History Film / ThreeIdiots

%%* [[BadassBiker Scooter Babe]]: Pia. Rancho has many fantasies where she rides up to him on a scooter and almost kisses him. [[spoiler:This happens at the very end.]]

* SecondPlaceIsForLosers: An idea of Virus's "life is a race" philosophy that he teaches to his students. One speech he gives to the students is asking who was the first man to go on the moon, to which the students easily answer Neil Armstrong. He then asks who was the second man which nobody knows and Virus says that he is not important and that "nobody remembers who is second."

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

* ExpospeakGag: {{Invoked|Trope}} as an indirect form of IronicEcho. During [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-MlkASchodc the "What is a machine?" scene]], Chantur recites the textbook definition of a machine in response to Virus telling Rancho to define a machine (which he does, but in layman's terms), and Rancho is told to GetOut for questioning Virus' teaching methods. Cue this interaction:
-->'''Virus:''' So we were discussing the machine…\\

'''Virus:''' Why're you back?\\

'''Virus:''' What?\\

'''Virus:''' What do you mean?\\

'''Virus:''' Couldn't you ask simply?\\

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

* EngineeredPublicConfession: Inverted with Chatur's Teacher's Day Speech.

* AnchoredShip: Rancho and Pia during the college days. [[spoiler: Although Rancho has feelings for Pia, his use of a fake identity prevents him from returning Pia's affections. Fortunately, they are reunited at the end.]]
* AngerBornOfWorry: [[spoiler: Pia, Farhan, and Raju understandably go all violent after reuniting with Rancho. [[SlapSlapKiss Pia slaps him before kissing him after Rancho reaffirming his feelings for her]]. Meanwhile, Farhan and Raju get physically confrontational at their long-lost friend to release their pent-up frustrations until those feelings are finally replaced with happiness and share a [[GroupHug big hug together.]]]]

** "All is well". This serves as somehow a SurvivalMantra for the trio, especially if they're facing pressuring situations. In the climax of the movie, saying them even helps [[spoiler: awaken an apparently stillborn baby!]]

* 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. 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).[[spoiler: In the future, she has few regrets leaving him and their almost-wedding to find Rancho.]]
* ArtifactAlias: [[spoiler: Even after it's known that Rancho's true name isn't Rancho at all, Farhan and Raju still call their old friend by his false name. Their fellow "idiot" still responds accordingly.]]

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

* BecauseYouWereNiceToMe: Millimeter seems to be close to the trio [[spoiler: enough to accompany them during the trio's expulsion after Rancho and Farhan were caught by Virus for stealing the exam paper in behalf of Raju. And he seems to know Rancho's true identity in the present scenes since he works for him as his assistant.]]

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

** After Rancho embarrasses him on Teacher's Day by editing the speech and made it offensive with Chatur mindlessly memorizing it, Chatur makes a bet with him on who will be more successful in the future in order to recover his wounded ego. It's not taken seriously by Rancho at the time, but it instigates the search for him in the present day. [[spoiler: Rancho wins, by virtue of being the famous scientist Chatur's company is seeking a contract with, much to Chatur's horror.]]

--> '''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 submission. [[spoiler: In a heartwarming spin, 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 spin, 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 and that said guy is about to call off the deal, [[AintTooProudToBeg he performs the ritual to appease him.]]]]
** Rancho fends off a senior threatening to pee on his (and Farhan and Raju's) dorm room by conducting electricity through the senior's urine. [[spoiler: A decade later, Rancho's students pull the same prank on Chatur.]]
** Virus sarcastically makes a deal that if Farhan or Raju manages to get a job before the final exam, he'll shave his beard. [[spoiler: Much to his dismay, he does, because Raju landed a job during his interview. Despite his initial opposition, he actually decides to stay shaved all the way to the future, no less.]]
** Rancho's dream in which he and Pia ends in an AlmostKiss and then he wakes up. [[spoiler: Ten years later, the dream scene plays out almost exactly... but ends with a slap from Pia. After confirming that Rancho still loves Pia, the trope finally plays is straight via TheBigDamnKiss. Pia even notes how noses don't collide when kissing, dismissing Rancho's claims of why he couldn't kiss her.]]
* BunnyEarsLawyer: Rancho, infuriatingly so. This reaches the point where Virus tries on multiple occasions to kick him out, but can't since Rancho is his top student. [[spoiler: And ultimately revokes his decision when he finally does.]]

