8 years of 3 Idiots: 15 things about the film you did not know

Rajkumar Hirani ’s 3 Idiots is one of those few films that will remain etched in the memory of film lovers in India. The drama narrating the lives of three friends touched a chord with the audience, when it released in 2009. Starring Aamir Khan , Ranganathan Madhavan and Sharman Joshi as engineering students, the film is inspired from Chetan Bhagat’s novel, Five Point Someone. The film also saw Boman Irani as the strict principal of the engineering college and Kareena Kapoor as his daughter. It was however, actor Omi Vaidya as Chatur Ramalingam a.k.a. The Silencer, who made his Bollywood debut with the film, and won hearts with his superb performance, despite acting alongside a host of talented and experienced actors.

Be it All Izz Well, Zoobi Doobi, Behti Hawa Sa Tha Woh to Give Me Some Sunshine and Jaane Nahin Denge, the songs of the film were also loved by the audience. Hirani’s freshness in terms of treatment also earned appreciation. The film received as many as three National Awards in the Best Popular film, Best Lyrics and Best Audiography categories. 3 Idiots was not just a hit in India but also did well overseas. It is been ranked as the 12th favourite film in China, in Korea the audience rated the film an average of 9.4 on 10 on their popular website Naver.

As this coming-of-age film completes 8 years today, here are a few interesting facts around the film that bring back memories of the film.

1. The Imperial College of Engineering that is being shown in the film as the college where the three protagonists study, is actually the Indian Institute Of Management, Bangalore (IIMB).

2. For the drunk scene, Aamir suggested that the actors get drunk in reality so as to make it look convincing. But what happened was that the actors had to give numerous retakes, even the stock of camera roll exhausted, and the crew had to go and buy new camera roll. Hirani apparently kept asking for retakes so as to keep the actors busy till the rolls arrived.

3. In an interview, Vidhu Vinod Chopra, producer of the film, revealed that the brain behind the flying helicopter in the film was Dia Mirza .

4. Actor Shah Rukh Khan was first offered the character of Rancho. But he declined the offer citing date issues and the role went to Aamir.

5. Kareena was keen on collaborating with Rajkumar Hirani. Hence, she approached him directly for the character of Pia.

6. Actor Sanjay Dutt was being considered for a cameo in the film but it did not happen. In fact, Arshad Warsi was also offered to play any of the two roles - Farhan and Raju. But he could not do it due to lack of dates. These two characters were also reportedly offered to John Abraham and Saif Ali Khan . But finally they went to Madhavan and Sharman.

7. Aamir does not stand still in the entire film, he is seen swaying in some direction. Apparently, the actor concluded after observing his nephew that the present generation never stands still.

8. The pregnancy episode, one of the most important scenes in the film, was supposed to be there in the director’s previous medical comedy Munna Bhai M.B.B.S., but then he thought that it won’t be necessary in the film and added it here because it was making more sense.

9. The hospital that has been shown in the film, where Sharman is admitted after he tries to kill himself, is the Fortis Hospital, Noida.

10. The film reportedly was shot in reverse; all the present day scenes of the film were shot first. The college scenes were shot later.

11. Aamir, who is known for his prepping procedure to look convincing in every role he plays, was on a strict diet and even avoided eating his birthday cake. Talking about it the actor had said, “I am surviving on milk and few bananas as I have been asked to lose weight for the role.”

12. Vidhu Vinod Chopra had claimed that the film will be legally released on the online platform YouTube within 12 weeks of its release in theatres but it did not happen as promised. The movie got released after almost a year.

13. The character Phunsukh Wangdu is inspired from Sonam Wangchuk, an engineer from Leh.

14. It’s one of the first Bollywood movies to earn Rs 200 crores net at the box office. The film is also actor Aamir’s maiden 200 crore projects. Interestingly, 3 Idiots made 395 crores worldwide. The film was a hit in China, and they were even interested in remaking the film.

15. There is a chance that the iconic film will have a sequel. Aamir had once revealed that Abhijat Joshi is writing the sequel to the film.