3 Idiots

Chatur Ramalingam, a successful vice-president, reminds his old college rivals Farhan Qureshi and Raju Rastogi of a bet he made ten years earlier with their classmate, friend, and Chatur's nemesis, Ranchoddas "Rancho" Shamaldas Chanchad. Chatur has returned to India to close a deal with famous inventor Phunsukh Wangdu. The trio head to Shimla to find Rancho, recalling their days at the Indian College of Engineering (ICE) in Delhi. At ICE, Rancho (from Shimla) was an unconventional student passionate about learning. He often clashed with the strict director, Dr. Viru "Virus" Sahastrabuddhe, who valued rote discipline over curiosity. When a classmate, Joy Lobo, is denied graduation for missing a project deadline (which Joy had missed due to his father suffering a stroke) and takes his own life, Rancho blames Virus's pressure-filled system. Virus dismisses him and later threatens to expel Farhan and Raju for associating with Rancho. That night, the trio visit Farhan and Raju's homes and witness the hardships driving each friend's choices. After leaving Raju's house, they accidentally crash Virus's daughter Mona's wedding reception, where they meet Mona's sister Pia. Virus warns Farhan and Raju to stay away from Rancho, so Raju moves in with Chatur, a competitive student who memorises textbooks without understanding. When Chatur prepares a Hindi speech for Virus and the Education Minister, Rancho and Farhan secretly replace words with obscene phrases, humiliating Chatur and sparking a ten-year challenge to see who will succeed in life. Before the semester exams, Raju's father suffers a stroke. Rancho and Pia rush him to the hospital, saving his life. In the subsequent semester exams, Farhan and Raju are at the bottom of the class while Rancho shockingly tops the class. This continues for the next four years. During a speech, Virus mockingly bets that Farhan and Raju will never get jobs. That night Rancho helps his friends face their fears—encouraging Farhan to pursue photography and Raju to gain confidence. They promise to act on their dreams if Rancho confesses his love to Pia. Drunk and mischievous, they sneak into Virus's home. Rancho professes his feelings to Pia while Raju urinates on Virus's letterbox. When Raju is caught, Virus demands he betray Rancho or be expelled. Unable to choose, Raju attempts suicide and is hospitalised but survives. Moved, Virus reinstates him. Later, Raju earns a job offer, and Farhan persuades his father to let him become a photographer. Determined to humiliate Rancho's friends, Virus sets an impossibly hard exam so Raju will fail and lose his job. With Pia's help, Rancho and Farhan steal the paper, but Raju refuses to cheat. They are caught and expelled. Subsequently, Pia confronts her father, revealing that her brother's death was actually a suicide, rather than from a train accident, which was caused by Virus's academic pressure, by showing a suicide note written by him. That night, a storm cuts off power as Mona goes into labour. Rancho organises an emergency delivery using college equipment while Pia guides him over video. The baby survives, and a grateful Virus revokes their expulsion and gifts Rancho his prized Space Pen—signifying respect. Soon after graduation, Rancho disappears. In the present, Farhan, Raju, and Chatur arrive in Shimla and find Rancho's house. They meet the real Ranchoddas, a wealthy man's son, who tells them that the "Rancho" they knew was actually Chhote, the gardener's gifted child who studied under Ranchoddas's name to earn a degree for him. He gives them Chhote's address in Ladakh. On the way, they crash Pia's wedding in Manali and convince her to leave her fiancé Suhas Tandon and reunite with Rancho. In Ladakh, they find Chhote teaching at a school he built for poor children, focusing on creativity instead of competition. He reunites with Farhan and Raju and agrees to marry Pia. When Chatur arrives for a business deal, he mocks Chhote for being just a teacher and snatches the Space Pen from him, until he learns that Chhote is actually Phunsukh Wangdu, the inventor he came to meet. A flabbergasted Chatur accepts defeat as the friends run away from him laughing. == Cast ==

