3 idiots thesis statement

Lessons Learnt from the “3 Idiots” Movie Essay

Foreign cinema is that subtype of art that provides an experience that can be considered better in terms of uniqueness than domestic films can deliver. 3 idiots are one such foreign film, and it is filled with Indian visuals, narration, and storytelling. From a classic genre perspective, Hirani’s work can be classified as a comedy. The story of this cinematographic piece represents a traditional journey from myths or a realistic fairy tale with comedic elements. 3 idiots do not contain fantasy elements or episodes; it is a story of the maturing protagonists, Farhan, Raju, and Rancho, and their overcoming of life path hardships related to tertiary education and young adulthood (Hirani, 2009). However, the inspiration taken from Indian and other folktales is visible.

The central idea of 3 idiots is easy to understand and even basic. The story’s lesson about the fictional three Indian students is that true friendship is a source of support, opportunities, and success, and one should stick to it if they have it (Hirani, 2009). There is also an element of novelty, which is the idea that competition is not contrary to friendship and even beneficial, but only if the competition between friends occurs in parallel fields.

3 idiots is also a nearly three-hour introduction for viewers to India’s college culture and societal and gender relationships. Sociologists and cultural academics would especially be interested in the interactions between Viru, students, and his daughters and the revelation of an informal deal between the real Rancho and Phunsukh Wangdu. These plot episodes and scenes show and criticize the socio-economic hierarchy in Delhi and India that is the origin of more inequality and family tragedies such as student suicides (Hirani, 2009). Pia’s character and the micro-plot of her unhappy wedding might draw the attention of scholars of gender studies.

Hirani, R. (2009). 3 idiots [film]. Vinod Chopra Films.

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"3 Idiots" Film Analysis

14 Aug 2022

Format: APA

Academic level: University

Paper type: Movie Review

Words: 1568

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• Religion Essays

"3 Idiots" is a comic film that depicts the relationship between Rancho, Farhan, and Raju, who are friends who encounter multiple experiences. The film subtly shows aspects connected to religion, such as prayer and conducting ceremonies like marriages and funerals. Rancho acts as a magnifying lens concerning savior-like input that likens him to Lord Krishna. 

The film explicitly reflects concerning religion in subtle terms with specific scenes drawing audiences' attention to religiously performed ceremonies and individuals seeking the assistance of an invincible hand to help them with their endeavors. According to Ostrowski (2016, 1), "the majority of Bollywood films commence with a short scene dedicated to a principal Hindu deity" given "Religion is nearly synonymous with the Indian film industry." The film introduces viewers to one main character called Raju in the opening scenes, who mirrors individuals who become religiously zealous due to their afflictions that seem to overburden them. Raju comes from a low-income family entailing a mother who is a retired teacher, an ailing father, and a sister who is ripe for marriage yet cannot go through the process like her peers due to their income shortages. Such troubles push Raju to take his burdens to God, spending most of his time chanting prayers as he seeks help from His maker (Hirani 2021 [2009], 12:39). The opening scenes depict Raju as a person overwhelmed with fear and not a believer. It is his fear that pushes him to pray to God for intervention and not faith. At one point, his friend jokes concerning his fear, suggesting Raju has more religious rings, each representing a prayer item, than the number of his fingers. Apart from Raju, the film depicts individuals (students) praying to their supernatural beings on the morning they expect their results. The students mirror a general trend by believers who commonly engage in supplication to God when faced with troubling situations or in dire need of a miracle. Lastly, the film explores specific ceremonies that have religious afflictions, such as weddings and burials. Some marriages in the film included Pia's sister's wedding and Pia's failed wedding. The latter introduces viewers to an exciting element concerning the religious ceremony whereby after the performing of specific prayers and rites, a final ritual involves going around thrice to establish the couple as wedded officially. The weddings equally depict an interesting element concerning Hindu religion whereby the bride pays the bride price as represented by Raju's sister. The latter cannot marry due to the lack of funds to purchase the demanded car to settle the fees. For the burial ceremony depicted in the film, the viewers witness specific rites and prayers with the bereaved family members. It illustrates the process of exhumation transcending to placing the ashes in an urn with Rancho stating plans to deposit them in a sacred river. Therefore, the film explores specific elements that have ties to religion, depicting meaningful ceremonies such as weddings and burials accompanied by individuals engaging in prayer. 

