History Film / ThreeIdiots

** [[spoiler: Joy, a senior of the trio during their freshmen years. Later, Raju did it as well due of unwilling to choose between his friends or his family. Fortunately he was saved.]]

** The real [[spoiler: Ranchoddas Shamaldas Chanchad]], who pocketed an engineering degree by foul means, and almost gunned down Farhan and Raju. Until they got the better of him.

** Virus, very much so. Fortunately,[[TookALevelInKindness he got better]]. Much notable in the present scenes, [[spoiler: in which while he's understandably pissed that the Raju crashed at his daughter's wedding like what he did back when he was a student, it's surprising that he didn't blow up yet and let his eldest daughter Mona restrain him. He also seems to let Pia go after she made her decision to call off the wedding.]]

** Virus, very much so. Fortunately,[[TookALevelInKindness he got better]]. Much notable in the present scenes, [[spoiler: in which while he's understandably pissed that the Raju crashed at his daughter's wedding like what he did back when he was a student, it's surprising that he didn't blow up yet and let his eldest daughter Mona restrain him. He also seems to let Pia go after she made her decision to call off the wedding.]]

* AcademicAlphaBitch: Chatur is a rare male-version of this trope at ICE.

* BigBad: Viru Sahastrabuddhe AKA Virus. [[HeelRealization He gets]] [[TookALevelInKindness better though.]]

** The hazing ritual, where freshmen strip to their underwear and offer their butts to seniors for submission. [[spoiler: In a heartwarming twist, Farhan and Raju did this when they successfully did their part of the bet with Rancho by convincing his father to let him pursue photography (Farhan) and landing a job simply by [[BeYourself being himself]] (Raju). In a hilarious twist, when Rancho's real name is revealed as Phunsukh Wangdu and his dawning realization that Chatur just insulted the very guy he wanted to sign a pivotal deal for his company, [[AintTooProudToBeg he performs the ritual to appease him.]]]]

* FramingDevice: The film is interspersed between two timelines: the trio's time at college narrated by Farhan and in the present times of which Farhan, Raju, and Chatur travel across northern India to find and locate Rancho.

** Rancho is Id. He is a headstrong, brave and emotional individual who wants others to follow their heart rather than what others and the society expects of them. Sometimes he bites more than he chew by his rebellious actions [[spoiler: that can possibly blow up his real identity and failing to know the flaw of his logic of using a pencil instead of space pen in a zero-gravity environment can be dangerous]], but overall a well-intentioned individual.

* IronicEcho: "Hey... TakeThat!" [[spoiler: Few minutes after Chatur insulted the reunited trio, it immediately bite him in the ass in the ending when he learned ''who'' is Phunsukh Wangdu...]]

** Virus, very much so. Even though he [[TookALevelInKindness got better]] by the end of the movie, he still is although he keeps it in check.

* OnlyKnownByTheirNickname: Viru Sahastrabuddhe is always called Virus. TheHero's [[spoiler: fake]] OverlyLongName is shortened to Rancho. Also. there's the TagalongKid Man Mohan who is always called Millimeter [[spoiler: until he grows up and Farhan gives him the nickname [[SheIsAllGrownUp Centimeter.]]]]

** Rancho when he makes up with Raju after taking his father to a hospital. He also sheds these when he learns of [[spoiler: Farhan quitting school in favor of a photography retreat and Raju's successful job interview]]. The dude loves his friends so much.
** [[spoiler: Almost every single engineering student who are present during the birth of Mona's child. Justified, as they thought that the child is stillborn. Later, Virus sheds these when his grandson is delivered, and when he apologizes and admits that his opinion of Rancho is wrong.]]

* TokenEvilTeammate: Chatur serves as one during the present day scenes.

* UnknownRival: Chatur has always been hell bent in defeating Rancho, but always fail.

* CameraFiend: Farhan is this, being an aspiring photographer after all. He enjoys taking pictures of the most important milestones in his life [[spoiler: such as Raju's discharge after his suicide, Virus' holding his almost stillborn grandson, and the graduation ceremony. His eye for photography serves as a ChekhovsSkill and a subtle {{Foreshadowing}} when Chatur shows him the picture of the person who gave him the opportunity to deal with Phunsukh Wangdu, in which Farhan pays attention at the familiar side face that resembles Rancho. And as eventually revealed at the ending, Phunsukh Wangdu is Rancho's true identity, showing to the audience that Farhan and Raju are closer in reaching Rancho simply by reestablishing their contacts with Chatur even before their confrontation against the real Ranchodas.]]

