Sameya Begum
Professor Slentz
FIQWS 10113 HA19
22 September 2020
Personal Literacy Narrative
When we think about education, whether we are teachers or students, we think of it as an ornament towards flourishment. We can all agree that education is the most powerful weapon we can hold, as it is the foundation of a better future for everyone. However, the education system around the world isn’t something that we all can agree on and it’s something where we often tend to have different perceptions between students and teachers. The movie 3 Idiots, directed by Rajukummar Hirani, is a Bollywood movie that holds the purpose of delineating the unique perspectives of students and teachers when it comes to the right educational system. It is one of the few artistic pieces that reveals the struggles of student life and the importance of a proper education, as education is what shapes our future. While watching the movie, I was able to lucidly see how everyone in life goes through different struggles and how the difference in mindsets between teachers and students can have a huge impact on how knowledge is acquired in any field of studies. This movie really inspired me and had a big impact on my life because it insinuated the importance of proper knowledge, the struggles of student life and the value of pursuing a dream that will make one happy.
The movie 3 Idiots is an artistic piece that delineates the journey of 3 students in college as they struggle to fight with their life and education system in India. The director, Rajukummar Hirani, portrays a beautiful story of Rancho, Raju and Farhan and explains to his audience the importance of practical knowledge and pursuing a dream that will lead to one’s happiness. The story takes place in the Imperial College of Engineering(ICE), where students are expected to basically be like robots. It is seen in the movie that Rancho is a free spirited student with a belief that students should gain practical knowledge rather than theoretical knowledge, as there are no such benefits to mindless memorization where one will gain nothing. On the other hand, the professor/principal, Professor Viru, is a man whose belief was that an exemplary student is one who aims and achieves high grades through mindless memorization. When Rancho entered the college, he immediately incurred the fury of Professor Viru due to proposing radical theories that contradict the education system of ICE. He also became friends with Raju and Farhan and realized how different their lives are compared to his own. Raju was an engineering student with the mere purpose of taking his family out of poverty and Farhan is a boy who sacrificed his own dream to fulfill his father’s dream of seeing him as an engineer. However, Rancho was simply a student following his passion and would always encourage them to live a life where you follow excellence, not success, as success will come itself if excellence is followed.
As a student, my belief was always that “A student is not someone who receives teachings and merely vomits it back; rather a student is someone who is responsible for her own learning and study.” When I first watched this movie, I was caught by the comedy scenes presented in the film and only watched it for entertainment. However, I watched the movie several times and every time I watched it, I started to value true education where I wouldn’t be a student who will just do mindless memorizing, but a student who will truly focus and acquire knowledge that will help me in the long run. One of the scenes that truly impacted me and sparked a realization in me was when the Professor’s daughter goes through labor pain in a situation where no medical facilities were available and a time where only Rancho’s practical knowledge became of use. Since Rancho was an engineering student, he was able to build a device that helped him save both the mother and the child. Thereafter, the professor himself realized how important it is for teachers to have a system that values theoretical knowledge and how knowledge should be something that comes of use, rather than something that is forgotten after some mindless memorization. Another scene that was vital was when Raju tries to commit suicide due to the educational pressure and family responsibility that he has. This scene made me realize that we are all facing different struggles and that the life of a student might seem easy, but isn’t. Lastly, I was captured by the moment when Rancho encouraged Farhan to ask his father to let him pursue his own dream of becoming a photographer, a dream that might bring success slowly, but would surely bring happiness in Farhan’s life. The moment was impactful because it made me realize that one can find success by pursuing anything, but won’t necessarily find happiness if it isn’t what they are passionate about.
People often say that “life is a race” and if we don’t run fast then we might get trampled, however it isn’t a race but a unique journey of every individual. The film uses the character of Rancho, Raju and Farhan to explain the different aspects of a person’s life and insinuate the fact that knowledge and dreams are equally important to have a meaningful and happy life. We can surely run a race in our life, but what is more important is to have a journey full of proper knowledge and experience and should be something that we embrace with open arms.
Works Cited
Hirani, Rajkumar, Vidhu V. Chopra, Aamir Khan, Kareena Kapoor, R Madhavan, Sharman Joshi, Boman Irani, Omi Vaidya, Abhijat Joshi, C K. Muraleedharan, Shantanu Moitra, Atul Rāṇiṅgā, Sanjay Wandrekar, Swanand Kirkire, and Chetan Bhagat. 3 Idiots!, 2011.