Development After the success of Lage Raho Munna Bhai (2006), the director Rajkumar Hirani and screenwriter Abhijat Joshi had plans for third instalment on the Munna Bhai franchise, titled Munnabhai Chale Amerika. But Hirani felt exhausted working on consecutive films on the same format, and decided to work on fresh script outside the franchise. While writing the first draft of the film, he thought of a new project rather than the new instalment from the film series, but he had concentrated more on the project and then worked on the former first. While thinking about how the project coming under fruition, he got the popular novel Five Point Someone by the author Chetan Bhagat. The latter gave this novel for Hirani to read, in order to have an idea about the script. Impressed by the novel, he decided to adapt the screenplay by making changes to the original novel and work on it as a feature film. 3 Idiots is considered to be the first of the two adaptations from the novel Five Point Someone — the second being Kai Po Che! (2013), which also drew inspiration from the novel The 3 Mistakes of My Life written by Bhagat. In the third collaboration with Hirani after the Munna Bhai film series: Munna Bhai M.B.B.S. (2003) and Lage Raho Munna Bhai (2006), Vidhu Vinod Chopra produced the project under the production company Vinod Chopra Films (which earlier named Vinod Chopra Productions). Besides producing, Chopra further associated with Hirani and Joshi, by co-writing the screenplay. In his biography Unscripted: Conversations on Life and Cinema, he discussed about the experiences as a co-writer being associated in the project. An official announcement regarding the film was made during early-2008, after working in the script for more than one-and-a-half year. During the pre-production, Hirani went to multiple engineering colleges, including those under the Indian Institutes of Technology in Mumbai and Delhi, to authenticate the lives of engineering students. He met many students and took pictures along with them. He needed the references for the clothes used, their looks and things they brought as many IIT-students were older than the fictional characters. Hirani had carefully looked upon the notion in the lives of engineering students, as there are few things apart from drugs, sex and violence. However, Hirani had said that the film plays a satirical take on social pressures under an Indian education system. Rohan Mapuskar, one of the casting directors, revealed that Khanvilkar was originally finalised for the role of Pia, and even her payment was discussed. Meanwhile, Joshi was selected for Raju's role before the casting decisions were changed. Hirani tried to rope Khan after the latter exited from the titular role Munna Bhai in the director's debut venture Munna Bhai M.B.B.S. (2003), which was later essayed by Sanjay Dutt. However, Khan refused being a part of the film due to his prior commitments. Ranbir Kapoor, then a relative newcomer, also declined the lead role, but agreed to a short cameo as Varun Sahastrabuddhe. Hrithik Roshan also turned down the character. Aamir Khan was later finalised to play the lead role. R. Madhavan and Sharman Joshi were also finalised for the other two leads Farhan and Raju. Originally, the roles initially went to John Abraham and Saif Ali Khan, but the actors rejected the film due to date issues. Arshad Warsi, who also collaborated with Hirani in the two Munnai Bhai films, auditioned but could not take up the role. On being questioned about casting older actors to play the titular college students, Hirani said in an interview to Rediff that "the actors chosen have that quality which he wanted for the film apart from the body language, mannerisms and innocence portrayed on-screen". The character name was considered to be unique due to the look, lisp and mannerisms portrayed, and also got the nickname "Virus", as students give names to their professors and principals in their school and college life. For the preparation of his role, Boman wore costumes made of cheap fabric, designed by an old tailor who stitches clothes for Parsis in Dadar (North-Central Mumbai). This was revealed by Boman after Khan's death in April 2020. After talks with Kajol fell through, Kareena Kapoor played the role of Pia Sahastrabuddhe, Rancho's (Aamir) love interest and a medical student. In April 2021, an old video of Anushka's audition for the film went viral on the internet. Anushka, then a newcomer, shared monologues recited by Gracy Singh from Munna Bhai M.B.B.S. for the audition process, supposing to be her debut in films, but was ultimately rejected by the producers. She later made her debut in the Yash Raj Films' production Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi (2008), being cast opposite Shah Rukh Khan. Omi Vaidya, an American actor, was cast for the role Chathur Ramalingam (Silencer)". Ali Fazal, then, a rookie actor, played a small role as Joy Lobo in the film. While speaking about his role, Fazal stated that "he went into depression as the character arc seemed to mirror a tragic real-life incident". Javed Jaffrey played a cameo appearance as the real Ranchoddas Chanchad. Filming The rehearsals for the film began prior to the shoot, followed by script reading and look tests. After extensive pre-production works, principal photography for the film began on 28 July 2008, with scenes featuring the supporting cast being shot first. On 29 August 2008, shooting for the key schedule began with the principal cast members. The team took a break following Aamir Khan's activities in the promotions and post-production works of Ghajini (2008). served as Imperial College of Engineering, for this film. In December 2008, the entire cast and crew, including Khan, Madhavan, Joshi and Hirani, headed to Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore campus which served as Imperial College of Engineering. To prepare for the roles, the crew members stayed at the institution's dormitory blocks and at the college hostel. Though Khan saw the pictures of the location, he decided to see the location for real and wanted to stay at the hostel, in order to get through the role. Khan regularly met the students during the morning and evenings and shared the experiences of studies and way of life. Apart from that, the team eventually mingled with the students while Khan also involved in many indoor and outdoor games. While shooting for the film, the team made extra precautions with none of the shooting process might affect the routine class sessions. After shooting being completed the makers will film a documentary on the institution. The pregnancy scene was initially supposed to be placed in Hirani's debut film Munna Bhai M.B.B.S. (2003), but as he felt that the placement was irrelevant in the film, the team decided against doing so, and then was used in this film. The hospital scenes were shot at Fortis Hospital (Noida). Mohammad Idris, a barber from Hasanpur Kalan in Meerut district in Uttar Pradesh, who invented a bicycle-powered horse clipper; == Music ==

The film's soundtrack is composed by Shantanu Moitra with lyrics penned by Swanand Kirkire. It marked Moitra's second consecutive collaboration with Rajkumar Hirani after Lage Raho Munna Bhai (2006), whose music album was successful. Besides composing the songs, Moitra also composed the film score with Sanjay Wandrekar and Atul Raninga. The album was created with the inspiration of Moitra's college days, with the songs been written in consideration on the mindset of youngsters in India. Sonu Nigam rendered five out of seven tracks from the album. Other singers performing vocals to the songs are Shaan, Shreya Ghoshal, Suraj Jagan, the lyricist Kirkire and composer Moitra themselves, recording for the soundtrack. One of the tracks "Give Me Some Sunshine" was sung by one of the lead actors, Sharman Joshi, in his maiden attempt in playback singing. The music album was released online (instead of a launch event), by the film's official website on 27 November 2009, with a video chat featuring the cast and crew members. T-Series purchased the music rights of the film at an amount of . The album received positive reviews from critics, with praise directed towards Moitra's composition and the quality of the album. In addition, the soundtrack became the highest-selling Bollywood soundtrack of 2009, according to the trade website Box Office India, despite the decline in sales of conventional music CDs. Due to the internet boom, it became the "most downloaded Bollywood music album of the year". "Aal Izz Well" was listed as one of the "Top 10 Bollywood Songs of 2009" and became a sensation among the youngsters. The soundtrack further fetched a number of accolades is considered as one of Moitra's best albums, along with Parineeta (2005) and Lage Raho Munna Bhai (2006). == Release ==