** Two pranks within one. Chatur gets the librarian to write a speech for him to recite on Teacher's Day. Rancho and Farhan divert both Chatur (with a prank phone call) and the librarian (by telling him Virus was remembering him, which he understood as Virus calling him over), and then changed some of the words of the speech. Chatur didn't even ask what it means, but blindly memorized it. HilarityEnsues.

** Virus sarcastically makes a deal that if Raju manages to get a job before the final exam, he'll shave his beard. [[spoiler: Much to his his dismay, he does. He actually decides to stay shaved all the way to the future, no less.]]

** The hazing ritual, where freshmen strip to their underwear and offer their butts to seniors for submission. [[spoiler: After Rancho's real name is revealed as Phunsuk Wangdu, Chatur performs the ritual when instigated by Farhan and Raju.]]

** The mint sauce. It was first used by Rancho on Suhas' shoes to show his personality to Pia. It's later used by Raju for the same purpose (to show Pia that Suhas' personality hasn't changed) [[spoiler: and also to distract Suhas long enough for Farhan and Raju to steal away with Pia.]]

* CoolTeacher: [[spoiler: Rancho ultimately becomes one.]]

* DartboardOfHate: [[spoiler: During the Jaane Nahin Denge Tuhje number, Rancho, Farhan and the rest of the engineering students have this with Virus' face on the dartboard in an effort to lift the spirits of a paralyzed Raju after his suicide.]]

* ForegoneConclusion: The titular trio are known to have graduated and are living comfortable lives in the present day. So when [[spoiler: Raju attempts suicide or Virus expels them for trying to get the answers to his rigged exam, the viewers will know that they will make it out fine.]]

* OhCrap: Chatur, in the end, has this reaction [[spoiler: when he realises ‘Phunsuk Wangdu’, the scientist he was looking to secure a lucrative business deal with in the present day scenes, is none other than his old college nemesis, Rancho, who he had earlier mocked to his face about being a school teacher!]]

* SkewedPriorities: [[spoiler: Farhan and Raju are both shocked to learn that Rancho/Chhote's real name is Phunsukh Wangdu and are wondering if he happens to be the same great scientist that Chatur was talking about with over 400 patents, ''while'' Pia is is in frantic panic stating she doesn't like having her name changed to Pia '''Wangdu''' after marrying him.]]

* CameraFiend: Farhan is this, being an aspiring photographer after all. He enjoys taking pictures of the most important milestones in his life [[spoiler: such as Raju's discharge after his suicide, Virus' holding his almost stillborn grandson, and the graduation ceremony. His eye for photography serves as a ChekhovsSkill and a subtle {{Foreshadowing}} when Chatur shows him the picture of the person who gave him the opportunity to deal with Phunsukh Wangdu, in which Farhan pays attention at the familiar side face that resembles Rancho. And as eventually revealed at the ending, Phunsukh Wangdu is Rancho's true identity, showing to the audience that Farhan and Raju are closer in reaching Rancho even before their confrontation against the real Ranchodas.]]

* CameraFiend: Farhan is this, being an aspiring photographer after all. He enjoys taking pictures of the most important milestones in his life [[spoiler: such as Raju's discharge after his suicide, Virus' holding his almost stillborn grandson, and the graduation ceremony.]]

* BestFriends: It's clear that the eponymous trio are this, both in narrative and chronological timeline.

--> '''Chatur''': Pray undress, or he'll do...''urine expulsion'' on you.

* AnchoredShip: Rancho and Pia during the college days. Although Rancho has feelings for Pia, [[spoiler: his use of a fake identity prevents him from returning Pia's affections. Fortunately, they are reunited at the end.]]

** "Aal Izz Well/All is well". In the climax of the movie, saying them even helps [[spoiler: awaken an apparently stillborn baby!]]

* BestFriendsInLaw: While it's ultimately not played straight, Raju has some hopes in this. [[spoiler: The impetus that finally wakes him up from his coma is Rancho lying that his sister is marrying Farhan.]]

--> '''Chatur''': Pray undress, or he'll do...'urine expulsion' on you.
--> '''Senior''': (He) calls pissing, 'urine expulsion'! [[SarcasmMode A true linguist in the land of engineers!]]

** The hazing ritual, where freshmen strip to their underwear and offer their butts to seniors for "inspection". [[spoiler: After Rancho's real name is revealed as Phunsuk Wangdu, Chatur performs the ritual when instigated by Farhan and Raju.]]
** Rancho fends off a senior threatening to pee on his door [[spoiler: by conducting electricity through the senior's urine.]] [[spoiler: A decade later, Rancho's students pull the same prank on Chatur.]]

