I haven't yet read Chetan Bhagat's "5 Point Someone", on which the film is supposed to be based, so till that time, I give my wholehearted congratulations to the person be it the director Mr. Rajkumar Hirani or Mr. Bhagat or the screenplay writer Mr. Abhijat Joshi, who came first with this creative idea that have all the materials to infuse freshness in the minds of the young undergrads of the country whose dreams and hopes of an educated future is more than often lost in the slimy muck of a system that progressively destroys the passion of learning and instils a socio-economic fear of coming last in the unhealthy ratrace.
It is very much obvious that today, the average student either studies for an upgraded social status, a job in the US, to fulfil the hopes of attaining the much revered degree that their guardians seek, and does not give a damn to the sheer joy of learning. Infact, from early years following a child’s birth, the parents determine the path that he or she will take and forces the doomed ward, in almost all the time, to take it. Infact, our system of values are so much diluted that a passionate photographer’s career is often looked askance compared to that of a mediocre engineer. The same goes with the standard of education system that is based on certain rules and regulations that do not support unorthodox and simple approaches to a better learning.
With this introduction I’ll now delve into the rollercoaster movie ride which is based on three roommates Farhan Qureshi, Raju Rastogi and Ranchhoddas “Rancho” Shyamaldas Chanchad of Delhi's prestigious Imperial College of Engineering. Of them, while Farhan yearned for being a professional wild life photographer and Raju wanted to uplift his poverty stricken family, the witty Rancho, in contrast, apparently with a wealthy background, had a passion for machines and really wished for nothing more than learning the intricacies of technology. Rancho, while on the one hand, often pointed out the follies in today’s education system also was outspoken about the tortured mental conditions of the undergrads subjected to tremendous pressure during their four years. He, infact, demonstrated his views in one of the hilarious moments of the movie which proved that in these developing years the most avid of learners are transformed into nothing but a mechanical system bound to follow orders to carry out the same mechanical set of rules instead of doing any logical thinking and analysis. Rancho’s common sense and simple ideas often did wonders and he used to find the simplest and most effective solutions to the most complicated of problems. This easily incurred the wrath of the ICE Director, Viru Sahasrabuddhi (aka Virus to the students) who could not stand a smarter soul than himself and was an obsessed educationalist, firmly believing in the prevailing system of graduation. Social ties meant little to him and to him a child was synonymous to an engineer if he was a boy or a doctor if she was a girl. Unable to bear the attitude of Rancho, he tried to utilize every opportunity to throw the trio out of college or to orchestrate a break up in their friendship. To the latter he was partly successful when Raju, in fear of failing, relocated himself with Chatur “Silencer” Ramalingam only to be reunited soon following Rancho’s quick thinking and valiant act of saving his nearly dying father. Thus the bonding of the three friends grew more and more strong and frequently they played pranks on the local neighbourhood. In one of these comical incidents, the trio broke into a marriage party just to enjoy the good food but ultimately were shocked to find that the party was thrown by non other than Virus on the occasion of his elder daughter’s marriage. Thus Virus was again furious and the three again made a hasty retreat but not before Rancho striking off a break up between Virus’ younger daughter Pia and her fiancée Suhas whom, he proved, in that short interval, to be nothing more than a materialistic individual who is accepting Pia just for her father and their family’s prominence. Pia too was irritated at the trio’s insolence but slowly as she grew more and more acquainted with these three and Rancho in particular, she began to get attracted to the simplicity and frankness of Rancho and started understanding the problem that his education-obsessed father possessed. She saw that Rancho, being a prankster and all that, still came first in the exams though Raju and Farhan consistently held the last two positions. Though this puzzled many but Rancho himself explained the cause behind it. He stated that his passion of learning technology drove him amidst all other diversions to success and Farhan's passion of photography and Raju's tension of financial insecurity and his fear of failing held them at bay. He insisted that Farhan quit his engineering studies to make a go for his dream that is bound to bring him success and he tried to infuse confidence in the demoralised Raju so that his attitude changes in order that he may face the campus interview boards boldly. For this he also drove away one of his weaknesses and thus brought an interesting twist to the narrative.
But surprises were still in store when we find Rancho, curiously disappearing after the final day of graduation and when after years, a link to his wherabouts surfaced, Farhan and Raju were temporarily devastated to find that a completely new person bore the name and certificates of their loving friend Rancho. Thus the audience will be kept at a suspense till the extraordinary finish that I can guarantee will be more than satisfying and some will surely want to watch it twice.
The movie and every bit of it are enjoyable to the fullest extent and guarantees peals of laughter from the audience in this roller coaster fun ride that is made even enjoyable by the crispy acting of Amir Khan (Rancho?) complemented by the talents of Madhavan (Farhan) and Sharman Joshi (Raju). Hats off to them and the rest who had shredded some kilos so as to appear years younger thus adding the more realistic touch to the film. Boman Irani (Virus) again provides a classic comic performance and Kareena Kapoor (Pia) has never been better used combined with her perfect make-up. In the side roles, the newcomer Omi Vaidya (Silencer), the endearing acting of Rahul Kumar (Millimeter) and the comic touch by Javed Jaffrey (Ranchoddas) will keep you glued to the screen. If this is not enough, there is a whole bunch of numbers voiced by Shan, Shreya Ghoshal, Santanu Moitra and even Sharman Joshi had lent his voice in one of them that are equally good and go well with the mood of the movie. Santanu Moitra’s composition and Swanand Kirkire’s lyrics do justice to the film as do the able direction of Mr. Hirani and the smart screenplay of Abhijat Joshi.
