When Fiction Meets Reality - Part 02
Welcome back to part 2 of my reaction to comments on the ‘3 idiots : Confusing a Nation’ post . Let me start by clearing 4 misconceptions at the outset.
· I hate 3 idiots
· I wrote a review of 3 idiots
· This world doesn’t need Ranchos
· It’s not important to be passionate in life
Well, that’s the first impression I got when I read a majority of the comments. I kept wondering where and when did I say the above. I was stumped literally; things were being written about stuff that I never said in the first place. What do I do then?
Contest for Critics – Zero Entries
I figured out the easiest way to change this misconception was to hold a contest. A contest that challenges the reader, to find the exact line or lines that imply the above. Guess how many answers I got, NONE. Cause if one reads carefully I never said any of the above and did not intend them in anyway. I enjoyed the movie as much as everyone else and maybe more than anyone else too.
My post was never meant to be a review of the movie, if it were a complete review it would be more on the lines of my earlier post on ‘Avatar’ which is more of an analysis of the entire movie , including the technicalities and story. How could I ignore the other important characters of the film like the amazing Viru Sahastrebuddhe aka Virus or the other two idiots Raju and Farhaan. I keep wondering what would have happened if I had spoken for Virus too, maybe I would have been banned from this country and got my citizenship revoked.
Rancho vs Chatur – Be dammed, Mickey Mouse is my Hero:
All the stuff about Rancho vs Chatur was meant to highlight a sensitive issue from the movie that speaks of losers in life and Chatur being made the role model for that. According to me, this misconception had to be cleared and Chatur needed the dignity that he deserved. When I say Chatur, I don’t literally mean the character in the film but the countless millions of people who are stuck with the professions not of their choice or passion but still living a great life. This list also includes the countless housewives who have sacrificed many things in their life and are content taking care of their families and watching TV soaps. They are in no way less than any Genius or passionate person like Rancho. One of the comments on the post was “it’s still a Rat race, even if you win, you are a rat at the end”. It’s this very idea that I wanted to highlight. Who are we to look down upon Rats, they too deserve their place in this world. Don’t forget the famous cousin of the rat ‘Mickey Mouse’, probably the most lovable character ever. Even a rat needs to have its place in the sun.
The ALL IZZ WELL mantra
Before I proceed, to talk about one of the most popular character from the movie, VIRUS. Let me quickly touch upon the ALL IZZ WELL mantra. Readers Digest and books of Dale Carnegie were the staple diet throughout my growing up years. Especially the book, How to Stop Worrying and Start Living
, being one of my all time favourites by Dale Carnegie. I always wondered how this world would be such a better place only if people just started reading this book. Luckily, for most people Raju Hirani and Vidhu Vinod Chopra have now made a trilogy of movies that speak of a lot of virtues and morals from this book. In case you haven’t read the book yet, you must do it at the earliest or atleast watch the films these guys have made. The makers of the film need to be applauded for this intention alone even if nothing else would have worked.
, being one of my all time favourites by Dale Carnegie. I always wondered how this world would be such a better place only if people just started reading this book. Luckily, for most people Raju Hirani and Vidhu Vinod Chopra have now made a trilogy of movies that speak of a lot of virtues and morals from this book. In case you haven’t read the book yet, you must do it at the earliest or atleast watch the films these guys have made. The makers of the film need to be applauded for this intention alone even if nothing else would have worked.Virus infected System
Great points have been highlighted about the education system. Everything is true to a great extent. What the movie does best is to let the audience know that one needs to question the system and seek answers rather than accept things blindly the way they are. Best example being, the Space Pen vs Pencil episode. That one scene is enough to set the mind thinking and is worth the price of the movie ticket. Yet, somewhere I feel this movie should have been made at least 15years ago. The youth of today is far more educated and informed or at least have the means to be better informed. That was an era before the internet arrived and college professors or libraries were the only means for information. Thanks to Google and Wikipedia, now that’s history.
A Networked Generation
The 90’s can be called the age of Cable television or the MTV generation, the 00’s the age of internet and mobile phones and now it’s the age of Social Networking. So, the moment I write something, I have feedback in an instant. Quite a few are from school students, as young as in 7th grade. Do we really believe that these kids who don’t think twice before questioning a strangers opinion won’t question their parents or professors too. Your guess is as good as mine. One might ask, but what about the underprivileged? We are talking only about a minuscule section of society. What about all the poor students who don’t have access to such means?
This is where I think the real issue lies. The movie focuses on a part of the system, mostly on parental pressure and rote learning. To have a true revolution in the field of education, the need of the hour is to address real issues like Population, Poverty and to an extent Reservations based on Caste. Yes, these 3 issues are far more real and the primary cause for the right talent not getting into the right institutions. To discuss this matter in relation to this movie would be unfair. I choose not to do that at this time. Am sure this will be a far bigger debate than anything we had so far.