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The film equally goes beyond entertainment to depict religious affiliations using Rancho as a magnifying lens to describe the character similar to Lord Krishna regarding showing humanity the righteous way of life significantly to Farhan and Raju's friends. According to Mishra (2010, 646), many Bollywood films make the point concerning moral fables with grounding on canonical texts or epics that suggest individual action as constructive of the higher moral order; our acts condition our lives in this world and the next. Rancho plays a guide to his friends, saving them from tragic outcomes from the way they lead their lives and external forces. Firstly, when Farhan and Raju get a summon from the prestigious Imperial College of Engineering director, "Virus," to warn them against their friendship with Rancho, the latter explains the importance of sticking together (Hirani 2021 [2009], 54:30). During the visit to Farhan's home, he notices the wildlife photographs Farhan took and recommends Farhan to drop Engineering and study photography which he has a passion for. Secondly, Raju abandons Farhan and Rancho after heeding the call to the director's plea and moves to Chatur's room. The latter two do not lose hope to gain back their friend and engage in a sabotage mission spearheaded by Rancho. However, their efforts fail to convince Raju otherwise overly concerned with his family's more inferior status than his friends' families. Rancho eventually rescues Raju's father during a medical emergency by riding him to the hospital on a scooter. The move surprises the medical professionals and infuriates Raju, who considered the movement dangerous. However, the doctor attending to Raju's father exclaims at the prompt action, which, if had not occurred, would see Raju's father lose his life. The friends eventually reestablish their friendship thanks to Rancho's efforts. Rancho equally motivates Farhan and Raju into excelling, saving them from their poor performance that placed their professional careers at stake. After drinking, Farhan and Raju question why they fail in their papers during a heart-to-heart talk while Rancho tops the class. Rancho advises Raju to let go of his fear and face life from a bold standpoint, leading him to excel in engineering, which he is passionate about. On the other hand, Rancho issues advice Farhan to drop engineering and pursue a career in wildlife photography. After the recovery of Raju from his suicidal attempt, the two take up Rancho's guidance, with Raju ridding himself of the sacred rings and acquiring a job after displaying honesty and courage, which is a new outlook he gained from Rancho. Farhan confronts his father and finally convinces him to allow him to pursue photography. Therefore, Rancho plays the role of being a guide to his friends to ideal destinations. 

The film equally goes beyond depicting explicit religious themes using Rancho and his positive influence on society and other individuals. In the opening scenes, Rancho arrives at the prestigious Imperial College of Engineering when the juniors undergo a humiliating experience to show their respect to the seniors. He refuses to be a party to such humiliation and devices an intelligent plan that saves him. The act introduces Rancho as a unique individual emphasized by the opening scenes whereby he offers the director a challenging question and smartly explains his viewpoint to the lecturers. Rancho shows reservations concerning learning involving cramming textbook definitions, and he believes there should be no strict teaching model for students to enjoy their learning experience. Rancho witnesses as Joy Lobo fails to meet the deadline for his project leading to humiliation from the director. He takes it upon himself to complete the task for Lobo and surprise him. Another individual that Rancho helps is Pia. He demonstrates to Pia why she should not marry Suhas, who is all about the price tags and lacks humane character. Rancho equally expresses his dissatisfaction with taking photographs according to one's rank in class. He suggests that the move is humiliating for those who fail their exams, such as his friends, and the system prevents fun in learning by subjecting learners to unmerited pressures leading to terrible outcomes involving student suicides. Despite being rusticated by Virus from the college, Rancho comes to his family's rescue and invents a pump device that helps deliver a baby in a procedure that required machine input due to the failure of the baby to crown. Rancho's device mirrors the machine he promised to invent and name after Virus after the director finds him and his friend's gatecrashing his daughter's wedding. He suggested using car batteries to solve the power outages that negatively affect wedding ceremonies in Delhi. He uses car batteries to generate power following the power outage facilitated by the heavy downpour for the birth procedure he conducts. During the final stages of the film, the audience learns about the real identity of Rancho. The actual Rancho has a flashback when telling Farhan and Raju the story concerning their friend, who was actually the son of their gardener who had a high affinity for learning. He went to school under a hidden identity and gained an engineering degree for Rancho. In the end, the audience learns that Farhan and Raju's friend alias is Phunsukh Wangdu. The latter is a renowned scientist and businessman with a school that helps children interested in the engineering profession. 