Statistics 3 Idiots released on 25 December 2009 over 1550 prints and 1760 screens in India, which was considered to be a "wide domestic release for a Bollywood film" at that time, according to trade analysts. Major multiplexes allotted more than 95% of screens for the film, prior to the release. It also had a wide-overseas release with about 344 prints in 415 screens. However, Bollywood Hungama and The Times of India reported that the film had got about 342–366 screens. The film's wide-release in about 32 countries was noted by trade analysts, who wondered whether it would slow down the business of James Cameron's Avatar (2009), which was breaking box-office records. Following its domestic success, 3 Idiots was screened in East Asian markets. It was released in Taiwan on 17 December 2010, followed by Hong Kong on 1 September 2011 and mainland China on 15 December 2011. and Huang Bo voicing Rancho. In January 2013, the film was distributed by Apex Entertainment and CJ Entertainment to release the film in the Korean markets and was released on 25 January 2013. Following its success in other Asian markets, Japanese distributor Nikkatsu announced plans to release the film in Japan. It was released there in June 2013, Screenings In November 2009, Aamir Khan invited hundreds of people to watch the first half of the film exclusively in a basis of Non-disclosure Agreement. 3 Idiots, thereby being the first film in Bollywood to use this clause, which was prevalent in Hollywood; the lead actor asked people to share the opinions about the film. The premiere show for the film was held in Mumbai on 23 December 2009. Along with the film's cast and crew, the event saw the presence of Anil Kapoor, Yash Chopra, Karan Johar, Shah Rukh Khan, Salman Khan and Saif Ali Khan among many others and other named celebrities, including Hirani's earlier collaborators such as Sanjay Dutt, Vidya Balan, Arshad Warsi and Dia Mirza. Amitabh Bachchan who had earlier confirmed his presence at the premiere ultimately did not turn up in the end. The special premiere in United States and Canada were held on 24 December, prior to the Indian release. He constantly followed the news of the film and wanted to watch it in a theatre, but due to his health condition, he could not get out of his home. Later, Chopra and Hirani expressed Dilip's wish and agreed to conduct a private screening for the actor. The members of the United Nations, came in touch with the producer regarding the screening of the film, following its influence in youngsters about the Indian education system. More than 700 invitees, including non-Indians, turned up for the screening, despite the hall had capacity for about 600-650 people. A two-hour long post-screening session was conducted to the attendees to focus on "how the film has impacted mindsets". It may also help Bollywood markets to screen their film in Australia. The film was screened at the Aruba International Film Festival held on 10 June 2010. At the Indian Film Festival of London, held during 25–29 August 2010, the film was screened along with Chopra's other five films — An Encounter with Faces (1978); Parinda (1989); 1942: A Love Story (1993) and Eklavya: The Royal Guard (2007), while further honouring an award for Chopra. A charity screening of the film was also held with the proceedings being contributed to UNICEF. At the inauguration of Vidhu Vinod Chopra film festival, to honour the director-producer, 3 Idiots along with the director's other films, Eklavya: The Royal Guard, Mission Kashmir and the Munna Bhai film series, were screened at the festival on 30 March 2012. 3 Idiots became one of the few Indian films screened at the inaugural Indian Film Festival held in Ho Chi Minh City (Vietnam) in December 2015. The film was further screened at the inaugural Himalayan Film Festival held during 24–28 September 2021 in Ladakh. Marketing Aamir Khan used innovative marketing strategies for the promotions of the films, in order to gain wide exposure among audience. Anil Arjun, the CEO of Reliance MediaWorks which produced and distributed the film had stated that, a 40-member team was put in place to market the film four months prior to the release. He said that "the campaign was made such a way that it appeals to all category of viewers — people who are going to multiplexes in metros and single screens in small towns". The film was shown to all stakeholders and the company employees prior to the release, and a 360-degree marketing campaign was made after the release, which covered digital, outdoor, brand partnerships, public relations and merchandise. The "butt chairs" used by the actors in the film, were placed at leading multiplex chains for public viewing. The makers teamed up with Zapak.com for digital promotions, with firstly the official website titled idiotsacademy.com was launched and the lead cast came with video chatting to the fans. As a part of outdoor promotions, carried by Primesite Marketing Agency, innovations in hoardings, bus shelters, bus backs, platform signages and mobile vans attracted audiences. Stickers