* 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. Which is quite justified, considering TheReveal.]]
* ChekhovsBoomerang: Virus' son, who failed to enter the Imperial College four times, is mentioned during the opening ceremony as a quick joke to establish Virus' SadistTeacher persona. Then he's mentioned midway during [[spoiler: Virus' KickTheDog moment against Joy that leads to the latter's suicide]]. Finally, in the climax, [[spoiler: Pia brings up her brother's death‒actually suicide by pressure‒as part of her TheReasonYouSuckSpeech against her father, leading her to storm out of the house and making her unable to help Mona give birth. Had the trio already went out to the ICE sooner before they saw Mona having her labor inside the car, Virus actions against Raju to have him expelled out of petty revenge due of losing the bet with Rancho might be one hell of a LaserGuidedKarma.]]

** 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 being helpful after the power outage, the inverter is used alongside the car batteries to power the common room and the improvised ventouse, for Mona's birth.]]
** Also, whenever Rancho said the ArcWords 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 shallow and gaudy personality to Pia. [[spoiler: 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.]]
** The Fischer Space Pen, which Virus promised to give to a deserving student and which prompted Rancho to ask why a pencil wasn't used instead, which Virus can't answer. [[spoiler: Months before the graduation, Virus finally answers the question (broken pencil lead can cause all sorts of problems in a zero-gravity environment) as he gives the pen to Rancho, acknowledging him as a worthy student.]]

** 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. 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.]]

* CoolTeacher: [[spoiler: Rancho ultimately becomes one. He teaches kids whenever he takes rest from his research.]]
* CreateYourOwnVillain: If Rancho didn't humiliate Chatur, he would have just left him alone. However, if he didn't do that, the plot of finding Rancho will not happen because Chatur managed to find him to settle their rivalry [[spoiler: and along their way, finding clues about Rancho's true identity]]. Farhan and Raju didn't manage to find Rancho for many years so they tag along with Chatur.
* 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 attempted suicide.]]

* DeliveryGuy: Rancho,[[spoiler: when he not only delivers Mona's baby, but builds a vacuum extractor out of a vaccume cleaner and spare parts, to help the birth. All the men in the dorm help build it and get the electricity going. So arguably, they all have the role of delivery guy.]]
* DisneyDeath: [[spoiler: Happens to Mona's newborn son.]]
* 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.]]

** Joy, a senior of the trio during their freshmen years. [[spoiler: Later, Raju did it as well due of unwilling to choose between betraying his friends or letting his family down. Fortunately he was saved.]]
** In the backstory, [[spoiler: Virus's eldest son.]]
* DrivingQuestion: What becomes of Rancho and where is he now? [[spoiler: Before this question is to be answered, here is another important question: why did Rancho disappear shortly after graduation without any communication with his closest friends for a decade?]]
* EarnYourHappyEnding: Rancho's key philosophy throughout the film is that people should pursue their passions to excellence, to chase happiness and success will follow, without others dictating them. [[spoiler: Indeed, Farhan 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 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/Phunsukh, has to abandon all his closest 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 LoveInterest who are clearly accepting after learning everything about him.]]

* 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 the trio for trying to get the answers to his rigged exam, the viewers will know that they will 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 ''All Is 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.]]
** [[spoiler: Another moment is when the trio is eating at Raju's house. His mother is constantly complaining about prices because of the family's low income. When Raju has enough and tells her to quiet down, she voices her frustration about working and now having to "take the vow of silence," Raju storms out in frustration and his mother breaks into tears. Farhan narrates that he and Rancho were in a dilemma, do they console their friend or his family? They decide not to do anything about it. This foreshadows the SadisticChoice Virus sets upon Raju, sell out his friend Rancho on that night or accept his punishment and break his family's heart and hopes. Raju cannot chose and thus throws himself out of a window to escape his dilemma.]]