In the film, Rancho, later established as Phunsukh Wangdu, magnifies the portrayal of Indian religion, especially his resemblance to Lord Krishna, in showing humanity the right path. According to Lyden (2009,1), the development of religion and film facilitated diverse viewpoints leading to defining parameters to assess the emerging discipline. Shastri (2011, 38) suggests that modern-day engagement with stories (a vital element of contemporary culture) entails the kind of border play around texts in which stepping in and out of the diegetic world is a prime activity." "3 Idiots" displays the development by having subtle aspects depicting religious connections in a comic narrative. However, the main character describes "savior-like" traits through his input in friends lives and others, including society. Apart from saving them from terrible outcomes, he shows compassion, love, kindness, and generosity, qualities held by supernatural beings such as Lord Krishna. Rana (2019, 80) posits that Lord Krishna is an avatar of the Divine that came to earth to show humankind the righteous way of life. The mentioned attributes of Rancho establish the intersection between the role he plays and Lord Krishna's input to humanity. Suh (2020, 286) describes the rebirth of Reeves through the films he acts in establishing the interconnection with Buddhist ideology. Rancho equally delivers on his character to magnify the traits of a higher deity and equally demonstrate himself as miraculous. His adage "all is well" assists him and his friends through troubling times and saves miraculously saves the newly born baby from death. The act completes his status as supernatural, although in human form, just like Lord Krishna. 

Rancho in the film magnifies attributes of Lord Krishna involving leading others to the right path, which establishes its ties to Indian religion. It equally explores subtle and explicit issues concerning the faith by depicting prayer and conducting specific ceremonies. The film reflects the development of Bollywood involving exploring thrilling narratives while keeping up with forms of religious themes in displaying moral values, among others. 

References 

Lyden, J. (Ed.). (2009).  The Routledge companion to religion and film . Routledge, pp. 1-10. 

Mishra, V. (2010). Hinduism and film: Bollywood . Brill, pp. 636-651. 

Ostrowski, A. (2016). Found in Translation: From Hollywood Hits to Bollywood Blockbusters.  Journal of Religion & Film ,  11 (2), 4. 

Rana, P. R. (2019). The sacred Mahakala in the Hindu and Buddhist texts.  Nepalese Culture ,  13 , 77-94. 

Shastri, S. (2011). “The play’s the thing, wherein I’ll catch the conscience of the king”: Intertextuality in Om Shanti Om.  Journal of Film and Video ,  63 (1), 32-43. 

Suh, S. A. (2020). Once The Buddha Was Born as Keanu Reeves: The Shaping of Buddhism in American Film and Popular Culture.  CrossCurrents , pp. 275-288. 

3 Idiots . Dir. Rajkumar Hirani. Netflix Canada [Canada], 2021 [2009]. Streaming Services. 

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Movie Analysis – 3Idiots

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• How to Write a Thesis Statement | 4 Steps & Examples

How to Write a Thesis Statement | 4 Steps & Examples

Published on January 11, 2019 by Shona McCombes . Revised on August 15, 2023 by Eoghan Ryan.

A thesis statement is a sentence that sums up the central point of your paper or essay . It usually comes near the end of your introduction .

Your thesis will look a bit different depending on the type of essay you’re writing. But the thesis statement should always clearly state the main idea you want to get across. Everything else in your essay should relate back to this idea.

You can write your thesis statement by following four simple steps:

• Start with a question
• Write your initial answer
• Develop your answer
• Refine your thesis statement

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Table of contents

What is a thesis statement, placement of the thesis statement, step 1: start with a question, step 2: write your initial answer, step 3: develop your answer, step 4: refine your thesis statement, types of thesis statements, other interesting articles, frequently asked questions about thesis statements.

