3 Idiots (2009): A Groundbreaking Critique of the Indian Education System

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By Stuthi Kandula
Over the past few decades, the notion of the educationally demanding Asian parent has become recognized through mainstream media. We’ve seen the emergence of the term “Tiger Parent” throughout the 2010s, the rise of Movies and Shows with Asian characters depicting strict parents, and even shows like Family Guy and American Dad consistently satirize them. Though the concept seems foreign, cultural context reveals the significance of education in these communities. Throughout most of Asia, success in education was (and is still seen), as the only way to rise through socioeconomic classes and ensure a better life for yourself and your family. For some, good grades were the deciding factor between a life of comfort, or remaining in poverty, a system that fostered a rigorous and stressful academic culture in Asian countries and their diasporas.
India is one of many Asian countries with a rigorous education culture, which is depicted and criticized in director Rajkumar Hirani’s 3 Idiots. The comedy film is set in a competitive and cutthroat engineering college, focused on friends Farhan, Raju, and Rancho as they work to make it through their degrees despite conflict with the academic culture of the school.
Though the main characters are working towards the same degree, their relationship with engineering and education differs significantly. Farhan harbors a secret passion for photography, but has dismissed it for the sake of fulfilling his father’s dreams for him. Unlike Farhan, Raju is passionate about engineering, but struggles with the necessity to succeed in order to aid his family’s financial struggles. Rancho is seemingly carefree but deeply passionate about engineering with a drive to learn. Throughout the film he stresses the importance of following your aspirations and teaching to enable curiosity rather than just memorization, beliefs that lead to frequent clashes with the school’s strict headmaster Dr Viru S./”Virus.
3 Idiots explores the impacts of the Indian school system on students, and grapples with heavy subjects including the role of education in ailing poverty, family and societal expectations, and even depression and suicide in relation to academic pressure. The film critiques India’s education culture and establishes the message of following your passions, as well as embracing education outside of grades through genuine drive and curiosity to learn.

When I watched 3 Idiots, it stuck with me heavily. I saw myself in Farhan, strugglingwith the familial pressure to pursue careers that differed from my aspirations, as well as Raju, genuinely passionate about the subjects I was learning, but too focused on my grades to fully understand and appreciate the topics. In a competitive academic environment within an Indian diaspora community, the pressure was intense and it was easy to lose sight of truly learning to simply do the bare minimum to ensure a good score. Though this culture of academic pressure remains strong, today it’s regularly being criticized. Entire cultures won’t transform overnight, but media like 3 Idiots remains important in challenging outdated and harmful ideals, and pushing us towards legitimate change.

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