Five Point Idiots

Let me start by saying I have been throughly entertained by the world over thanks to three things 3 Idiots the movie, Five Point Someone the book and the heated issue of whether the book is the movie. Everybody seems to have a view point on it from Vir Sanghvi to my neighbour next door. The movie attained enough publicity thanks to the attack of Aamir Khan and Co on Chetan Bhagat and I am sure the publishers of Five Point Someone have begun reprinting the book in hoardes thanks to Bhagat claiming that the movie is a sizeable adaptation of the book. I have read the book a long time ago and by the time I saw the movie I had forgotten most of it. I think that’s a natural reaction to Chetan Bhagat’s books. They are what I call a Railway read. They are best suited to be read during a 14 hour train journey. The book stays with you during the journey. Not before. Not after. Let’s face it he isnt Ayn Rand. There is nothing profound about his books. They are as good as any Bollywood movie. Please don’t misunderstand this as me having a lack of respect for his books. I have read all his books and will continue reading his books as long as I take trains.
Now I should talk about 3 idiots. I loved the movie simply because I fall in the large mass of typical movie goers in India. They love their movies and expect lots of commercial aspects in a movie and enjoy movies that are as far from reality as possible. They are fantasy lovers who can sit through the three hours and transcend into the world of the movie. The audience usually moves and feels with the characters. Hence a movie that cleverly touches the emotions of the masses with some brilliant acting is bound to be very popular with the great Indian audience and eventually the movie will rake out riches. The audience is so appreciative of performances that they don’t mind one single bit when a 45 year old plays 20 year old. The movie has all the aspects to enthrall the audience. Your eyes are wet when you hear Sonu Nigam in the background with a quivering voice that sings Jaane nahin denge tujhe…… with scenes of Rancho trying to bring his friend into normalcy. The sheer number of facebook statuses of All izz well and Give me some sunshine gives you an idea as to how Raju Hirani’s new mantra has caught up with the audience. The movie also touched a topic that everyone can relate to and is extremely popular, bashing the system. Hence a master movie was made and saved Bollywood’s performance in 2009.
A week after the release came Chetan Bhagat Vs 3 idiots. Whose story is it? The world showered opinions. Chetan Bhagat started blogging about how “hurt” he was and the huge audience of FPS started to sympathize with him. Media took the cue of a brewing storm. They did their usual, blow stuff out of proportions. The world over was invited in various channels to offer their view on it. Vidhu Vinodh Chopra was seen as “the unethical businessman” and Aamir Khan became a guy desperately trying to save the movie and the movie makers. The discussion went from agreements to opinions to morals to personalities. Most people who have appreciated both the movie and the book and are very affluent with internet and television media had some spice to follow. Chetan Bhagat who was only a picture on a book cover became the most sought figure on TV. People who chanced the issue became curious about the movie and hence saw the movie. The curiosity to read the book picked after watching the movie and hence people started reading the book. In the Chetan Vs Chopra game both made enough money and we as audience became more familiar with a brilliant movie and an entertaining book. So even with some bad blood everybody seems to have won. The movie almost got rated a perfect Five. But then, who are the idiots?