** Rancho's dream [[spoiler: in which he and Pia ends in an AlmostKiss.]] [[spoiler: Six years later, the dream scene plays out almost exactly but ends with a slap from Pia. Followed by TheBigDamnKiss.]]

* CatchPhrase: Rancho's "Aal Izz Well/All is Well", which is also the film's ArcWords.
* CelibateHero: Rancho, to the point where [[spoiler: even upon becoming a successful inventor and educator, he continues to love Pia even though he makes no attempt to contact her]].
* ComebackTomorrow: In a much-delayed answer to Rancho's question about the Fischer Space Pen (why didn't they use a pencil), [[spoiler:four years later, after Rancho saves the stillborn child of Virus' elder daughter]], Virus replies that when a pencil lead breaks in zero gravity on board spaceships, the graphite fragments can get into astronauts' eyes, and cause short circuits in the instruments.

** Rancho made an inverter that could draw out power from car batteries named after Virus in an attempt get out of Pia's wedding. [[spoiler: It ended up powering the equipment for Mona's birth]].
** Also, whenever Rancho said "Aal Izz Well" to Mona while she was pregnant, the baby kicked. [[spoiler:Guess what woke up the stillborn baby?]]
** The mint sauce. It was first used by Rancho on Suhas' shoes to show his personality to Pia. It's later used by Raju for the same purpose (to show Pia that Suhas' personality hasn't changed) and also to distract Suhas long enough for Farhan and Raju to steal away with Pia.

** "Phunsuk Wangdu", the famous scientist Chatur is hoping to strike a deal with, turns out to be [[spoiler: Rancho's real name.]]
** In his first day, Rancho was being threatened by a senior to get his door pissed on. [[spoiler:He pulls a [=McGyver=] and conducts a current to a spoon which conducted to the senior's piss]]. [[spoiler:His future students]] do the same thing when Chatur tries to pee on their building's wall.
* ChildProdigy: [[spoiler: The real Rancho could solve 10th grade math while in ''6th grade''.]]

* DartboardOfHate: [[spoiler: During the Jaane Nahin Denge number, Rancho, Farhan and the rest of the engineering students have this with Virus' face on the dartboard in an effort to lift the spirits of a paralyzed Raju after his suicide.]]

* DisneyDeath: Happens to [[spoiler: Mona's newborn baby.]]
* DisposableFiancee: Suhas, because he's a materialistic {{Jerkass}}. [[spoiler: Pia apparently reconciles with him ten years later after the graduation, though she leaves him at the altar]].
* DopeSlap: Given to Chatur by Virus after the former recites the teacher's day speech edited by Rancho filled with words that made the speech offensive. Particularly the 'Sanskrit Verse' at the end of the speech.

* EarnYourHappyEnding: Rancho's key philosophy throughout the film is that people should pursue their passions to excellence, regardless of the consequences. Indeed, Farhan [[spoiler: faces great difficulty in convincing his parents that he wants to become a wildlife photographer, but he succeeds and goes on to get published]]. Raju [[spoiler: faces depression and anxiety over his predicament, to the point where he is driven to suicide, but he emerges stable and married]]. As for Rancho, he [[spoiler: has to abandon all his friends and virtually start from scratch upon getting a degree for his namesake; he is nevertheless able to become a successful, patented inventor and educator. And many years later to adulthood, he is finally reunited with his TrueCompanions and his college love, Pia.]]

** He does this again to Rancho at the end of the movie, before he learns that [[spoiler:Rancho is Phunsuk Wangdu, the very man his company is going to sign a deal with. OhCrap isn't enough to describe his horror upon realizing it.]]
* ForegoneConclusion: The titular trio are known to have graduated and are living comfortable lives in the present day. So when [[spoiler: Raju attempts suicide or Virus expels them for trying to get the answers to his rigged exam you know that they'll make it out fine.]]
* {{Foreshadowing}}: [[spoiler: Raju's (thankfully failed) suicide attempt is foreshadowed multiple times. One of them is Rancho and Farhan jokingly giving him a little nudge off the edge of a building in brief scene for ''Aal Izz Well'' number, then later on a scene where the camera lingering on Raju as he drunkenly jumps out of Pia and Mona's bedroom window. His later suicide attempt is by jumping out of a window.]]

-->'''Suhas''': [[ItMakesSenseInContext MY 1.5 LAKH SHERWANI!]] (My $3000 suit!)

* HospitalHottie: Pia, who is a med student.

* IHaveManyNames: [[spoiler: TheHero is knows as Ranchoddas Shyamaldas Chanchad/Chhote/Phunsukh Wangdu.]]

