What the 3 Idiots Taught Me
When I went home to the province for a short vacation, my family was delighted, especially my brother.
He kept on telling me about the movie he watched called 3 Idiots. He said he already watched it twice but he wanted to watch it again with me. The title of the movie didn’t interest me and I wasn’t really in the mood to watch but I gave in anyway. 🙂
And so there we were in the sala, watching his favorite movie.
3 Idiots is an Indian comedy film about three friends — Farhan, Raju, and Rancho — who were taking up Engineering in one of the best universities in India. Their journey was made even more exciting because of interesting personalities like Chatur, Prof. Virus, err Viru, and Pia. Prof. Viru (whom the students call “virus”) labelled the three friends as idiots (though they were not really idiots).
In the beginning of the movie, Prof. Viru showed the class a very special pen which was given to him by his former professor several years back. His former professor told him, When you see an extraordinary student, give it to him.
A few minutes into watching and my brother and I were laughing out so loud, Papa had to hush us as it was already past 10pm and we might disturb our neighbors. Then there were parts when we cried a bit, then laughed again. The movie brought us in a roller coaster of emotions.
Like a well-crafted speech, 3 Idiots challenged our minds, touched our hearts, and definitely tickled our funny bones. What a masterpiece!
More than the entertainment, 3 Idiots taught me profound lessons on some of the most important aspects of life.
On Friendship
Rancho, the lead star, considers a friend as a man’s greatest bosom.
There were a couple of scenes in the movie where he put his friends’ needs before his needs. Like a true friend, he would go out of his way to help his friends and his friends’ families, even if this could endanger his life.
Despite his super bubbly nature, he touched his friends in a very deep way, it made Farhan and Raju cry. It made me and my brother cry as well. And I bet if you watched the movie, it made you cry too.
He taught Farjan to pursue his real passion in Wildlife photography and Raju to face his fear of failure.
On Success
Follow excellence and success will chase you.
Make your passion your profession.
Study with all your heart, not just for grades.
Study to be accomplished, not affluent.
These were some of Rancho’s favorite lines, which he lived by.
Rancho always tops the exams. When asked by his friend Farhan how come he always excels, Rancho’s answer was simple. “I love engineering. It’s my passion.”
He further said, Follow your talent. Quit Engineering. Marry photography. This was because Farhan was so good at Wildlife Photography, yet, he’s taking up Engineering because it was his parents’ dream for him to become an Engineer.
Raju then asked Rancho how come he (Raju) doesn’t excel even if he studies hard.
Rancho said, Cause you’re a coward. Scared of the future. With such fear of tomorrow, how’ll you live today? How’ll you focus in your studies? Go live your life.
Rancho said it very well, his words pierced my heart. So true. And so I decided to adopt his mantra “Make your passion your profession.” Everyday, I am taking baby steps towards making that a reality.
On Education
As opposed to Chatur, his competitor, Rancho studied for the love of it. In fact, he didn’t see Chatur as a competitor.
He questioned the educational system. He said the system highlights grades and jobs instead of ideas and inventions. This made Prof. Viru furious.
There was a scene when Prof. Viru dragged Rancho to an ongoing class and put him on the spot.
Rancho was in front of his classmates and two professors, all anticipating his move. He looked at the big book the class prof was using, and he wrote two words in the blackboard. Then ha gave everyone 30 seconds to define the words.
No one was able to answer.
Then Rancho said,
When you were asked to define the two words, were you excited, curious? Thrilled that you’ll learn something new? No. You all got into frantic race.
What’s the use of such methods even if you come first? Will your knowledge increase? No. Just the pressure.
This is college, not a pressure cooker.
Again, this made Prof. Viru really mad. He challenged Rancho to define the two words.
Rancho was such a clever. He said, I just invented the words. I was not trying to teach Engineering. I was teaching you how to teach.
And off he ran to escape from Prof. Viru’s rage. 🙂
Rancho believes that by changing the educational system, we can change the world. He manifested this in his own special way as shown in the latter part of the movie.
Rancho also questioned the grading system. He said that grades create a divide — A Graders = Masters and C graders = Slaves. He said this because after the term, their class would have a class picture and those who excel would sit in front (where Rancho usually sits being the class topnotcher and those who have the lowest grades sit at the back (where his friends Raju and Rancho usually sit).
I share Rancho’s view on education. This was one of the many reasons why I was glued to the movie.
Indeed, learning should be exciting and inspiring! This is actually the tagline of Seminar Philippines. It’s a dynamic classroom that educates and empowers us to achieve the kind of life we want. We learn not just in classrooms, but also through seminars, books, interviews, movies, etc. 🙂
Though Rancho’s ways and beliefs were unconventional and he was always scolded by Prof. Viru, his passion and his good nature were so vibrant, Prof. Viru gave the “pen” to Rancho towards the end of the term. Even Chatur who competed wildly against Rancho bowed down to him towards the end of the movie.
The movie was beautifully crafted, with some exciting twists, which I dare not reveal in this post for the benefit of those who haven’t watched it yet.
Pursuing one’s passion is not easy. We’ll encounter so many setbacks. Always remember, when a problem bugs you, put your hand in your heart and say “All is well.”
Have you watched 3 Idiots? Share us your insights by leaving a comment below.If you haven’t watched it yet, it’s highly recommended. 🙂
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How to Make Your Dreams Come True – written by Sha Nacino with a Review by International Best-Selling Author Brian Tracy. This eBook talks about simple and practical steps on how to achieve your dreams faster. It’s available on Amazon.
Bo Sanchez’ Truly Rich Club – gain financial wealth and spiritual abundance at the same time. Receive digital copies (audio CD/eBook/eNewsletter/emails, etc) of Bo Sanchez’ Power Talks, Wealth Strategies, eBooks, monthly Stocks Updates, daily positive inspiration, and many more!
*****
Sha Nacino
Copyright © 2011 All rights reserved.
Follow me on Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/ShaNacino
*Photos are stills from the movie 3 Idiots.
P.S. Get your copy of my latest e-book How to Earn While on Vacation, with a Foreword by Bo Sanchez. It’s free! Click HERE.
P.S.1 Happy World Teacher’s Day to all our teachers! Special mention goes to my parents, whom I consider as the best teachers in the whole world! 🙂
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