* FramingDevice: The film's events are interspersed between two timelines: the trio's time at college narrated by Farhan; and in the present times of which Farhan, Raju, Chatur [[spoiler: and later Pia]] travel across northern India to find and locate Rancho.
* 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 HeelRealization.]]

** 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.

---> "Sir, I was born in Uganda. Studied in Pondicherry.. so, little slow in Hindi."
** Also "FARHAN-itrate" and "Pre-RAJU-lisation"

-->'''Pia''': No, Farhan, it's not like that. Suhas is a changed man. He doesn't talk about brands or prices anymore.
-->(cut to Suhas screaming)
-->'''Suhas''': [[ItMakesSenseInContext MY 1.5 LAKH SHERWANI!]] (''My $3000 suit!'')

* GroinAttack: Rancho delivers an [[IncrediblyLamePun electrifying]] one to a senior in college. [[spoiler: A decade later, Rancho's students do the same to Chatur.]]

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

* IHaveManyNames: [[spoiler: The imposter known as Ranchoddas Shyamaldas Chanchad is known as Chhote by the employers of the Chanchad family, but most especially his real name, the famous scientist Phunsukh Wangdu.]]

* ImprobableInfantSurvival: [[spoiler: Pia's nephew was thought dead, but Rancho's CatchPhrase revives him!]]
* InSeriesNickname: "Silencer" for Chatur, "Virus" for Prof. Viru Sahastrabuddhe. [[spoiler: "Chhote" to fake Rancho/Phunsukh Wangdu]].
* 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. Farhan and Raju waste no time throwing all Chatur's insults against them back on his face.]]

** Virus, very much so. [[TookALevelInKindness Fortunately, he got better as shown in the ending of the chronological timeline in which he bonds with his students and acknowledging Rancho as a worthy student.]] In the narrative timeline, [[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 quite benevolent that he didn't blow up 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, if not a bit done dealing with the madness that the eponymous trio casted upon him.]]

** [[spoiler: The real Ranchoddas Shyamaldas Chanchad. He even points a gun at Farhan and Raju when they find that he pocketed the degree that their friend studied for under his name. 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). Knowing that Farhan and Raju are the friends that his servant's been speaking of fondly, he gives his impostor's address to Farhan and Raju as a way to thank his former employee for his efforts.]]

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

** Rancho when he makes up with Raju after taking his father to a hospital. He also sheds these when he learns of [[spoiler: Farhan dropping 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 including the eponymous trio 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 finally acknowledges Rancho as a worthy student.]]
* MathematiciansAnswer: When Virus asks Raju where he was on the night that [[spoiler: the trio broke into his house and pissed on his doorway]], Rancho covers and tells him that Raju was studying about induction motors all night. When Virus asks Raju to demonstrate how an induction motor starts, Raju responds by letting out a sound of a motor running: "BRR-BRR-BRHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! BRHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

* MindScrew: Just WHO is Ranchoddas Shamaldas Chanchhad anyway? [[spoiler: A rich scion who conferred his name to his servant, so that he could pocket a degree without exerting anything.]]

** There's also the scene where the trio visit the Sahastrabuddhe's residence so [[spoiler: Rancho can confess his love for Pia. The drunk Farhan and Raju pee on the front door and laugh it off as they escape with Rancho towards the school, where they oversleep. Then it's followed by Virus expelling Raju, causing the latter's (failed) suicide attempt.]]

* NeverLearnedToRead: [[spoiler: Shamaldas Chanchad, the father of the real Ranchoddas, reveals this about himself in a flashback as a justification for using his servant 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.]]

* NinjaPirateZombieRobot: [[spoiler: Rancho ultimately becomes both a scientist ''and'' a teacher.]]

* OhCrap: Chatur, in the end, has this reaction [[spoiler: when he realizes that Phunsukh 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.]]

* 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.