with the film's logo was pasted in 10,000 auto rickshaws that moved in cities. Piracy In addition to encourage people watching the film in theatres, Reliance MediaWorks' marketing team managed to destroy more than 2.1 million illegal downloads. In New Delhi, the sales of pirated DVDs of the film were stopped after a subsidiary company of Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group (R-ADAG), levied a complaint to the officials to take actions against movie piracy. After the raid conducted by the police in several locations across Mumbai, former IPS officer Aftab Ahmed Khan, said that "We execute everything keeping the system in mind. We have the support of the local police so there is no question of going against the system. Piracy always existed in some form or the other. But we are getting the facts and figures only now as there are industry body who are working together to bring this menace in the forefront. To curb piracy in the long run we will have to constantly work towards means and ways to fight it." Television and home media The television rights of the film were purchased by Sony Pictures Networks for , which was the highest bid during that time. The film made its television debut on 25 July 2010, with promotions for the television premiere cost and had attracted 12 popular sponsors to market the film. It drew an audience of 39million viewers in India, The cumulative reach of the film was uplifted to 30.5%. On 27 August 2010, Reliance Big Entertainment launched the standard DVD and VCD editions of the film through Reliance Big Home Video. It was coincided at an event held during Grand Hyatt at Mumbai, with the presence of the cast and crew members and was broadcast live on Facebook and Twitter. Later, on 1 October 2010, Reliance Big Home Video launched the premium version of the VCD and DVD, that included a 24-page sticker book and special "idioticomic" book, priced at . It eventually sold 75,000–80,000 copies upon its launch, thereby generating a revenue of 30–40 million (US$400,000–530,000). In order to curb piracy, producer Chopra and Hirani stated that the film will be released and downloaded legally through YouTube on 25 March 2010, twelve weeks after its theatrical release. It was attempted for the people who cannot afford to go to multiplexes or single screens, thereby 3 Idiots becoming the first Indian film to have a legal release on YouTube. Officially, it was released on YouTube in May 2012, but its access has since been restricted. However, it has been made available for online streaming on multiple platforms such as Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and Sony LIV. Later as Reliance Big Pictures Vinod Chopra Films signed a deal with JioStar. == Reception ==

3 Idiots received widespread critical acclaim upon release from both domestic and international critics, with praise directed towards its direction, themes, humour, story, screenplay, soundtrack and performances of the cast. India Subhash K. Jha stated: "It's not that 3 Idiots is a flawless work of art. But it is a vital, inspiring, and life-revising work of contemporary art with some heart imbued into every part. In a country where students are driven to suicide by their impossible curriculum, 3 Idiots provides hope. Maybe cinema can't save lives. But cinema, sure as hell, can make you feel life is worth living. 3 Idiots does just that, and much more. The director takes the definition of entertainment into directions of social comment". Nikhat Kazmi of The Times of India gave it four and a half stars and suggests that, "The film is a laugh riot, despite being high on fundas [...] Hirani carries forward his simplistic 'humanism alone works' philosophy of the Munnabhai series in 3 Idiots too, making it a warm and vivacious signature tune to 2009. The second half of the film does falter in parts, especially the childbirth sequence, but it doesn't take long for the film to jump back on track." Mayank Shekhar of the Hindustan Times gave the film three and a half out of five stars and comments that "this is the sort of movie you'll take home with a smile and a song on your lips." Taran Adarsh of Bollywood Hungama gave 3 Idiots four and a half out of five stars and states: "On the whole, 3 Idiots easily ranks amongst Aamir, Rajkumar Hirani and Vidhu Vinod Chopra's finest films. Do yourself and your family a favour: Watch 3 Idiots. It's emotional, it's entertaining, it's enlightening. The film has tremendous youth appeal and feel-good factor to work in a big way." Kaveree