'3 Idiots' still awaits 10 year test: Boman Irani

“3 Idiots” might have gone on to become Hindi cinema’s highest grosser till date with record collections of about Rs.400 crore (Rs.4 billion). But actor Boman Irani, who will be seen next in Shyam Benegal’s “Well Done Abba”, says the movie still awaits its true test.

“The euphoria of ‘3 Idiots’ never died down. There’s great value for it...(but) at this point of time it’s a little premature. The true test of the movie is not how much money it makes, but whether after 10 years if people recall it as a reference point and in fun as part of their movie conversation,” Boman told IANS in a telephonic interview from Mumbai.

“Very few movies remain in public memory as landmark films and I want to see whether ‘3 Idiots’ will be up there with some of the wonderful films that have come out of this country...Hopefully, we’ll come to know in a few years whether it can become one of the great films,” he added.

Produced by Vidhu Vinod Chopra and directed by Rajkumar Hirani, “3 Idiots” also starred Aamir Khan, R. Madhavan, Sharman Joshi and Kareena Kapoor.

After a humble beginning with Mansoor Khan’s “Josh” in 2000, Boman shot to fame as the eccentric doctor J.C. Asthana in Hirani’s “Munnabhai M.B.B.S.” and followed it up with the portrayal of a Sikh property dealer Lucky Singh in “Lage Raho Munna Bhai”.

While both the movies gave him new nicknames, Boman says he likes his monicker ‘Virus’ (Viru Sahastrabudhhe) from “3 Idiots” as well.

“I am very proud to be a part of ‘3 Idiots’ and happy that the character has worked in a big way. The wonderful thing is I used to be called Mamu (from ‘Munnabhai M.B.B.S’) earlier, then Lucky Singh happened for a while and now I am called Virus,” said Boman.

Amitabh Bachchan, Vidya Balan claim top honours

Bollywood stars Amitabh Bachchan and Vidya Balan were cited as best actor and best actress respectively at the star-studded 55th Filmfare Awards ceremony here late on Saturday.

Bachchan won the award for his role in “Paa”, while Vidya Balan claimed the trophy for her role in the same movie. As Bachchan was not present in the ceremony, Vidya Balan took the award on his behalf.

Hosting the gala night were Bollywood actors Shah Rukh Khan and Saif Ali Khan, whose one liners had the audience in splits. Their on-stage chemistry was much appreciated by the Bollywood stars present at the ceremony at the Yash Raj Studios.

“3 Idiots” was declared the best film, while Rajkumar Hirani claimed the best director award for the movie.

A.R. Rahman won the best music director for “Delhi 6”.

Mohit Chauhan won the award for the best male playback singer for the song “masakali” from the movie “Delhi 6”, while the female playback singer honours were shared by Kavita Seth and Rekha Bhardwaj.

While Kavita was awarded for the song “Ik tara” from the movie “Wake Up Sid”, Rekha won the trophy for the song “Genda phool” from the movie “Delhi 6”.

Among the other highlights of the evening was a tribute to legendary pop singer Michael Jackson by Bollywood actor Shahid Kapoor, who charmed the audience with his perfect dance moves.

Reality bites, say youth

A far cry from the usual film post-mortems and discussions, Avatar has a section of city youngsters languishing from a global phenomenon called Post-Avatar Depression or Avatar-Induced Depression. A recent report claimed that youngsters were feeling suicidal as they wrestled with the reality that the utopian planet, Pandora is only a figment of the director’s imagination. From social networking forum that claim to find ‘Ways to cope with the depression of the dream of Pandora being intangible’ to youngsters making distress calls shortly after the film, Hyderbadis seem hard pressed on escaping reality.
Anant Rishi, an advertising professional, was so affected by the film that he called a friend right after watching it, to moan about having to stay on Earth, “We are just destroying our planet. Pandora is the perfect example of man and nature living in perfect harmony. Watching this movie makes me want to escape the human world.”
The world wide web is in fact, awash with distressed youngsters seeking solace from like-minded souls online. One tweet says, “Watching Avatar has left me depressed. Pandora is such a beautiful planet and the Na’vi seem so happy.”
Post-Avatar depression is only adding to the actual problem, say experts who view the situation more cynically. They cite the film as yet another example of how this generation seems ill equipped to handle real life and is ready to ‘escape’ their unfulfilled aspirations using drugs or alcohol or even the virtual world. “Today’s generation might be broadminded, but its aspirations are higher than earlier. And when they find it hard to fulfill them, they feel distressed,” says psychiatrist Kalyan Chakravarty.
Dr Minhaj Naseerabadi, a psychiatrist has statistics to prove the same. “Nearly 20 per cent of our population is depressed today without even knowing it. Most youngsters can’t seem to handle the pressures of everyday life. And films like Avatar only precipitate these feelings to spark extreme reactions.”
Dr Chakravarty, who recently, treated the parents of a 16-year-old girl who committed suicide to “escape reality,” says, “This young girl had aimed to become a chartered accountant like her father. However, he pushed her into studying medicine. Afraid to face reality and voice her opinion, the girl committed suicide.”
Agreeing that youngsters today get inspired by fantastic notions, engineering graduate, Daniel Jay Kumar, says it’s important to see both sides of the coin, “If we can be depressed because Avatar portrays a world we can’t be a part of, we should also learn a lesson from films like 3 Idiots which states that there is more to life than just frivolity. If we must be inspired then we should also draw the good not just the bad.”