* 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 [[YouKilledMyFather she does see her father as her brother's killer]], leaving Virus deeply shaken as Pia storms out.]]
* 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 named Phunsukh Wangdu/Chhote who was being ordered by his employer to pose himself as his son (the real Rancho) in order to pocket the degree in his name, in which he accepted due of his strong desire to study. This act of impersonation explains why he disappears from his best friends' lives shortly after his graduation. His fate in the present timeline is being a school teacher in Ladakh, alongside being a famous scientist and a business magnate.]]
* RightBehindYou : Precisely how the ComicTrio find Pia's father is none other than [[spoiler: ''Virus.'' ]]

* RunawayBride: [[spoiler: Farhan and Raju steal Pia away from her wedding to Suhas. Pia is initially reluctant, until Farhan's point of how Suhas isn't changed at all and Raju's ArmorPiercingQuestion finally lead her to run away on her own voliton.]]
* SadistTeacher: Viru "Virus" Sahastrabuddhe. The pressure he placed on his students was so reprehensible, it pushed three men commit suicide, [[spoiler: one of them being his own son and later Raju.]]
* SavedByCanon: [[spoiler: Viewers will know that Raju will survive his suicide and recovers physically and psychologically since he's alive and well in the present day scenes.]]
* [[BadassBiker Scooter Babe]]: Pia. Rancho has many fantasies where she rides up to him on a scooter and almost kisses him. [[spoiler: This happens at the very end.]]
* ScreamingBirth: [[spoiler: The trio and the volunteer engineering students help deliver Mona Sahastrabuddhe, Virus' eldest daughter, in the university storeroom, using [[NoodleImplements an inverter, a vacuum cleaner and a car battery]] to provide power and construct a vacuum pump after she's too tired to push anymore.]]

** Chatur is also incredibly upset to score second highest on the exam, under [[spoiler: Rancho.]]
* 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 ten years later.]]

* SkewedPriorities: [[spoiler: Farhan and Raju are both shocked to learn that Rancho/Chhote's real name is Phunsukh Wangdu and asking confirmation whether he happens to be the same great scientist that Chatur was talking about with over 400 patents, ''while'' Pia is in panic stating she doesn't like having her name changed to Pia '''Wangdu''' after marrying him.]]
* SlapSlapKiss: [[spoiler: Pia angrily smacks Rancho near the end of the movie after thinking she was played and was worried that something bad happened to him. Followed by TheBigDamnKiss and ReunionKiss after Rancho says otherwise.]]

** [[spoiler: The real 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.]]

--> '''Millimeter:''' Don't worry, [[{{Pun}} none of them bite.]]

* TrueCompanions: The eponymous trio. So much that Farhan and Raju travel from Delhi to Shimla (a whole state away) only to realize that [[spoiler: a RedHerring led them there and Rancho is really in Ladakh (which is a cold and barren desert, another couple of states away). They don't stop until they find him. And they quickly turn the car around and drive to Manali, 255km away and a six-hour drive in the other direction after hearing that Pia is getting married on that day to stop the wedding and steal the bride before going to Ladakh.]]

** In the college flashbacks, Farhan and Rancho risk expulsion to steal the exam papers from Virus's office for Raju. And before that, their crushing grief and later dedication to help Raju recover after his [[spoiler: suicide.]]
** During their confrontation against [[spoiler: the real Ranchodas, Farhan and Raju are clearly scared out of their wits of being on gunpoint, but their desire to uncover the truth in regards of their BestFriend outweighs that fear enough to steal the urn that contains the ashes of Ranchodas' father as a hostage. They are also shown to be accepting to the revelation that their best friend's an imposter.]]
* TwoAliasesOneCharacter: [[spoiler: The imposter known as "Ranchodas Chanchad" (the servant of the Chanchad family and Farhan and Raju's long-lost best friend) and Phunsukh Wangdu (the person that Chatur wants to sign an important deal for his business) are the same person. Phunsukh Wangdu is actually his true name.]]

* WalkingSpoiler: [[spoiler: Two walking spoilers in fact. It is impossible to further discuss Rancho, the long-lost college friend of Farhan and Raju, without spoiling the fact that he is an imposter of the original Ranchodas Chanchad. Furthermore, the one who claims himself as Ranchodas Chanchad at Shimla is ''actually'' the real deal. This impersonation pretty much explains why the imposter cuts off his contacts with his two closest friends and Pia.]]
* WardrobeWound: Rancho inflicts this on Pia's fiance, Suhas, to show her how vain he is. Later uses it a second time by pretending Pia lost the watch he bought her. [[spoiler: In the future, Raju continues the tradition by ruining his wedding robe. Knowing that Farhan does fail on convincing Pia to elope due of being kept in the dark in regards to Rancho and his sudden disappearance left her wondering whether their relationship is a dalliance to him, Raju uses the stained wedding robes and poses himself as the groom to convince Pia himself.]]

