3 Idiots BD Review - BHV India

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3 Idiots BD Review
Couldn't complete as promised but here is my review of the most awaited BD in recent times.

Movie:
Okay, I would definitely like to write about this movie briefly. I really enjoyed the movie and watched it twice in two consecutive days in Fame and honestly, I have only done back to back viewing for a limited number of movies. So, what makes this movie a success? Is it a masterpiece? A classic? Well the short and simple answer is ‘No’. My reason for liking this movie is because it always kept its heart where it should be – you can relate it to your life… I could see my own college days in front of my eyes and the narrative of story kept me occupied even though it was bit long.

A great ensemble cast and very skillfully directed. Hats off to Raju Hirani on that. And Amir Khan has yet again proved that he belongs to a different league of actors and no one comes close to him in portraying the character with such honesty and passion.

Kareena has done a good job as well and she has shown why she is one of the leading ladies in Indian Cinema. Boman Irani is a gift for Indian Cinema. He is excellent in the movie. I think it is time he stops accepting roles like what he did in Houseful. He is much better than almost all mainstream lead actors in terms of versatility of acting and depth.

This is one movie which appealed to both masses and critics and true film aficionados and has terrific repeat value. Simplicity was the key factor to its success and I look forward to more from Raju Hirani and Amir. Raju Hirani so far has made lighter movies with a strong message in each of his films and he has been successful in all 3 films so far. I would like to see if Raju can attempt a serious subject.

PQ:

This was one of the most anticipated BD release in the last 1 year and the delay just made the matter worse. People were wondering if Mr Perfectionist and the producers are working towards the best BD in India so far. BHV showed great promise so far in BD releases earlier and people were speculating a lot the release. Now it is out for few weeks now and people have posted feedback from various places. So, is it worth the wait? Most of you know the answer and have seen it already. Still, I’ll try to give my view….read on….

• Black level and shadow detail – These two are the major plus points in the PQ. Throughout the movie this was consistent and I am quite glad that it is not ruined.
• No apparent edge enhancement
• Most scenes (not all) looked very similar to what I saw in the theater.
• There is good amount of detail (but it is robbed due to DNR or the way the digital source was processed - more on that later). With some scenes where DNR effect is relatively less, the detail was quite good but not exceptional.
• This may sound odd but in this BD, the night scenes look much better compared to the daylight scenes apart from the ladaakh scenes. Those appeared vibrant and colorful. The wedding party sequence looked great.

Most of you know by now and it is true that the BD has some shortcomings in terms of PQ and if you add the level of expectation people had on this BD, the effect is amplified. I will try to discuss it as a reviewer and not as fan of the film – just to avoid my biasness on higher expectations. I don’t know who authored it (heard rumors that BHV authored it in-house). Whoever did this have either done a half-hearted job or they were limited to the source that was offered to them (of course that doesn’t mean they get any sympathy for messing up the menu big time. I have identified 3 main issues of which the first two were more prominent and disappointing.

• DNR and sharpness– This was my biggest anxiety before watching the BD and having seen the movie twice in a class theater, I was hoping the authoring would do justice to the BD and offer a fantastic sharp and DNR free PQ. Unfortunately DNR is there although not terribly bad as we have seen in many other recent BDs but the issue is more like inconsistency in DNR. In general there is a lack of natural sharpness and grain structure in the BD due to DNR / DPX processing. Some scenes actually looked quite good in terms of detail and sharpness but the number is limited to a few. Close-ups and people’s faces appeared soft in most scenes. Overall sharpness is below normal making the image look softer although if you look closely the detail is there but it is not coming out due to DNR / sharpness filter used during authoring / DPX generation. In some scenes faces not only look waxy but due to color inconsistency appeared slightly smudged with saturation (especially the scene with Chatur, Farhan and Raju on top of the water tank.)
• White Level and Contrast – The second big issue with this BD is white level and contrast boost. The white level issue is not as bad as Apaharan, All the Best and some other movies. The issue that makes it annoying is that although it is not severe, it is very prominent in most scenes and it was difficult for me to ignore. Detail in brighter portions of the scenes failed to reveal the detail fully (I must say the effect is mild and not like complete white burn). Reducing the contrast helped in making the picture slightly better.
• Color – although quite close and faithful to theatrical version; it was inconsistent in terms of saturation and color temp. IIRC 3I in theater did not have a very warm temp but the BD looks slightly colder. Some scenes had excellent color saturation and punch whereas some appeared bit dull. Overall color is not bad but inconsistent in terms of saturation and temp.
  One point I would like to make here is when I watched the movie in the theater, some scenes had normal saturation and some had high saturation and intensity. The same has appeared in the BD and hence it is difficult to blame the authoring house as most of them do not process color or other parameters.

AQ

• The DTS MA track is very good but not exceptional. It creates a nice soundstage.
• Dialogues are crisp and clear, surround stage is well balanced and active throughout the movie as and when called for.
• The songs sounded nice and full with an immersive effect.

• I wish the sound was a little bit more alive. It is like it everything is there but something is missing. Just that extra bit.
• The bass at times was bit boomy. I always reduce by sub settings by a few db while watching Bollywood BDs.

Summary:
A great fun movie with a dash of social message, filled with things that people can relate to their life in some form or other, it can make you laugh and cry, a wonderful ensemble cast, great cinematography and excellent direction – what more can you ask? No wonder the movie managed to break all BO records.

PQ wise, there are some shortfalls like DNR and contrast which definitely pulls down overall experience to a negative side. Having said that, to be honest the PQ to me didn’t look that bad. It is not reference quality but very much watchable and much better than many Bollywood BDs. However, I must say that BHV lost the opportunity to produce a fantastic reference quality BD for the most popular movie In Bollywood. They delayed the release and should have looked into quality aspects of the BD.

AQ wise, it is very good but not reference quality. I felt some finer detail was missing. The movie as such does not have any special sound effects as part of the story but the background score had enough finesse (like WUS which was great) that could have been a bit better on the BD.

Important Note:
The BD released after a lot of delay and speculation and with huge expectations from the consumers. The messed up menu is a perfect sign of the lack of quality control the BD industry in India. This is not at all acceptable. The price in India is ridiculous as well and that also for a defective BD w.r.t menu navigation.

Recommendation: I would prefer and demand a remastered edition with the source treated properly from original film with rescanning. They should do a 4k scanning and process negatives for corrections. The film generated enough profit to fund such kind of investment. People will buy it in a heartbeat if BHV can do a remastered edition. Anyone from BHV reading this should convey this message to management.

Rating
Movie: 4.75
PQ : 3.75
AQ: 4.15
My Value score: 4.00 (movie with PQ and AQ only) and 1.0 (with authoring mess)