Passion to Perform or Pressure to Perform?
The other issue from the movie, parental pressure, is very real, for earlier generations it was only to excel in studies. Now we are in a new age, there is pressure to excel in ones passion too. Look at the spate of reality shows with children. I think you can see what I am hinting. We have heard about striving to be a Sachin Tendulkar or a Lata Mangeshkar, no one talks about the millions who tried and failed. It’s a new pressure that is building up and 3 idiots I guess just aggravated the matter a little bit. Hmm, did I catch the tigers tail again. It’s my take and you can disagree with it. Comments most welcome.
Simple Conclusion
To sum it up, out of all the wonderful comments on my post, according to me, there is one that hits the nail on the coffin.
Rahul Reddy said...
“ Follow your passions is the truth but not the complete truth. Its about 1/3rd of the truth or (a close approximation thereof).
Career Choice depend on Passion, Ability and Market opportunity.
The strugglers of Mumbai are about passion minus the ability.
Indian Parents discouraging sports is about Passion minus market opportunity.
3i of course picks the sexy 1/3rd. Am i complaining. Hell no, i had a great time."
Enjoy, yes, so did we all, its just that I tried to look at the other side of the story, and its totally unsexy. Trust me, real life is a different ball game.
Cheers and Best of Luck!
Kartik
Also don't forget to read my earlier posts on 3 idiots:
When Fiction Meets Reality - Part 01 (My first reaction to your comments)
All that you say Kartik is correct totally but what i feel is that the movie manages to put across a few important pointers that the today's generation of parents teachers and students need. and as for chatur and rancho, i believe that yea, being chatur can be sometimes inevitable for some students and that working hard for getting a high paying job isnt bad, rather a necessity, but the point is, that the chaturs should still study and resort to rote learning enjoying themselves. what i mean is, that while learning physics or accounts, one must'nt just memorize the formulas and get good marks, more important is to study with curiosity, the urge to gain more knowledge about the subject.
ReplyDeleteyou won't believe "the Space Pen vs Pencil episode" ..its nt their original thinking ..I read it almost 10 years ago in a Hindi Joke book of 5 Rs cost.
ReplyDeleteJust to calrify to all readers. I heard the Space pen vs Pencil thing when i was in school too. Almost 20 years ago. And am fully aware that they have lifed this idea and many other ideas in the movie from other sources. Yet this movie has helped spreading the message to the masses. Thats why i also mention about Dale Carnegie and his books as the source of inspiration for the filmmakers.
ReplyDeleteHi Kartik, finally got the chance to read all of your blogs on 3i, n get a glimpse of the real debate doing the rounds here. And i must say you have done nice work with it! Love ur writing style. :)
ReplyDeleteAs for Mr.Ranchod n Mr.Chatur, I am not an ardent supporter of either of them. :P
I am neither a genius nor am I gud at mugging up the lessons,but still I manage to do my bit as and when needed and you dont need to b really brainy to do so,average brains function too!;)
However the potrayal of Mr.Chatur's character in the movie didn't go down well with me,not coz he wasn't as cute as sharman/madhavan :P But coz they have potrayed 'the chaturs'(or geeks as some of us call 'em) as passionless in their life, which isn't entirely true. Its a matter of one's outlook to life,as in what he wants to do n why! And that differs from person to person, one may mug up all books n secure a place in the IIT/IIM's just to make their parents happy but there are also a few whose passion is the same. If we care to look from the second point of view, Mr.Chatur(in the muvi) was passionate about making it big in life and he manages to do so by the end(without ranchod's genius brain). How he attains that(by mugging lessons or buttering his seniors or sheer hard work) isn't going to undermine the value of his dedication towards his passion!
Afterall we all have the right to choose and follow our own passions,thats what the film was all about ryt! :D
So goodluck everyone with ur dreams n passions,rest doing it d right way is also in our hands..just need to keep ur head clean to take care of that..adios :)
Some interesting Questions about Education
ReplyDeleteHow many toppers from your high school batch have become toppers? So where will the next generation of teachers come from?
Why do IIT/IIM Profs draw a salary roughly on par with Prof's from a C grade University?
Give it some thought today.
Is there any incentive for teachers to perform or a fear of non performance?
Hello again,
ReplyDeleteFirst of all let me tell you a very good, interesting and pleasing start was given by you this time. The way you write doesn't reflect that you are a novice in the field of blogging. It's my second comment and hope to finish it within the limit of characters that you've set for your readers 'cuz the last time, it exceeded and I had to post the comment on my blog with just a link to that post over here. A bit of nothing much important that came to my notice was that the word "does" is mistyped as "dose" under the heading "Virus infected the system" so I request you to correct it. Although it's not that important as it is well understood from it's surroundings, but it is good to be a perfectionist to the limits of it.