** Mr. Qureshi, who is the sole reason why Farhan even bothers to enter the Imperial College. Heck, ''since birth'' he has made his goal to see his son become an engineer. [[spoiler: Eventually, he relents and allows him to quit the school.]]
** [[spoiler: Virus was and is also revealed to be one. Him pressuring his son to become an engineer instead of a writer directly caused the latter's suicide. Later, when Mona becomes pregnant with a boy, he consults an astrologist and determines that he will become an engineer. Again, he eventually softens up and decides that his grandson would become anything the latter wants.]]

** The trio discovering that [[spoiler: their senior Joy committed suicide.]]
** Farhan, Raju and Chatur discovering that [[spoiler: Rancho wasn't in the class picture, and that the "fake" Rancho has been shopped in]].
** [[spoiler: Raju's suicide.]]

* [[BikerBabe Scooter Babe]]: Pia. Rancho has many fantasies where she rides up to him on a scooter and almost kisses him. [[spoiler: This happens at the very end.]]

The film revolves around three students studying in the Imperial College of Engineering, Delhi. Out of them, Raju Rastogi (portrayed by Sharman Joshi) [[PerpetualPoverty comes from a poor family]] and is desperate to pass and get a good job. The second, Farhan Qureshi (R. Madhavan), comes from a middle-class family, but has joined engineering [[WellDoneSonGuy to please his father]], while he really wants to become a wildlife photographer. However, their third roommate, Ranchoddas Shamaldas Chanchhad (Aamir Khan) is a [[BunnyEarsLawyer stunningly intelligent, radical-thinking young man]], who challenges the inhumane educational system and stifling society with every step he takes, infuriating the director of the school, [[SadistTeacher Viru Sahastrabuddhe]] (Boman Irani), and the director's daughter, [[HospitalHottie Pia]] (Creator/KareenaKapoor).

However, Farhan and Raju lose contact with Rancho after graduation. Ten years later since the graduation, Farhan gets a call from an old colleague of theirs, [[SmallNameBigEgo Chatur Ramalingam]] (Omi Vaidya), who says he has found Rancho. Abandoning everything, Farhan and Raju accompany Chatur and set out on a road trip to find him. But all is not as it seems...

The film has been a social commentary to the cutthroat educational system and societal pressure underneath its humor but despite that, it shows how life is also worth living for. Not to mention, this film entails is contained in many major twists and surprises, so if you have any interest in seeing this film and have not yet done so, '''[[Administrivia/YouHaveBeenWarned it is strongly advised that you do not read any further.]]'''

* ArtifactAlias: [[spoiler: Even after it's known that Rancho's true name isn't Rancho at all, Farhan and Raju still call their best friend in his false name. Their fellow idiot still responds accordingly helps too.]]

* 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.]]

* DeliberatelyMonochrome: Scenes set in Raju's house in the chronological timeline, which "came out straight from a '50 film", are black-and-white. It is to emphasize how poor the Rastogis are.

* SecondPlaceIsForLosers: A very strong mindset of Virus that he teaches to his students. One speech he gives to the students is asking who was the first man to go on the moon, to which the students easily answer Neil Armstrong. He then asks who was the second man which nobody knows and Virus says that he is not important and that "no one remembers who is second."

* 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. This symbolizes how both Virus and Rancho are NotSoDifferent in so many ways in regards of upholding their philosophies, that the former can't be wrong all the time ''just'' as the latter can't be right all the time.]]

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

* IAteWhat: When Farhan and Rancho eat the roti made by Raju's mother, Raju's paralyzed father suddenly starts making sounds asking to be scratched. Raju's mother uses ''the same rolling pin she was making roti with'' to scratch her husband's chest, and the audience is treated to [[{{Squick}} a shot of chest hair still on the rolling pin]] as Raju's mother starts flattening another roti. Farhan and Rancho are gagging at the sight and when their friend's mother asks if they want more roti they are quick to turn it down.