A thesis statement summarizes the central points of your essay. It is a signpost telling the reader what the essay will argue and why.

The best thesis statements are:

• Concise: A good thesis statement is short and sweet—don’t use more words than necessary. State your point clearly and directly in one or two sentences.
• Contentious: Your thesis shouldn’t be a simple statement of fact that everyone already knows. A good thesis statement is a claim that requires further evidence or analysis to back it up.
• Coherent: Everything mentioned in your thesis statement must be supported and explained in the rest of your paper.

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The thesis statement generally appears at the end of your essay introduction or research paper introduction .

The spread of the internet has had a world-changing effect, not least on the world of education. The use of the internet in academic contexts and among young people more generally is hotly debated. For many who did not grow up with this technology, its effects seem alarming and potentially harmful. This concern, while understandable, is misguided. The negatives of internet use are outweighed by its many benefits for education: the internet facilitates easier access to information, exposure to different perspectives, and a flexible learning environment for both students and teachers.

You should come up with an initial thesis, sometimes called a working thesis , early in the writing process . As soon as you’ve decided on your essay topic , you need to work out what you want to say about it—a clear thesis will give your essay direction and structure.

You might already have a question in your assignment, but if not, try to come up with your own. What would you like to find out or decide about your topic?

For example, you might ask:

After some initial research, you can formulate a tentative answer to this question. At this stage it can be simple, and it should guide the research process and writing process .

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Now you need to consider why this is your answer and how you will convince your reader to agree with you. As you read more about your topic and begin writing, your answer should get more detailed.

In your essay about the internet and education, the thesis states your position and sketches out the key arguments you’ll use to support it.

The negatives of internet use are outweighed by its many benefits for education because it facilitates easier access to information.

In your essay about braille, the thesis statement summarizes the key historical development that you’ll explain.

The invention of braille in the 19th century transformed the lives of blind people, allowing them to participate more actively in public life.

A strong thesis statement should tell the reader:

• Why you hold this position
• What they’ll learn from your essay
• The key points of your argument or narrative

The final thesis statement doesn’t just state your position, but summarizes your overall argument or the entire topic you’re going to explain. To strengthen a weak thesis statement, it can help to consider the broader context of your topic.

These examples are more specific and show that you’ll explore your topic in depth.

Your thesis statement should match the goals of your essay, which vary depending on the type of essay you’re writing:

• In an argumentative essay , your thesis statement should take a strong position. Your aim in the essay is to convince your reader of this thesis based on evidence and logical reasoning.
• In an expository essay , you’ll aim to explain the facts of a topic or process. Your thesis statement doesn’t have to include a strong opinion in this case, but it should clearly state the central point you want to make, and mention the key elements you’ll explain.

If you want to know more about AI tools , college essays , or fallacies make sure to check out some of our other articles with explanations and examples or go directly to our tools!

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A thesis statement is a sentence that sums up the central point of your paper or essay . Everything else you write should relate to this key idea.

The thesis statement is essential in any academic essay or research paper for two main reasons:

• It gives your writing direction and focus.
• It gives the reader a concise summary of your main point.

Without a clear thesis statement, an essay can end up rambling and unfocused, leaving your reader unsure of exactly what you want to say.

Follow these four steps to come up with a thesis statement :

• Ask a question about your topic .
• Write your initial answer.
• Develop your answer by including reasons.
• Refine your answer, adding more detail and nuance.

The thesis statement should be placed at the end of your essay introduction .

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Morality and Madness

3 idiots proves that a simple story, well told with an underlying social message, will always find an audience.

3 IDIOTS has already become the highest grossing film in the history of Hindi cinema, without adjusting for inflation, that is. With the adjustment, Sholay still holds the title. The film has been embroiled in controversy for multiple reasons—Chetan Bhagat demanding ‘due credit’ when it’s amply clear from his contract that he has, in fact, been duly credited; ragging in a Mumbai medical college that is supposedly ‘inspired’ by the ragging scenes in the film; the Tamil and Telugu remake rights having been sold for an astounding 100 million rupees; and the suicide of a 12-year-old Mumbai boy with failing grades who saw the film twice just before he took his own life. In short, since its release over the Christmas holidays, Rajkumar Hirani’s film has constantly been in the news, for reasons good and bad. It had also made headlines before the release when star Aamir Khan decided to don disguises and show up in various mofussil towns in a lame bid for publicity.