I am also planning to publish a report on the movie Avatar on my blog which would be based on the scrutiny of it. My opinion might be somewhat different to that of yours but still I would like to request you to give it a reading... But let me tell you nobody is going to ban you if you post your opinion in front of them, instead people love to have a different view of the world around them and that is the cause of your sudden popularity... You are doing a really good job and I wish you all the best for you bright future... Keep writing, keep reading. And yes, what I failed to mention the last time and you did on my blog was "Phew, this is the second longest comment I've ever written in response to a blog entry, and it's not necessary to remind that the first one was also made on minduread. One more thing, being a class XII student and a C++ programmer, I analyze the world around me completely on the basis of logics. So, could you please explain me the logic behind choosing a path-breaking name like Mind U Read for your blog. thanks...
And yes your comments section is working in a very improper manner... I cannot post comments through any of my accounts...
Purnesh Tripathi
http://www.impurnesh.wordpress.com
Thanks @Nishu @Dheer for your comments.
ReplyDelete@Shami, nice take. Like it.
@Rahul, i think you wanted to ask how many toppers in class turn out to be teachers? Good question. Waiting to hear what ppl have to say abt that.
@Purnesh, hey thanks for the wonderfully long comment.Typo fixed,thanks. Wrt to the name of the Blog it was my wife Anu who suggested the name while i was thiking of a million other dumb names. 'Mind u Read' has a lot of connotations. But the simplest one i can say is that its an open invitaion for all to come and 'Read My Mind'.
For more stuff and to have regular interaction i suggest all to join the 'Mind u Read' page on Facebook. We can have lots more interaction there. Cheers!!!
And with regards to the comments section. Have been hearing many complaints that its not working properly. For the moment it looks like i am stuck with Google and Blogger, so i guess i have to live with it. Seasoned Bloggers, i request you to please give me few tips on how to improve this site,especially the comments section. Cheers!!!
ReplyDeleteWhat are we exactly discussing here.. is it the movie - filmmakers, actors, music or what we get from it - message, right, wrong, entertainment.. I guess we are mixing things here! Not sure what our teachers teach - Good or Bad.. How many would vote for each of these..? Ofcourse there would be some in each!!!!! That doesnt mean we dont get taught... FOR ME, OPINIONS DONT MATTER...INTENTIONS DO. Do we ever get opinions pass till intentions..? Well, there goes the answer.
ReplyDeleteKarthik,
ReplyDeleteWhy don't u install discuss commenting system from here?
http://www.disqus.com/
Shami seems to have got it right on Spot with her take of "Everyones got thier own way of doing things and keep pursuing thier Happyness".As far as i see Both seems to have reached one way or the other.In fact i loved the end where Chatur Finished off showing his Ass.
ReplyDelete@RRM
Hey, i have no idea who this person is. I finally did install Disqus. Thanks for the lead.
ReplyDeleteYup. Best of luck. To u 2 Kartik.
ReplyDeleteSo many truisms in ur this last word on 3 Idiots. From changing the education system, questioning parents and teachers to changing the society and even reservations based on caste!! Though I am still confounded as 2 what the latter has 2 do with this discussion. One thing u do very well - I must admit Kartik & that is write / talk. Unfortunately, as I have said before, u have only one perspective. It is clear from ur writings that u have no idea how others have achieved more & better than India. u have no idea about what an ideal system of education can b like, u have no idea what the 12% (tho the govt says 9% I am sure my estimate is closer to the truth) Indians in SG r perceived as, u have no idea about how India can conceivably send a team of 11 people (out of 1.2 billion) to play in the World Cup.
I guess then the first thing u need 2 do is 2 admit that u do not know & r willing 2 learn. That u do not have the last word on everything. Then u will start writing more sensitively I am sure.
In my view, all Amir Khan wanted 2 do was 2 stoke the passion for life (read interest / curiosity) within each one of us 1.2 billion people. Even if v r a jamadaar, go 2 work with a passion for the job of cleaning, ask one new question everyday and learn a new way of doing the same task, which will then never become tedious. And u have made such a batangar of this little gem of a thought!!! Btw Batangar in HIndi means "mountain out of mole hill"
I suggest read more, like The Geeta, Homer's Odyssey / Illiad, Gurucharan Das, Karve & millions more I can name & u can google :) Books open a facet that will add value 2 ur passion 4 audio visual web based interests.
Best of luck Kartik. U have begun ur journey but now u have 2 open ur mind as well