Bamzai of India Today gave 3 Idiots five stars and argues that "it's a lovely story, of a man from nowhere who wanted to learn, told like a fairy tale, with the secret heart carrying its coded message of setting all of us free." Sonia Chopra of Sify gave the film 3 stars and said "Though a bit too calculated and designed, 3 Idiots is still an ok option for the significant message, interesting cast and scattered breezy moments." Rajeev Masand of CNN-IBN gave the film three out of five stars and states: "Going home after watching 3 Idiots I felt like I'd just been to my favorite restaurant only to be a tad underwhelmed by their signature dish. It was a satisfying meal, don't get me wrong, but not the best meal I'd been expecting." Shubhra Gupta from The Indian Express also gave it 3 stars, stating "3 Idiots does not do as much for me. The emotional truth that shone through both the Munnabhai movies doesn't come through strongly enough." Raja Sen of Rediff gave the film two out of five stars and states: "Rajkumar Hirani's one of the directors of the decade, a man with immense talent and a knack for storytelling. On his debut, he hit a hundred. With his second, he hit a triple century. This time, he fishes outside the off stump, tries to play shots borrowed from other batters, and hits and misses to provide a patchy, 32*-type innings. It's okay, boss, chalta hai. Even Sachin has an off day, and we still have great hope." Overseas Derek Elley of Variety wrote that "3 Idiots takes a while to lay out its game plan but pays off emotionally in its second half." Robert Abele of Los Angeles Times wrote that there's an "unavoidable joie de vivre (symbolised by Rancho's meditative mantra 'All is well') and a performance charm that makes this one of the more naturally gregarious Bollywood imports." Louis Proyect described it as a "fabulous achievement across the board. A typical Bollywood confection but also a social commentary on a dysfunctional engineering school system that pressures huge numbers of students into suicide." == Box office ==

Pre-release The film was made at the budget of , while Indo-Asian News Service estimated the budget to be around 35–45 crore (US$4.6–6.0 million). In August 2009, Reliance Big Pictures acquired the worldwide distribution rights of the film, along with the Hrithik Roshan-starrer Kites (2010) for . Individually, the worldwide theatrical rights were sold for about . Following the financial turmoil, which affected the footfalls and earnings in multiplexes and single-screens, the stakeholders were not ready to buy the film for a huge amount, and reduce the price for distribution. The advance bookings of the film eventually topped to 40–45%, with major multiplexes showing advance bookings rates uplifted to more than 90% in the opening day. making it the highest-grossing Indian film at the time. The film was listed in Guinness World Records for the record of highest box office film gross for a Bollywood film. As of 2020, the collections are equivalent to , adjusted to inflation. The success of the film was attributed to the content and the extensive pre-release promotions, which led to an increase in the huge number of footfalls. In its four-day first weekend, the film netted , and broke the record held by Ghajini (Aamir's previous film) for the first weekend collections. By the first week, the film netted , again breaking the box office record held by Ghajini. 3 Idiots had nett grossed in its second week, during the third week, in its fourth week and in fifth to make a total of in five weeks. 3 Idiots, thereby became the first Indian film ever to collect this huge amount, hence established the Club. Its final domestic gross in India was . 3 Idiots became the then highest-grossing Indian film in overseas markets, with an overseas gross of US$30.5 million (186 crore) until it was beaten by Dhoom 3 (2013). Its first weekend opening collection overseas was $4 million. It set record collections for Indian-produced films in territories such as the United States and Australia. in addition to over $2.5 million in the United Kingdom, over $2 million in Canada, and nearly $1 million in Australia. 3 Idiots became a success in East Asian markets, which was unusual for an Indian film at that time. The film had the longest showing period at cinemas in Taiwan, for more than two months from December 2010, breaking the record of Avatar (2009) with over NT$10 million (US$629,024) the equivalent of US$3.02 million. In South Korea, the film grossed (US$3,084,647). The film was number-one at the South Korean box office for five weeks, In China, where it is known as 《》 ("3 idiots make a scene in Bollywood"), the film grossed in 2 weeks in December 2011, Upon its release in the Japanese market in June 2013, it went on to collect around ¥100 million (6.1 crore) in its first two weeks of run, making it the highest-grossing Hindi film ever in Japan. By the end of 2013, it had grossed ¥150million (US$1.6 million) in Japan, before ending its run with a lifetime total of () in Japan. The film's final gross in East Asian markets was US$ (). == Accolades ==

