students named Farhan Qureshi, Raju Rastogi, and Ranchoddas
Chanchad studied in one of the best colleges in India, the Imperial College of Engineering
(ICE). Each one of them had their own goals and dreams in life that they wanted to achieve.
While they were in ICE, the three of them built a very strong friendship bond wherein
whatever challenge they face, they had each other’s back until they succeeded to become
what they wanted to be even though Viru Sahastrabudhhe, also known as “Virus” belittled
their skills and perspective in life. With great perseverance and determination, they still
managed to succeed and during their graduation Ranchoddas suddenly disappeared and that
was the last time Farhan and Raju saw him. After many years have passed, the Farhan and
Raju tried to find Rancho because without the help of him, they will not be who they are right
now so. They journeyed to find Rancho which later on they discovered that he built a school
and he became a successful scientist who is very famous around the world together with its
true name, Phunsukh Wangdu, and in the end, the 3 idiots reunited.

ANALYSIS

The Ancient India executed and acknowledged the caste system ever since the Vedic
period prospered around 1500-1000 BCE. Back then, India did not have social stratification
based on socio-economic indicators; a citizen’s social class was determined by their Varna or
castes. ‘Varna’ determines the hereditary origin of an infant. It was intended to decongest the
responsibilities of an individual, maintain the virtue of a caste, and establish eternal order.
The caste system has four dominant categories namely Brahmins (priests, gurus, etc.),
Kshatriyas (warriors, kings, administrators, etc.), Vaishyas (agriculturalists, traders, etc., also
called Vysyas), and Shudras (labourers). This kind of system in India begun way back in the
ancient times, however the system is still manifested up until present-day. In the movie, it
was evident that there was a hierarchy among students; in the first part of the film, we would
notice that the seniors look down on their juniors and treat them as their underdogs. Also, in
the segment wherein they are taking a class picture; those who are highest in ranking sits in
front while those who are last stands at the back. We are not given a chance to prove
ourselves for we are being judged right away on how we perceive things. It is a little bit
fearing knowing that up until today, we live in a world wherein we are treated as to how we
are see; and even though we try to become better in any aspect, someone would still insist to
see and treat you as to how you look.

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 To most Indians, family is a significant institution that plays a major role to their
lives. The family’s interests are normally prioritized than others; also, decisions affecting
one’s personal life – such as marriage and career paths – are usually made in negotiation with
one’s family. Fathers, in terms of power and their role as disciplinarian, are considered to be
the head of the family for Indian cultures; they are the ones who inconspicuously make larger
decisions concerning their child’s career. With that, for Indian children, the father’s behaviour
impacts them more than anyone else. Children whose fathers exhibit negative parenting traits
like detachment, intrusiveness, lax enforcement of discipline, and controlling behaviour are
the probable ones to have a lower self-esteem; and this was noticeable in the movie. When
Farhan’s father desires his son to be an engineer, however Farhan wanted to be a wildlife
photographer. In that scene, we could observe that Farhan was scared to admit what he really
wants to be for he knows that his father would not allow him to pursue anything else but
engineering. However, in the end, Farhan had the guts to tell his father what he really wants
to pursue and his father decided to let him be what he wants to be. Having that scenario, we
must say that even though fathers are the ones who usually make decisions for his child, it
doesn’t mean that they are always right. Sometimes their child needs to make decisions on
their own for their own happiness. As children, we must fight for what we really want
because in the end, our father would never be in our shoes.

Hinduism is a unique religion, it has no specific founder which makes it a religion

compiled with different traditions and philosophies; it’s history and origin are difficult to
trace. Approximately, 95% of the Hindus population lives in India. Marriages in India are
between two families, rather two individuals, arranged marriages and dowry are customary.
Indian society is predominantly patriarchal. There are stringent gender roles, with women
having a passive role and husband an active dominating role (I. Sharma, Pandit, Pathak, & R.
Sharma, 2013). Marriage in India are most likely between members of the same varna, and
the same jati. Dowry is an act of giving by gifts or money to a groom on behalf of the bride’s
family. This act modestly buys into people’s pride and desire to “save face”. It is a marriage
culture in India that has been practiced back in centuries, up until now; and this is perceptible
in the film. When they visited the house of Raju, they’ve opened up the issue that Raju’s
sister cannot marry a man because the dowry wanted from them was a car. However, due to
their financial crisis, they are incapable to give that kind of dowry. It is despairing knowing
that sometimes grooms just depend now on the dowry given to their family. Also, it is quite

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 depressing knowing that just in the year 2010, there were 8,391 dowry-related deaths in
India.

CONCLUSION

Overall, the paper focused on how the caste system runs in education, on how the
father decides for his child, and how marriage settlement affects the society. The caste system
only shows hierarchy wherein students are easily judged by other people. The father’s
decision on what he wants for his child only adds pressure to the child because they chose to
pursue what their father wants and not what they really want to pursue in life. And dowry
only shows a woman needs to buy a groom just for marriage to happen. People should not be
ranked according to their grades, also they should choose what path they want to take, and
lastly, marrying someone should be priceless because showing hierarchy and always the
father decides for his child only makes a person abandon their true happiness just to fulfill
what others want, and also if you truly love someone, you don’t expect anything in return
because loving someone means also accepting what you are as a person.

REFERENCES

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