Rajkumar Hirani makes social criticism approachable through jokes and friendships we can believe in. We value his warmth and comic sense, though his fondness for explaining the lesson can turn a generous film into a lengthy piece of advice.
Fi1m perspective
In 3 Idiots (2009), Aamir Khan's Rancho is so certain that learning should be a pleasure that he nearly makes engineering sound inviting. Hirani gives him friends whose hopes make that conviction matter beyond the classroom. It is a good college comedy because those friendships make the educational pressure personal. The reservation is there in Rancho too: he seems too conveniently equipped to prove the director right.
Hirani established his mixture of comedy and social criticism with his directing debut, Munna Bhai M.B.B.S. (2003), and followed it with Lage Raho Munna Bhai (2006). PK (2014) took on religion and superstition, while the later Sanju (2018) moved into biography and Dunki (2023) into immigration and friendship. That later stretch has brought complaints about oversimplification in PK, sanitising the subject in Sanju and manipulation in Dunki. We can see the danger in Rancho's certainty, even though Khan makes his enthusiasm entertaining.
What Hirani gets right in 3 Idiots is the attention paid to the people receiving Rancho's advice. R. Madhavan's Farhan and Sharman Joshi's Raju give it consequences beyond a clever line from the leading man. We were moved when the friends took one another's hopes seriously; Hirani makes their encouragement feel necessary under that educational pressure. The supporting performances are uneven, but he lets affection be spoken plainly, and the friendship remains credible.
The screenplay by Hirani, Abhijat Joshi and Vidhu Vinod Chopra keeps explaining what these exchanges have already shown. Hirani also edits, and the early jumps in time interrupt the momentum while we are still getting to know the characters. At 171 minutes, the film asks for more patience than its advice requires. His wish to make himself understood is reasonable, but the slow opening and repeated lessons need firmer cutting. Start with 3 Idiots for Khan and the friendship, with some patience for a director reluctant to finish the lesson.
Biography
Rajkumar Hirani is an Indian film director, screenwriter and editor of Hindi films. He was born on 20 November 1962 in Nagpur, Maharashtra, and trained in film editing at the Film and Television Institute of India in Pune.
Hirani made his directorial debut with Munna Bhai M.B.B.S. (2003), which he also wrote and edited. Subsequent films include Lage Raho Munna Bhai (2006), 3 Idiots (2009), on which he served as director, editor and co-screenwriter, PK (2014), on which he served as director, producer, editor, story and screenplay writer, Sanju (2018) and Dunki (2023). He frequently collaborates with writer Abhijat Joshi.
His films have received multiple National Film Awards and Filmfare Awards.