3 Idiots won 58 accolades from Indian film awards; among these are six Filmfare Awards including Best Film and Best Director, three National Film Awards including Best Popular Film, ten Star Screen Awards, seventeen IIFA Awards, five GIMA Awards, two Apsara Awards and seven Bollywood Hungama Surfers Choice Movie Awards. In addition, the film received a nomination and award for Worst Song to the track "All Izz Well" at the Ghanta Awards, despite the track being a nationwide sensation among the younger generation. In China, it was nominated for the Best Foreign Film prize at the first Beijing International Film Festival in 2011. In Japan, it was nominated in the Best Outstanding Foreign Language Film category at the 37th Japan Academy Awards in 2014; the award was eventually won by Les Misérables. In addition, 3 Idiots won the Grand Prize at the 4th Videoyasan Awards, held by a Japanese organisation of home video retailers in 2014; 3 Idiots was selected as 2013's best video release, beating thousands of films, anime and television shows, including domestic Japanese and foreign Hollywood productions. == Cultural impact and legacy ==

In 2023, Time Out ranked it 13th on its list of the "100 Best Bollywood Movies." The film is also considered among the best films made on friendship. Film Companion added Omi Vaidya's character, in its "50 Memorable Bollywood Characters" list. Social impact The film had a social impact on attitudes to education in Asia, including education in India. The overwhelming success and impact in Indian society led to many authors and analysts to take a case study on the film and the message portrayed. It was also noted for the "realistic portrayal and depiction of universities, colleges and students". According to Jason Mecchi of Midstory, the film "may have even played a role in the recent reorganization of the Indian education system, designed to reduce tedium and allow children to grow in multiple fields of study, rather than those that conform to a narrow idea of success." The film has had a similar social impact on education in other Asian countries, including education in China. The Nitesh Tiwari directorial Chhichhore (2019) has a resemblance to this film. Overseas markets When 3 Idiots released in China, the country was only the 15th largest film market, partly due to China's widespread pirate DVD distribution at the time. However, it was the pirate market that introduced 3 Idiots to most Chinese audiences, becoming a cult film in the country among youths. Aamir Khan gained a large growing Chinese fanbase as a result. By 2013, China grew to become the world's second-largest film market (after the United States), paving the way for Aamir Khan's Chinese box office success, with Dhoom 3 (2013), PK (2014), Dangal (2016) and Secret Superstar (2017). In 2011, a documentary film titled Big in Bollywood was released, which revolves about Omi Vaidya's journey from a struggling Hollywood actor to a successful Bollywood breakthrough with this film. As of 2017, 3 Idiots has been ranked China's 12th favourite film of all time according to ratings on popular Chinese film review site Douban, with only one domestic Chinese film (Farewell My Concubine) ranked higher. The film holds an average rating of 9.2 on Douban, As of 2021, the film is ranked at No. 14 on the list with mostly youth voting. On the Korean site Naver, audiences gave the film an average rating of 9.4/10, One reason for its success in East Asian markets such as China and Hong Kong is because of their similar education systems, thus many students were able to identify with the characters. The Japanese anime series Gamers! (2017) references a scene from 3 Idiots, in the final episode of the series. A poster of 3 Idiots appears in the Korean drama series Welcome to Waikiki (2018). == Remakes ==