Amid such bombardment it is easy to forget that whichever way we look at it, 3 Idiots has become a cultural phenomenon—one  that has consumed legions of Indians and non-Indians abroad in a way few films have done in recent memory. Does the all-pervasive reaction come from the fact that a nation fed on a surfeit of cricket and some truly dire Bollywood product was looking for some more feel-good fare? Or is it simply that Hirani is that rare beast – an unsung master of the mainstream who spends time understanding what works for his audience rather than blowing hot air up media fundaments to cover the holes in the product like his contemporaries? Clearly, the latter is the case. Hirani has demonstrated time and again, from his Munnabhai films to Idiots , that the virtue of a simple story well told, with an underlying social message to boot, will find takers in millions.

3 Idiots could well have been titled ‘3 Suicides’ for its connection to one off-screen and two on-screen (one successful and one unsuccessful)  students’ attempts at killing themselves due to academic pressure. In spite of such a grim backdrop, the fact that the film still manages to leave the viewer walking out of the theatre with a goofy grin is testimony to Hirani’s command over his craft.

Loosely based on Bhagat’s bestselling novel Five Point Someone , 3 Idiots goes beyond the tale of the travails of three IITans (in the film: the Imperial College of Engineering, shot in the hallowed precincts of IIM, Bangalore) and picks up their lives 10 years after graduation. Farhan Qureshi (R Madhavan) and Raju Rastogi (Sharman Joshi) are summoned by Chatur Ramalingam (Omi Vaidya), who is back to declare that he has won a long forgotten bet he had struck with their star classmate, the splendidly named Rancchoddas Shyamaldas Chanchad (Aamir Khan), or Rancho. He had challenged Rancho to beat him in the race to success, claiming that 10 years after graduation, he would be the most successful of the lot. When Rancho does not turn up at the appointed meeting place exactly 10 years later, Farhan, Raju and Chatur go on a road trip to the hills to track down the elusive Rancho, who had vanished on their graduation day.

As they travel, the film cuts back to their college days. Farhan and Raju are average students, and Chatur is a nerd who excels solely by rote learning.  Rancho is a non-conformist genius who believes in enjoying education. This carefree approach earns Rancho the ire of Principal Viru Sahastrabudhhe (Boman Irani) – pejoratively called ViruS, who, nevertheless, cannot stop Rancho from coming first in every examination. Rancho wins the heart of ViruS’ daughter Pia (Kareena Kapoor) and manages to make a significant change in the lives of everyone he comes in contact with.

Back in the present day, no one has a clue about Rancho’s whereabouts or his identity.  Who was he? Where did he come from? Why did he leave? Finally, in the scenic mountains and valleys of Ladakh, the friends find the key to the secret. It involves Rancho and a scientist named Phunsuk Wangdu.

3 Idiots is very similar to Chetan Bhagat’s books, but we won’t get into a book versus film discussion here.  That horse has been flogged dead by the media in the wake of the so-called controversy that, interestingly, has seen both the film’s box office figures and the author’s book sales soar. The film is similar to Bhagat’s output in that it is a mass-market and accessible product. Bhagat achieves this with a combination of cheap pricing and layman English. He clearly does not have the erudition of a Seth or a Rushdie, far from it. Rather, his very dumbing down of the Queen’s English has become his unique selling point. The biggest similarity Hirani shares with Bhagat is the ability to create a simplistic plot. Hirani, however, takes it one further, and along with co-writer Abhijat Joshi, throws in many hilarious situations that provoke paroxysms of laughter. Taking pride of place is the Teacher’s Day sequence where Chatur, an NRI from Uganda with shaky Hindi, is due to deliver the keynote speech in front of the students, faculty and the education minister. Rancho replaces the word ‘chamatkar’ (miracle) with ‘balatkar’ (rape) in Chatur’s speech. Chatur learns it by rote, of course, and his delivery of this speech will go down in the annals of Indian cinema as an instant comedy classic. Of course, the perils of rote learning are what Hirani is targeting, using it as a minor example to expose the general problem with the Indian education system.