* ImprobableInfantSurvival: [[spoiler: Pia's niece/nephew was thought dead, but Rancho's CatchPhrase revives him/her!]]

* OnlyKnownByTheirNickname: Viru Sahastrabuddhe is always called Virus. TheHero's [[spoiler: fake]] OverlyLongName is shortened to Rancho. Also. there's the TagalongKid Man Mohan who is always called Millimeter [[spoiler: until he grows up]].

* RightBehindYou : Precisely how the {{Power Trio}} find Pia's father is none other than [[spoiler: ''[[SadistTeacher Virus.]]'' ]]

* ArrangedMarriage: Not stated outright, but Pia's relationship with Suhas doesn't seem to be entirely voluntary. Even before she gets fed up by his materialistic nature and dumps him, she doesn't particularly enjoy his company when the two are attending Mona's wedding. [[spoiler: In the future, she has few regrets leaving him and their almost-wedding to find Rancho.]] However, she does break up with him with minimal furor, so... (though her family might never know about the breakup and assume the two only have a fight).

* AshesToCrashes: Farhan and Raju almost do this with the ashes of the father of [[spoiler: the real Ranchoddas Shamaldas Chanchhad]] while attempting to find Rancho's whereabouts. Turns out they take the wrong urn.

* BigBad: Viru Sahastrabuddhe AKA Virus.
* BigBadWannaBe: Chatur.

* BlindIdiotTranslation: InUniverse. Due to Chatur's poor Hindi, his translation makes his warning regarding the senior's intent of pissing on Rancho sound really silly. An English equivalent:

** The real [[spoiler:Ranchoddas Shyamaldas Chanchad]]. He even points a gun at Farhan and Raju when they find that [[spoiler:he pocketed the degree that their friend studied for under his name. It doesn't help that the two manages to get his father's urn as a hostage (fortunately for the real Ranchodas, they got the wrong urn). Turns out that he isn't entirely this trope in the first place, since he truly regrets it (that forced his father to use the impostor in order to protect their family from shame and spare his son from insults he himself received), and he gives his impostor's address to Farhan and Raju as a way to thank his former employee for his efforts.]]

* TheReveal: [[spoiler: Several ones, but the biggest one is that the Rancho that Farhan and Raju know throughout their years at Imperial College of Engineering isn't really the real Rancho. He is just a servant being ordered by his employer to pose himself as his son in order to pocket his degree in which he accepted due of his strong desire to study and apply it in real life. This impersonation explains why he disappears from his best friends' lives shortly after his graduation.]]

* FreudianExcuse: {{Subverted}} with Virus. At first it seems like the reason he's so angry all the time is that his son was DrivenToSuicide after failing to pass in ICE, but then at the end it's revealed that [[spoiler: Virus was ''always'' like this and his son committed suicide because Virus crushed his dreams of becoming a writer, in an effort to evade the truth that even his life philosophy is flawed, especially when Rancho bested him at the final year in his college days. Realizing this is a major part of his later HeelFaceTurn.]]

* SkewedPriorities: [[spoiler: Farhan and Raju are both shocked to learn that Rancho/Chhote's real name is Phunsukh Wangdu and are wondering if he happens to be the same great scientist that Chatur was talking about with over 400 patents, ''while'' Pia is stumpted and panickly stating she doesn't like having her name changed to Pia '''Wangdu''' after marrying him.]]

** [[spoiler: Virus sheds these when his grandson is delivered, and when he apologizes and admits that his opinion of Rancho is wrong.]]

* NeverLearnedToRead: [[spoiler: Shamaldas Chanchand, the father of the real Ranchoddas, reveals this about himself in a flashback as a justification for using Chhote to get a degree for his son, since with all of his prestige, people laugh behind his back and he doesn't want his son to endure the same ridicule.]]
* TheNicknamer: The trio nicknames Suhas, a [[RichBitch RichBastard]], as Price Tag. Meanwhile, Farhan and Rancho calls Raju's mother as Mother Teresa. To get back at them, especially at Farhan, Raju calls Farhan's father as Hitler Qureshi.
* NinjaPirateZombieRobot: [[spoiler:Rancho ultimately becomes both a scientist ''and'' a teacher.]]

* DisposableFiancee: Suhas, because he's a materialistic {{Jerkass}}. [[spoiler: Pia apparently reconciles with him five years later, though she leaves him at the altar]].

