The 2009 film 3 Idiots may just be one of the greatest movies ever made. Since I first saw it for the first time back in 2011, I don’t think my life has been the same. In the movie, three former college classmates reminisce about their college days as they undertake a journey across India in search of another long lost friend. But not just any old friend. This friend had changed each of their lives. Being traditional Hindi cinema or “Bollywood,” this movie has it all. Action, romance, tragedy, suspense, singing and dancing, and many other genres all rolled in to one. You will laugh and cry — sometimes in the same scene. But this isn’t a movie review. I want to talk about education.
The character at the center of the film, who the other guys are trying to find throughout the story and who you finally learn is named Phunsukh Wangdu (but went by Rancho Chanchad in most of the story), is not a typical student. From the second he sets foot on the campus of the engineering college where the film takes place, he boldly demonstrates that fact. As the story unfolds, Rancho’s unique learning and teaching philosophy inspire others to literally change the way they approach their studies and look at their lives. It is clear that many students are at the college simply to fulfill parental expectations or become engineers with the thought that it is the only way to do something with their lives. Referring to his friend Rancho, the character named Farhan Qureshi states:
Most of us went to college just for a degree. No degree meant no plum job, no pretty wife, no credit card, no social status. But none of this mattered to him, he was in college for the joy of learning, he never cared if he was first or last.
Engineering was what mattered to Rancho — the art, science, and pure joy of building machines and creating things. Not any of the things that Farhan mentioned. A job wasn’t important. Big house? Lots of money? These things were accessory at best. Totally irrelevant. They would come naturally, Rancho supposed. He was in school for the pure joy of learning. A motive that so many students in the movie —and in real life, I observe— lose sight of. Go to any university across America and you will find that Business, Finance, Engineering, Pre-Med, and other like majors of study are declared by students who may in their hearts long to study the arts, humanities, or agriculture. But because the world, compelled by legitimate economic or cultural factors, has codified what is needed to be successful, passions are ignored and dreams are diverted — perhaps even destroyed.
“Make your passion your profession, and work will become a game.”
~ Rancho
It doesn’t take a genius to recognize the problem with modern day expectations in both secondary and higher education. It’s the book smart mentality that ultimately discourages creativity and exploration. Professors demand textbook answers, formulas that rarely apply, and encourage the recitation of theories and bulleted lists to explain things as basic as communication and creativity. “Learning is not memorizing the exact words from the book” says Rancho. “Learning is understanding it and being able to explain it in your own words.” In many unfortunate instances, that is unacceptable today.
On several occasions throughout the film, Rancho publicly humiliates his peers and professors trying to convince them that things like this were happening. For example, one over-achieving pupil was cramming hard to memorize a public speech in a foreign language, so Rancho replaced several words with profanity, just to emphasize the point that (quoting Rancho), “Cramming may get you past four years in college but it will screw your next 40 years.” How true that can be. The list of examples could go on and on. I suggest you just watch the film.
“This is college not a pressure cooker.”
~ Rancho
Without revealing the twists and turns in the plot of the movie, I can say that Rancho becomes someone great. He becomes a great and noble teacher and mentor of youth similar to himself and is able to truly practice his techniques and ideas he so wisely exhibited when as a student. He obliterates the status quo. And despite being a genius engineer, he is the first to discourage those who are becoming engineers who would rather do something else. He inspires one peer to quit engineering school and pursue his life-long dream of being a nature photographer. Another he helps see the real motivation behind his endeavors: His family’s well-being. And another he totally humiliates yet again, perfectly demonstrating the true meaning of another of his catchphrases:
“Pursue excellence and success will follow…pants down.”
~ Rancho
And yes, in the movie that happens quite literally. So, there is much to be learned from our friend Rancho, who’s real name Phunsukh Wangdu. Though he be an entirely fictional character (though apparently inspired by and loosely based on a real person named Sonam Wangchuk), he is a true representation of the passionate learners and creators in all of us. Don’t be a doctor if you want to own a restaurant. Don’t be a professional musician if you really want to be a basket weaver (bad example). Don’t become victims of expectations not your own. Fight back, make your mark. Study what you love. Become an expert and allow yourself to be driven by your passion in life — your passion for life. In so doing, you will be blessed with a fulfillment you never before imagined, regardless of wealth or status.
I say we be more like Phunsukh Wangdu, because if there were more people like him, the world would be a better place.
Dillon Boss 