The defining performance of the film comes indubitably from Omi Vaidya, who internalises the role of Chaturand as he shifts between humour and pathos effortlessly. Vaidya is an Indian-American actor who has played small parts on American television in Arrested Development , The Office and CSI , amongst others. 3 Idiots is his big break and he has made the most of it. While the rest of the ensemble cast is uniformly good, for Vaidya to make a mark in a film that is dominated by Aamir Khan, even when he is off-screen, takes some doing. Which brings us to the man himself.

It is remarkable how Khan manages to reinvent himself with every new film, playing the respective character rather than just being the star. The charisma and impish charm are all very much there, but it is commendable how, with correct body language, he turns in a convincing performance of a young engineering student who must be half his real age. The actor is no stranger to this process; at 27, playing a schoolboy in Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikandar (1992); at 36, playing a fresh graduate in Dil Chahta Hai (2001); and at 41, again a college kid in Rang De Basanti (2006). The actor’s sheer energy, well complemented by the vivacity of Madhavan and Sharman Joshi, makes the All Is Well number one of the most rambunctious ones we’ve seen in a while. Kareena joins Khan gamely in the affectionate Bollywood send-up number Zoobi Zoobi , but the song feels a bit dated because this parody of various eras of the Hindi film industry has already been done— Woh ladki hai kahaan ( Dil Chahta Hai ) and Phir Milenge Chalte Chalte ( Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi ).

If one were to find fault with what is otherwise a thoroughly delightful film, it would be Hirani’s regurgitating the Munnabhai formula: The protagonist is a non-conformist do-gooder who changes lives and wants to reform some aspect of Indian society. The catchphrase ‘All is well’ is but a threequel to ‘Jadoo ki jhappi’ and ‘Gandhigiri.’ Boman Irani plays an extension of the caricatured authority figure he played in the Munnabhai films, and hams it up as much, as if not more. And there is that overarching belief that good always begets good. While taking nothing away from Hirani, one becomes curious and wonders what would happen if he were to move out of his comfort zone and take up something in an entirely different genre. In the meantime, we would do well to bask in 3 Idiots’ delights. With great success comes accompanying criticism, and it has already become fashionable to take pot-shots at the film. It is being called preachy, manipulative, contrived, filmi and the like by the self-appointed intelligentsia. What these informed beings forget is that 3 Idiots is a commercial Hindi film, makes no bones about being such and is one of the finest recent examples of the brand.

Directed by Rajkumar Hirani; written by Hirani and Abhijit Joshi; edited by Hirani and Ranjeet Bahadur; music by Shantanu Moitra; lyrics by Swanand Kirkire; cinematography by C K Muraleedharan, choreography by Bosco Martis and Caesar Gonsalves; produced by Vidhu Vinod Chopra; released by Vidhu Vinod Chopra Productions. With: Aamir Khan (Rancho), Kareena Kapoor (Pia), R Madhavan (Farhan Qureshi), Sharman Joshi (Raju Rastogi), Boman Irani (Viru Sahastrabudhhe) and Mona Singh (Mona).

