[DVD] 3 Idiots (2009)

The largest Indian blockbuster from last year and of all time until Salman Khan's Dabangg came along, 3 Idiots the DVD edition was a long wait of almost 9 months, but it was well worth the wait as it came features-packed in collectible box containing bonus materials such as a sticker book containing writeups from Producer Vidhu Vinod Chopra, Director Rajkumar Hirani and lead Actor Aamir Khan, and a thick Idioticomic which is actually a photo book consisting of stills from the film which make up the story from start to end.

You can read my review of 3 Idiots here.

The Region Free Special Premium Pack from Reliance Big Home Video consists of 2 DVDs in addition to the booklets mentioned, where the first disc is the movie proper, and the second containing the Making of the Film.

Disc One is presents the film in a gorgeous anamorphic widescreen transfer and audio is available in either Hindi 5.1 Dolby Digital, or 2.0 Stereo. Subtitle is in English only, and scene selection splits this close to 3 hour film into 26 chapters. As is staple in all Hindi DVD releases, there is a Songs Section that allows you to replay (with a play all function) all your favourite musical hits from the film. Here you can choose from Benti Nawa Sa Tha Woh (2:24), Give Me Some Sunshine (1:07), my personal favourite Aal Izz Well (3:53) which ends morbidly, the fun number Zoobi Doobi (4:05) and Jaane Nani Denge (5:47).

The only other extra in Disc One is the Director's Commentary which is predominantly in English, where Rajkumar Hirani confesses to this being his first ever DVD commentary, but does an excellent job in talking almost continuously for the duration of the film to share technical know how (good for budding filmmakers out there), inside stories, production secrets, memories and personal anecdotes and the philosophy behind 3 Idiots. It's packed with so much information that it makes it worthwhile just sitting through listening to him, and he does have a surprise revelation for actor Omi Vaidya at the end.

Disc 2 contains the Making of the Film which is presented in letterbox format with no subtitles, but thankfully most of the audio here is in English. It's a standard making of feature with cast and crew interviews and behind the scenes look that is split into 15 sections that you can choose individually, or select the play all function.

1. Idiots in Ladakh (9:48)
While we have our breaths taken away by the picture postcard perfect landscape, it was quite the pain to be shooting some 15100 ft up high in the mountainous regions battling the lack of oxygen and bad weather. This clip recounts the difficulties and challenges faced by cast and crew under freezing conditions. Who says filmmaking is easy?

2. Ghajini Se Idiot Tak (5:07)
Ghajini was Aamir Khan's hit film the previous year, and this chronicles how Aamir had to do away with his buffed physique to take on the role as an idiotic student with bright ideas. You can watch the effort required to become the Hulk from the Ghajini DVD special features, and here it talks about the approach to make Aamir look convincing as a man 20 years younger.

3. Making of Miss Idiot (3:04)
See how Kareena transforms from glamour puss to a plain Jane role, with plenty of costuming and designing of her physical make up, with plenty of experimentation that went on to get the perfect look.

4. Khaduus Idiot (3:42)
And now it is actor Boman Irani's turn in the character design of his Viru Sahastrabudhhe the director of ICE, from the design of the physical look of the character, to the perfecting of the character's lisping. I must admit the makeup here really makes Boman quite unrecognizable when in character.

5. Finding Chatur (3:37)
The auditioning clips of a myriad of actors all trying out for the role of Chatur the Silencer, which eventually when to Omi Vaidya, who does such a great job as the comical, kiasu student that everyone loves to hate. See Omi Vaidya's audition tape, which makes him an accidental comic, with a role that's eventually written for him. The rest, as they say, is history!

6. Pants Down (2:40)
The making of the ragging scene which was actually set in an actual Girls Hostel!! Who would have thought the real ragging actually is backstage with the costumers handing out really ridiculous underwear to the cast members.

7. Aal Izz Well (2:53)
One of two music videos that got their making-of documented in this DVD. The filmmakers found a school teacher to choreograph this fun piece, instead of opting for the usual dance choreographer to come up with a polished, filmic dance number. Aal Izz Well indeed!

8. 100% Idiots (4:19)
For a scene that involves their characters getting drunk, actors Aamir Khan, Madhavan and Sharman Joshi actually did what their characters did, just to really get themselves into the mood for the scene, and the difficulties that came because the performances became more ad-libbed. The crew realized they were running short of film stock given their repeated takes, and an incredible SOS that took place so as not to lose the moment created.

9. Innovative Idiots (2:34)
The many inventions seen in the film gets a showcase of its own here, such as the quadrotor helicopter, the scooter mill, and the sheep shearer.

10. Zoobi Doobi (2:41)
The other music video that has its making of documented on this DVD, where director Rajkumar Hirani explains what he's trying to achieve here, which you would have learnt that this was shelved until the end because he had little clue on how to film it. One can consider the pressure because this music video marks the very first ever romantic song that brings together two of Indian cinema's biggest stars in Aamir Khan and Kareena Kapoor.

11. Aamir - "The Pucca Idiot" (7:14)
Who would have thought a cricket match on campus could have been organized between the various production crew teams? You can count of Aamir as the ring leader and organizer of this tournament, and this section serves as a videolog of this group activity in between production schedules.

12. "Bike" (1:31)
Kareena can't ride a scooter and has an inane fear of it! 'Nuff said!

13. "Idiots on Campus" (5:03)
A suitable looking college has to be chosen, and the decision was made to use the India Institute of Management Bangalore, and this serves as a video presentation of the interior, about the stay and life on campus, and how it was living there during production.

14. Bloopers (3:26)
This section is extremely hilarious with the plenty of on set planls, especially when you get to see the equivalent of a human hamster! You got to see it to believe!

15. Photo Album (14:10)
This is actually a slideshow presentation, with polaroid snapshot descriptions and plenty of behind the scenes, character look creations, and a look at the plenty of public lecture classes set against music from the film.