Although the movie opened to thunderous success and became the highest-grossing Indian film of its time, director Rajkumar Hirani’s 3 Idiots also received its share of flak. One of the major criticisms was directed at a particular scene set in an impoverished household, which many perceived as mocking poverty. In fact, this issue was first raised by one of lead actor Aamir Khan’s assistants, who directly confronted Hirani about it. His remarks not only took the director by shock but ultimately made him realise his oversight. "After the movie was released, Aamir Khan's team also watched it, including a boy (assistant) who works with him, named Sachin. Then, Sachin came to me and said, 'Sir, I liked the film, but I did not like one thing. Aapne hum gareebo ka mazak udaya hai' (you have made fun of us poor people)," Hirani recalled during a recent appearance on a podcast by the Game Changers YouTube channel. Sachin was referring to a scene set in the house of Raju Rastogi (Sharman Joshi), which was presented in monochrome with an extra focus on their poor living conditions. The scene also included elements that 'humorously' suggested that poor people were unhygienic, further fueling the criticism. Also Read | Rajkumar Hirani accepts Shah Rukh Khan’s Dunki underperformed, says didn’t make Sanju to whitewash Sanjay Dutt’s image: ‘He was stupid…’ Hirani shared, "While filming, it did not strike me; it was only when he pointed it out that I realised it. I was actually talking about cinema and that there was a time when black-and-white films often showed an ill father, an unmarried sister and a mother struggling for survival. So, we wrote that scene keeping those visuals in mind. It did not strike me back then that the scene could be interpreted differently and might affect someone." He continued, "It made me understand that one should be a little more careful. Someone once said, 'Comedy comes from the misfortunes of others.' When we create comedy in cinema, we are often going to end up making fun of someone. So, if we continue making films and comedies, we have to be a little conscious about it. But at the same time, people should take it in a sporting spirit."