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• User reviews

• Two friends are searching for their long lost companion. They revisit their college days and recall the memories of their friend who inspired them to think differently, even as the rest of the world called them "idiots".
• Rancho is an engineering student. His two friends. Farhan and Raju, Rancho sees the world in a different way. Rancho goes somewhere one day. And his friends find him. When Rancho is found, he has become one of a great scientist in the world. — Luv
• 3 Idiots is a Bollywood production that flashes back and forth between present day, and the characters' time in college. It starts off with old friends, Qureshi and Raju Rastogi learning that their college pal, Rancho, had finally been found. The movie follows their travels to find their long lost friend, while flashing back to the events of their school years, where they often got into amusing shenanigans involving the Dean of Delhi's Imperial College of Engineering, Viru Sahastrabudhe, and dealt with some serious events that many people encounter in every day life. — adam
• Farhan and Raju find from their biggest college rival Chatur that their missing friend Ranchoddas (Rancho) has been traced.The trio start their journey to find him where flashback revels Rancho,Raju and Farhan were engineering students and Rancho always believed that a person should be capable rather then being a bookworm and it will be way to success.He always got in tiff with Chatur and college director Viru Sahastrabuddhe (Virus) but fell in love with his daughter Pia.Things were going fine for them as they also cleared their first year exams in present day they reach house of Rancho where they find his father has passed away and the person who claims to be Rancho is someone else. — [email protected]
• When the trio find out that where is rancho? They immediately rush to his house. But got shocked after seeing it's not the one who they are expecting it's someone else. The real Rancho. The trio threatened him to tell where is their friend. Finally they found rancho(Amir Khan). And he was living in a lakeside. Being a teacher. Pia runs to him and kissed him and confessed her love. And then then raju and faran also reach there. The hug each other. Then pia ask him his real name. He reply's "phunsukh wangdoo" the greatest scientist whom chatur is searching desperately. Chatur also reach there and he tells that he is the winner of the bet so he deserves the pen which given to Rancho by Virus. When he was about to go Rancho (phunsukh wangdoo) calls chatur and he realized that who is Rancho. So he except that he (Rancho) is the winner. After they lived happily ever after. " Study is not always about success or fame. It's about knowledge. " — gaherwarprerana
• Farhan Qureshi (R. Madhavan), Raju Rastogi (Sharman Joshi), and Rancchoddas "Rancho" Shyamaldas Chanchad (Aamir Khan) are three engineering students who share a room in a hostel at the Imperial College of Engineering, one of the best colleges in India. While Farhan and Raju are average students from modest backgrounds, Rancho is from a rich family. Farhan wants to become a wildlife photographer, but has joined engineering college to fulfil his father's wish. Raju on the other hand wants to uplift his family fortunes. Rancho is a wealthy genius who studies for the sheer joy of it. However, Rancho's passion is for knowledge and taking apart and building machines rather than the conventional obsession of the other students with exam ranks. With his different approach Rancho incurs the wrath of dean of college, Professor Viru Sahastrabudhhe (ViruS) (Boman Irani). Rancho irritates his lecturers by giving creative and unorthodox answers, and confronts ViruS after fellow student Joy Lobo hangs himself in his dormitory room. Joy had requested an extension on his major project on compassionate groundshis father had suffered a strokebut ViruS refused, saying that he himself was completely unmoved by his own son's accidental death after being hit by a train. Rancho denounces the rat race, dog-eat-dog, mindless rote learning mentality of the institution, blaming it for Lobo's death. Threatened by Rancho's talent and free spirit, ViruS labels him an "idiot" and attempts on a number of occasions to destroy his friendship with Farhan and Raju, warning them and their parents to steer clear of Rancho. In contrast, ViruS model student is Chatur Ramalingam or "Silencer", (Omi Vaidya) who sees a high rank at the prestigious college as his ticket to higher social status, corporate power, and therefore wealth. Chatur conforms to the expectations of the system. Rancho humiliates Chatur, who is awarded the honour of making a speech at an award ceremony, by substituting obscenities into the text, which has been written by the librarian. As expected, Chatur mindlessly memorises the speech, without noticing that anything is amiss, partly aided by his lack of knowledge on Hindi. His speech becomes the laughing stock of the audience, infuriating the authorities in the process. Meanwhile, Rancho also falls in love with ViruS' medical student daughter Pia (Kareena Kapoor) when he, Raju and Farhan crash her sister's wedding banquet in order to get a free meal, in the process further infuriating ViruS. Meanwhile, the