Producer Vidhu Vinod Chopra says the character of Rancho, an eternally optimistic genius, played by Aamir Khan in 3 Idiots was inspired by his life.
“The character of Rancho [Ranchoddas Shamaldas Chanchad] in the movie is [based on] me. It is inspired from my life,” Chopra said while interacting with delegates at the National Film Development Corporation of India’s Film Bazaar in Panaji, Goa, on November 24.
Chopra is a product of Pune-based Film and Television Institute of India. “I never attended classes in the Film Institute. I failed in the final examination. So, when I was nominated for Oscars, the institute called me as a guest and gave me my passing certificate as an honour,” said the 62-year-old filmmaker, who produced the Munnabhai series. According to Chopra, his family wanted him to become a doctor, but he pursued his dream of filmmaking.
The Bollywood producer-director claims he purposely left the medical entrance exam paper incomplete, so that he could fail in the subject. Chopra said it would have been difficult to convince his father about his desire to become a filmmaker.
“When I was nominated for [an] Oscar, I confessed to my dad. I thought since I am nominated for the Oscars, my father would say well done. But he looked at me and said: ‘You fooled me’. He then slapped me out of love,” said the filmmaker, whose short film An Encounter with Faces was nominated at the Oscars in 1979.
Similarly, after watching 3 Idiots, his daughter from his previous marriage left media studies and followed her dream of becoming a dancer.
Chopra said he wants to remake the 2009 blockbuster in Chinese, France and English as the film continues to change many lives.
