Aal izz Well, Thanks to Oprah

"Aal izz well" -This is what was whispering on everyone's lips when 3 Idiots ended. I watched this movie twice in theaters in about 24 hours. At a theater much inconvenient to get to. In pretty much packed houses. Just read today that it broke all kinds of records, or is about to do so anyway.

Random tidbit: Did you know Idiot is supposed to stand for "I'll Do It on my Own Terms" in regards to this movie?

I love Aamir Khan...I absolutely adore him. I call him the "Tom Hanks of Bollywood" Both are fantastic actors and I love them purely on the merit of their acting. I was also anxiously waiting for this movie. I downloaded the soundtrack as soon as it came out, I avoided seeing trailers or reading facebook statuses post-release and I even made sure NO ONE discussed it at a dawat I went to where everyone but me had seen it (I didn't get to see it opening day because I was in Vegas).

But what did I think of the movie, you ask? I was not wowed by it. Usually, in the last 2-3 years, I walk out of Aamir Khan movies completely in awe. I loved Ghajini, I loved Taare Zameen Par more but my all-time favorite is Rang de Basanti. Fanaa was meh and I never saw Mangal Pandey. I did not walk out of 3 Idiots completely in awe. Although, I have been thinking about all that was discussed in the movie. I think the reason I wasn't completely bowled over is because the hard-hitting subjects that were dealt with in the movie came out cushioned by all the comedy that accompanied them. It reduced the impact of the core message...which is a very very important message. Actually, there were more like 2 messages that were addressed: (SPOILER ALERT - Do not read past this point if you haven't seen the movie - unless you don't care about knowing the story)
1. Suicide rate amongst students in India (I'm guessing it can be stretched to the subcontinent and include Pakistan, possibly even China since they put similar stresses on their students)
2. Seek knowledge, not a degree or a position/rank.

"Parhai karnay kay liye fees nahi chahiye, uniform chahiye."
That is what Aamir's character told a boy working in the boys' hostel of the college. Just buy the uniform and go sit in a class. He himself would constantly get kicked out of his classes and go sit in other classes to learn.

"Seek excellence, success will follow"
In the end of the movie, Aamir had no degree but he had gained the knowledge and strived for excellence and was more successful than anyone else in his class/batch. Technically, no one in the world could have traced a formal education back to him if they did a background check on him but he had the knowledge and the person he went to school for had the degree but no expertise (Basically, he was poor and smart and went to school in place of his master's son...which was fine because he loved learning)

The movie also stressed the amount of importance grades and class ranks are given in education and how they make students strive for the wrong thing. Parents and teachers want children to come in first place or get first division. "It's a race and my kid has to win" is the thought most parents have. It's true. My parents are the same. Thankfully, they've let me be since I started university but I haven't disappointed. But personally, I used to place A LOT of emphasis on my grades just because of the way I was raised. The only thing I would constantly whine about(and still do from time to time) is school and grades. It's just how I am.

I've changed my thinking a lot though..but the movie had nothing to do with it. I was inspired by an Oprah episode on, wait for it, CHEATING that I saw in my 1st year of Pharmacy, I think, or maybe beginning of 2nd year. Anyways, it was about men cheating on their wives. Basically, it resulted in me not caring about my grades anymore. I'm in a professional program, I just need to pass. Grades make no difference, I'll get the same job as other people iA. Most of what I learn, I learn it through work anyways, not school. I just use what I learn in school to strengthen my skills and knowledge at work.
Desis put so much emphasis on education and how a good education leads to a good, educated spouse so you can have nice, educated children and then you can also have lots of money because of your education. But all of this goes down the drain as soon as your spouse cheats on you. The man(since the episode was about cheating men) you've been married to, have children with, shared a life and a bed with for X number of years (and usually X was a number over at least 5 or 10) suddenly is not the person you thought he was. He's a lying, cheating low-life who has no respect for you or the life you share together and decides to periodically get-it-on with someone because he's bored or whatever. (Interesting fact: Over 80%(I'm pretty sure) of men say the women they are cheating with is less attractive than their wife) What will you have to fall back on now? I mean, yes, as a woman, a good education leading to a secure job is essential these days, not only because most households need to be two-income households to fulfill increasing demands accompanied by rising prices but also because, women need to be able to sustain themselves and their children if their marriage goes down the crapper. This made me realize that enjoy the time you have pre-marriage. Who knows who you'll end up with and what direction that relationship will take? At least, while you're living at home with your parents, you can lead a less-stressed out life by focusing less on your grades and school and more on the fun, fleeting moments of life, especially those spent with friends and family. University will only happen once. Enjoy your time. It will never come back. This is the way I started thinking once I saw that episode (I agree, my mind is weird and connects odd things together but it all makes sense up here, people, it all makes sense!)

Maybe that's why the movie didn't have the same impact on me that it did on my brother, for example. He was completely in love with it; he even took his non-desi friend to see it again a few days after (his friend loved it too).My brother is at a point in his life where he has just started caring about his grades (he breezed through high school, I didn't, so serves him right to stress now), education and future. I'm past that stage. I'm in a professional program. I have the liberty to not stress anymore. And I don't like to stress anymore.

Maybe that's why I wasn't in awe walking out of 3 Idiots because everything Aamir Khan was trying to convey, I already self-learnt (and apply) through an Oprah episode!