Rancho from 3 idiots - A character Analysis

5 reasons why we love Rancho from 3 idiots

3 idiots released about a decade ago. Upon its release, it wasn’t just a film. It was a phenomenon. Even now it feels so fresh. It addressed the section of the society that was dying for proper representation in the cinemas – the students, specifically engineering students. The film handled many topics with utmost sensibility and maturity.

One of the things that distinctly set the film from others of that generation was the presence of so many well-rounded characters. Every character could have a film of their own. And the trickiest of all characters is the main character.

Which, in this case, was Rancho. Or Punsukh Wangdu if you want to call him that.

Here are 5 reasons why we love him:

Relatability

Aamir’s portrayal of Rancho was so fresh. He made Rancho look like a human being. His nuanced performance projected Rancho as someone who didn’t do everything by a purpose, just like a real-life human being. Rancho played, walked, talked, cussed just like us. He loved making fool of people as much as we do. He was a little ‘cracked’, and we absolutely loved it.  

His obvious smartness

Rancho, from the very first scene of his in the film showed us that he must not be messed with. His subtle and sleek way of handling tough decisions didn’t anyway make us think that he must be someone from another planet (P.K. references?) His obvious high IQ and humility in an equal measure made him one in millions.

Love

Love isn’t a very light word. It is the most important feature that sets Rancho aside from all other 'smart guy' portrayals. It gave Rancho the human side that we loved so much. 

Rancho never left any of his friends in the face of trouble. There are plenty of examples where he went far for his friends and the funniest being ruining a whole of teacher’s day speech to give Raju a demo. Raju and Farhan had been a very integral part of his life, and he never shied to accept that.

“Ekdin do idiot aayenge mujhe doondhte huye” – his conviction is so damn moving.

And talking of love, who can forget Pia? His love interest. The smart medical student who was incidentally the daughter of Virus. Remember Pia’s helmet in Rancho’s place in Ladakh?

How many of you got teary-eyed when you recognized Centimeter?

Silence

A dark secret? Heck. Rancho had everything a hero could have. Including a tragic past. He kept all the promises that he kept to his master. His deep silence made us root for him, even more, when we learned about his past.

Damn, he was such a genius.

He is rare

Tell me if you have ever found someone in your college who is like Rancho.