* TheAntagonist: Downplayed with Chatur. While he dislikes the trio due of their opposing philosophies, he ''didn't do'' anything to impede their progress, and to be fair the trio did fire the first sho that invokes Chatur's hatred towards them in the first place (e.g. the Teachers' Day incident). Played straight with Virus, who ''does'' everything to bring the trio down at opportunity.

* TheAntagonist: Chatur. He isn't evil by any means, just a petty and smug {{Jerkass}} whose motives and actions oppose the leads'.

* BigBad: Viru Sahastrabuddhe (Virus). [[HeelRealization He gets]] [[TookALevelInKindness better though.]]
* BigBadWannaBe: Chatur. [[OhCrap He also gets better as well in funniest way possible.]]

* BoundAndGagged: [[spoiler: Knowing that Chatur's getting in the way for going back to Manali to steal Pia from her wedding before going to Ladakh to find Rancho, Farhan and Raju did this to Chatur and put him into the backseat. They finally unbound him when they finally arrived at Ladakh.]]

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

* BlitheSpirit: Rancho is this to a T at ICE.

* BunnyEarsLawyer: Rancho, infuriatingly so. This reaches the point where Virus tries on multiple occasions to kick him out, but can't since Rancho is his top student. [[spoiler: And ultimately revokes his decision when he finally does]].

* 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 from the hospital 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.]]

* ChildProdigy: [[spoiler: Just like the [[BunnyEarsLawyer Rancho]] everyone knows before TheReveal, as a kid he could solve 10th grade math while in ''6th grade''. And this without getting a formal education.]]

* NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast: Viru "Virus" Sahastrabuddhe. Like a computer virus, he's a thorn to every students' way, but especially to the trio.

* 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 Kilometer.]]]]
* OverlyLongName: Ranchoddas Shyamaldas Chanchad.

* RunawayBride: [[spoiler: Farhan and Raju steal Pia away from her wedding to Suhas. ]]

* SavedByCanon: [[spoiler: Viewers will know that Raju will survive his suicide since he's alive and well in the present day scenes.]]

* SecretTestOfCharacter: Suhas fails a secret test of character [[spoiler: not once but thrice.]] At Mona's wedding, Rancho ruins Suhas' Italian shoes by spilling sauce on them, showing how Suhas cares a lot about money and will surely treat Pia nothing but a window dresser. The second time, Rancho makes Pia pretend she had lost the expensive watch Suhas had just bought her, Suhas responds by nagging Pia. Thanks to this, Pia decides to break their engagement. On the third occasion, when [[spoiler: Pia is going to marry Suhas ten years later after the graduation, Raju ruins Suhas's wedding clothes with green sauce, showing Pia how he has still not changed as Farhan asserts; this time Pia decides to leave Suhas in the altar.]]

''3 Idiots'' is a 2009 UsefulNotes/{{Bollywood}} [[ComingOfAgeStory coming-of-age]] {{Dramedy}} film starring Creator/AamirKhan, Sharman Joshi and R. Madhavan. It is based on the book 'Five Point Someone' by Chetan Bhagat.

* UnknownRival: Chatur has always been hell bent in defeating Rancho, but always fail. Rancho doesn't seems to care about Chatur either, he's attending ICE to learn, not to compete.

* UnknownRival: Chatur has always been hell bent in defeating Rancho, but always fail. Rancho doesn't seems to care about Chatur either.

* SlapSlapKiss: [[spoiler: Pia angrily smacks Rancho near the end of the movie after thinking she was played. Followed by TheBigDamnKiss after Rancho says otherwise.]]

* SmallRoleBigImpact: Joy Lobo, the senior engineering student during the trio's early years at ICE and heavily implied to be admired by Rancho due of their shared passion towards machines enough to feel depressed during his senior's funeral. Virus' unfair treatment of him that lead to the said student suicide prompts the mostly one-sided enmity between Rancho and Virus in regards of their clashing philosophies in regards to ICE's school system and education as a whole, which Rancho deems to be inhumane and nonconductive for teaching. While Rancho shoots the message and not the messenger himself, [[ItsPersonal it's becomes a personal vendetta for Virus and does everything in his power to bring the trio down, by all means necessary.]]