3 Idiots (2009)

If the right-thinking audience had strongly objected to ‘3 Idiots’ for such offensively blatant Hindu hatred, perhaps Aamir Khan wouldn’t have devised ‘PK’ and his other gems.

The plot of this 2009 film is superficially feel-good – Two college friends look for a third friend who had influenced their lives for good when they were studying together in college. This film could have been a light-hearted story about friendship and nostalgia, but how could Bollywood present a product without injecting it with a copious amount of religious propaganda?

Watch this scene in the first 15 minutes of the film.

In Urduwood, nobody disturbs namaz but Hindu Puja can be easily mocked at. Boy tells Hindu student he will soon give up worshipping deities and paste nude pictures of women on walls instead

'3 Idiots' featuring Hindu reformer Aamir Khan who later made pkpic.twitter.com/Cid2lEpXtl— Gems of Bollywood ??????? ?? ???? (@GemsOfBollywood) May 2, 2022

Note how the narrative that a Hindu devotee can be interrupted during their pooja is also repeated in ‘PK’. Here is a tweet by Gems of Bollywood on PK. In the clip below, you will see a Hindu devotee whose prayer is interrupted because of PK’s shenanigans that we are supposed to find funny.

"Fearless Shiva" mocked, Sadhu disrobed. Mosque towers over a scared Shiva (1 min 50 sec). Film pk by Aamir Khan, who is right now on his way to be in Haryana as an esteemed guest at Khelo India Youth Games 2022

Great way to reward Hindu mockerypic.twitter.com/pKksBFm5o8— Gems of Bollywood ??????? ?? ???? (@GemsOfBollywood) June 12, 2022

Returning to the scene in ‘3 Idiots’, the film’s writers made sure to include the dialogue that reduces Raju’s devotion to obscenity – Thode din idhar rahega toh apne aap Bhagwan se vishwaas uth jayega. Phir bajoo mein nangi ladkiyon ki tasveerein lagayega aur bolega : Oh God! Ek Bar Dila De (If he stays here for a few days, he will automatically lose faith in God. Then he would put pictures of naked girls on his side and say: Oh God! let me have it once)

At least once, we would like to see Khan attempt such a scene on other religions.

Going further, we didn’t miss that Raju (Sharman Joshi) is ridiculed repeatedly in the film for his belief. Rancho constantly mocks Raju’s faith as superstition. We are told that his faith is his biggest weakness. However, his friend Farhan’s character flaw is that he isn’t bold enough to disobey his father.

The sneer towards Sanatan Dharma, disguised as humour, is quite deliberate. It is evident even in scenes where Priya (Kareena Kapoor Khan) realizes she loves Rancho. It is anyone’s guess as to why Rajkumar Hirani and Vidhu Vinod Chopra felt the need to mock Jyotish Shastra and Lord Hanuman for this scene below:

If Haaji Aamir Khan is there, how can there not be a mockery of Hindu aasthaa.

One more scene, this time from 3 Idiots by @RajkumarHirani, where #Urduwood's products of nepotism create comedy that doesn't spare even Bajrang Bali.pic.twitter.com/4FaqigQGsj— Gems of Bollywood ??????? ?? ???? (@GemsOfBollywood) March 20, 2021

And who can forget Chatur’s “funny” scene where he gives a speech in Hindi and ends it with a Sanskrit shloka without understanding what the words mean? The shloka has several scatological references, and the college auditorium erupts into laughter.

We are supposed to ignore the fact that all Hindus revere the ancient Indic language.

The speech is worse because it employs women’s sexual vulnerability for humour. It has the word balatkar (rape) 21 times and the word ‘stan’ (breast) four times. Yet, this film won three national awards, including one for providing wholesome entertainment.

These so-called progressive liberals didn’t think once for those in the audience who must have suffered sexual abuse and how such third-rate treatment of a sensitive subject must have triggered them.

It is also time we stop celebrating Bollywood A-listers who copy foreign concepts and pass them on as their bit of hard work. Several scenes in ‘3 Idiots’ have been copied from other uncredited sources. Take a look at this gem, for instance:

Mr Original #LaalSinghChaddha won award after award for a perfect film 3 Idiots. Directed by perfect director @RajkumarHirani

Jab tak … https://t.co/KxcOcXYGeT— Gems of Bollywood ??????? ?? ???? (@GemsOfBollywood) August 15, 2022

Shortly after the release of ‘3 Idiots’, writer Chetan Bhagat took offence to the fact that his name appeared in the closing credits as “Based on the novel Five Point Someone by Chetan Bhagat” than in the opening ones. Why Bhagat would be so desperate to associate himself with such a deeply problematic and Hinduphobic movie is anyone’s guess.