three students continue to anger ViruS, although Rancho continues to come first in every exam, while Chatur is always second, and Farhan and Raju are inevitably in the last two positions. The tensions come to a head when the three friends, who are already drunk, break into ViruS's house at night to allow Rancho to propose to Pia, and then urinate on a door inside the compound before running away when ViruS senses intruders. The next day, ViruS threatens to expel Raju lest he talks on the other two. Unable to choose between betraying his friend or letting down his family, Raju jumps out of the 3rd floor window and lands on a courtyard, but after extensive care from Pia and his roommates, awakes from a coma. The experience has changed Farhan and Raju, and they adopt Rancho's outlook. Farhan decides to pursue his love of photography, while Raju takes an unexpected approach for an interview for a corporate job. He attends in plaster and a wheelchair and gives a series of non-conformal and frank answers. However, ViruS is unsympathetic and vows to make the final exam as hard as possible so that Raju is unable to graduate. Pia hears him and angrily confronts him, and when ViruS gives the same ruthless reply he gives to his students, she denounces him in the same way that Rancho did over the suicide of Lobo. Pia reveals that Viru's son and her brother was not killed in an accident but committed suicide in front of a train and left a letter because ViruS had forced him to pursue a career in engineering over his love for literature; ViruS always mentioned that he unsympathetically failed his son on the ICE entrance exams over and over to every new intake of ICE students. After this, Pia walks out on the family home, and takes ViruS's spare keys with her. She tells Rancho of the exam, and he and Farhan break into ViruS's office and steals the exam and give it to Raju, who with his new-found attitude, is unconcerned with the prospect of failing, and refuses to cheat and throws the paper away. However, ViruS catches the trio and expels them on the spot. However, they earn a reprieve when Viru's pregnant elder daughter Mona (Mona Singh) goes into labour at the same time. A heavy storm cuts all power and traffic, and Pia is still in self-imposed exile, so she instructs Rancho to deliver the baby in the college common room via VOIP, after Rancho restores power using car batteries and a power inverter that Rancho had dreamed up and ViruS had mocked. Rancho then delivers the baby with the help of a cobbled-together Vacuum extractor. After the baby is apparently stillborn, Rancho resuscitates it. ViruS reconciles with Rancho and his friends and allows them to take their final exams and they graduate. Rancho comes first and is awarded ViruS's pen, which the professor had been keeping for decades before finding a brilliant enough student to gift it to. Their story is framed as intermittent flashbacks from the present day, ten years after Chatur vowed revenge on Rancho for embarrassing him at the speech night and promised to become more successful than Rancho a decade later. Having lost contact with Rancho, who disappeared during the graduation party and went into seclusion, Raju and Farhan begin a journey to find him. They are joined by Chatur, now a wealthy and successful businessman, who joins them, brazenly confident that he has surpassed Rancho. Chatur is also looking to seal a deal with a famous scientist and prospective business associate named Phunsukh Wangdu. Chatur sees Wangdu, who has hundreds of patents, as his ticket to further social prestige. When they find Rancho's house, they walk into his father's funeral, and find a completely different Rancho Jaaved Jaffrey. After accusing the new man of stealing their friend's identity and profiting from his intellect, the host pulls a gun on them, but Farhan and Raju turn the tables by seizing the father's ashes and threatening to flush them down the toilet. The householder capitulates and says that their friend was a destitute servant boy who loved learning, while he, the real Rancho, was a lazy wealthy child who disliked study, so the family agreed to let the servant boy study in Rancho's place instead of labouring. In return, the real Rancho would pocket the qualifications and the benefits thereof, while the impersonator would sever all contact with the world and start a new life. The real Rancho reveals that his impersonator is now a schoolteacher in Ladakh. Raju and Farhan then find Pia, and take her from her wedding day to Suhas by performing the same tricks with his material possessions, and having Raju turn up to the ceremony disguised as the groom and eloping with Pia in public. When they arrive in Ladakh, they see a group of enthusiastic Ladakhi children who are motivated by love of knowledge. Pia and the fake Rancho rekindle their love, while Chatur mocks and abuses Rancho the schoolteacher before walking away. When his friends ask what his real name is, he reveals that it Phunsukh Wangdu and phones Chatur, who has turned his back, to turn around and meet his prospective business partner. Chatur is horrified and falls to his knees, accepts his defeat and continues to plead his case with Phunsukh to establish the business relationship he was after.

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