* SecretTestOfCharacter: Suhas fails a secret test of character. [[spoiler: THRICE!]] At Mona's wedding, Rancho ruins Suhas' Italian shoes by spilling sauce on them, showing how Suhas cares a lot about money. The second time, Rancho makes Pia pretend she had lost the expensive watch Suhas had just bought her, Suhas responds by nagging Pia. [[spoiler: Thanks to this, Pia decides to break their engagement]]. On the third occasion, when [[spoiler: Pia is going to marry Suhas five years later, Raju ruins Suhas's wedding clothes with green sauce, showing Pia how he has still not changed; this time Pia decides to leave Suhas in the altar.]]
* SecretlyWealthy: Rancho, whose father's monthly income is apparently ''two and a half crore rupees''[[note]]25 million rupees, or approximately US$500,000 at the time the movie was released[[/note]]. [[spoiler: It's not actually his family's, but Rancho still ends up rich by his own means five years later.]]

* TheNicknamer: The trio nicknames Suhas, a materialistic asshole, as "price tag". Meanwhile, Farhan and Rancho calls Raju's mother as Mother Teresa. To get back at them, especially Farhan, Raju calls Farhan's father as Hitler Qureshi.

* TheNicknamer: The trio nicknames Suhas, a materialistic asshole, as "price tag". Meanwhile, Farhan and Rancho calls Raju's mother as Mother Teresa. To get back at them, especially Farhan, Raju calls Farhan's father as ''UsefulNotes/AdolfHitler Hitler'' Qureshi.

** The real [[spoiler:Ranchoddas Shyamaldas Chanchad]]. He even points a gun at Farhan and Raju when they find that [[spoiler:he pocketed the degree that their friend studied for under his name. He receives a dosage of HumblePie and truly regrets it (that forced his father to use the impostor in order to protect their family from shame and spare his son from insults he himself received), and he gives his impostor's address to Farhan and Raju as a way to atone.]]

** "Phunsuk Wangdu", the famous scientist Chatur is hoping to strike a deal with, turns out to be [[spoiler:Rancho's real name.]]

* {{Gasshole}}: Chatur, oh so much. Becomes a RunningGag.
--> '''Chatur''': I didn't do it... Raju!

* InSeriesNickname: "Silencer" for Chatur, "Virus" for Prof. Viru Sahastrabuddhe. [[spoiler: "Chhote" to Rancho/Phunsukh Wangdu]].

** Virus, very much so. Even though he [[TookALevelInKindness got better]] by the end of the movie, he still is.

* LeftTheBackgroundMusicOn: When Pia decides to [[spoiler:call off the her wedding and run off with Farhan and Raju to reunite with Rancho]], music starts playing as the trio(and Chatur) take off in their car while the guests and Pia's family looks on, only for Virus to stop the music in annoyance by covering the horn that one of the [[spoiler:wedding's]] musician was playing with.

* TheMaidenNameDebate: Pia loves Rancho, but she wants to keep her maiden name if they got married since Rancho's is weird (at least in her opinion). [[spoiler: She feels the same upon learning of his true name.]]

* NeverLearnedToRead: [[spoiler: Shamaldas Chanchand, the father of the real Ranchoddas, reveals this about himself in a flashback as a justification for using Chhote to get a degree for his son]].

* SkewedPriorities: Farhan and Raju are both shocked to learn that [[spoiler:Rancho/Chhote's real name is Phunsukh Wangdu]] and are wondering if he happens to be the same great scientist that Chatur was talking about with over 400 patents, while Pia is stating she doesn't like having [[spoiler:her name changed to Pia '''Wangdu''' after marrying him.]]

* TheReasonYouSuckSpeech: [[spoiler: Alongside CallingTheOldManOut, Pia gives her father a ''well-deserved'' one after he expels the trio and confesses that she had a hand over their expulsion by giving them the key to his office at ICE. She points out every single flaw of her father's philosophy that lead two men to die, including his own son (Pia's older brother), because he didn't care about their feelings other than their desire for validation, and their adherence to her father's philosophy, no matter how flawed it is. To top it off, she calls their deaths as ''murder'', not suicide, implying that she does see her father as her brother's killer.]]

* TheReasonYouSuckSpeech: [[spoiler: Alongside CallingTheOldManOut, Pia gives her father a ''well-deserved'' one after he expels the trio and confesses that she had a hand over their expulsion by giving them the key to his office at ICE. She points out every single flaw of her father's philosophy that lead two men to die, [[spoiler: including his own son]], because he didn't care about their feelings other than their desire for validation, and their adherence to her father's philosophy, no matter how flawed it is. To top it off, she calls their deaths as ''murder'', not suicide, implying [[spoiler: that she does see her father as her brother's killer.]]