Shortly after the film's success, Gemini Film Circuit had purchased the remake rights of the film to be adapted in Tamil and Telugu-languages. Shankar directing the Tamil version of the film, his first remake he worked on his career. After several considerations for the leads in the remake, the team approached Vijay, Srikanth and Jiiva to reprise the roles played by Khan, Madhavan and Joshi, while Ileana D'Cruz essayed to reprise Kapoor's role from the film. The film, which was titled as Nanban, released on 12 January 2012 to positive reviews. for the titular role same disclosed by the actor in his speech of movie promotions in Hyderabad, but the project did not materialise. Nanban was later dubbed in Telugu as Snehitudu and released two weeks after the original version. The film was remade in Mexican Spanish-language named 3 idiotas and was released in May 2017. == Controversies ==

Chetan Bhagat story credit A controversy developed a few days after the release, however, over the fact that Chetan's credit, "Based on the novel Five Point Someone by Chetan Bhagat" appeared in the closing credits rather than in the opening ones. At that time, Bhagat stated that he "was expecting an opening credit and I was quite surprised on not seeing it. They had bought the rights, made the payment, and committed to a credit in the contract. It's there, but it's not about it being there, it's about the placement and the prominence." In a 31 December 2009 blog post on his personal website, Bhagat stated that he was told the movie was only 2–5% based on the book, but when he saw it, he felt that it was 70% of the book. He also argued that he was misled by the makers of the film, though he noted, that "this has nothing to do with Mr. Aamir Khan [...] I am a big fan of Aamir and he has made my story reach people. However, he was told by the makers not to read the book, and he hasn't. Thus, he cannot comment on the issue in a meaningful manner." A few people responded to Chetan's statements. According to the Indo-Asian News Service (IANS) producer Vidhu Vinod Chopra clarified that "in the agreement between the producer and Bhagat, it was clearly mentioned that the author's name would be put in the closing credits". Chopra later apologised, stating: "I really think I'm silly. I was provoked, but I shouldn't have done this. I saw myself on TV and saw how I was shouting 'shut up, shut up' like an animal. I told myself — 'what nonsensical behaviour'." Aamir Khan also responded to these claims. Rajkumar Hirani stated that "We have officially bought the rights for the film. We drew a contract with him and it clearly mentions the position of his credit. With open eyes, he had seen the contract, consulted his lawyer, and signed the agreement [...] In the contract, we have said that the title would be given in the rolling credits. We haven't changed the font size. We haven't increased the speed of the title. It's exactly there where it was agreed to be." Chetan Bhagat later apologised stating, "I definitely do not have anything against team 3 Idiots. I may have some issues with the mistake they may have made but nothing about their personality or the kind of people they are. I apologize to their families if there was any distress caused to them. I also want to thank all my fans, who stood by me but I don't want them to turn against anyone especially Aamir." Concerns about content On 28 December 2010, the non-governmental organisation, Coalition to Uproot Ragging from Education (CURE) co-founder Harsh Agarwal wrote a letter to the Raghavan Committee, a panel headed by former HRD Ministry R. K. Raghavan, explaining distress over a particular scene, where the lead actors gets ragged by seniors. The organisation asked the committee to write a letter to the censor board to revisit and re-examine the particular scene. with the Chief minister of Maharashtra, Ashok Chavan too demanded the same. Aamir Khan however stated that the film is against "ragging". == Sequel ==

Director Rajkumar Hirani said in 2015, 2016, and 2018 that he was exploring ideas for a sequel to 3 Idiots. A few years later, in a February 2026 interview with Variety India, Hirani said that he is still working on scripts for 3 Idiots and Lage Raho Munna Bhai sequels. In April 2026, Aamir Khan said that Rajkumar Hirani "is working on 3 Idiots 2 right now. I’ve heard the story and it’s wonderful...The script still needs some work, but the story itself is really good, unusual, with the same humour as the first film. It follows the characters from 3 Idiots, picking up 10 years later." Aamir Khan will be reprising his role as Phunsukh Wangdu in the film. == See also ==