| “ | These philosophies don't work in the real world Chanchad. You board your train, I'll board mine. What say, wanna bet? Come back here after 10 years, let's see who's more successful. Got the guts? [picks up a glass shard and inscribes 5th Sept on the wall] Here we go, we'll meet again after 10 years. We'll see who's where. Don't forget this date. | „ |
| ~ Chatur challenging Rancho; his most famous quote. |
| “ | [unzips his pants and presents his butt] Your Majesty, thou art great! Accept this humble offering! | „ |
| ~ Chatur admitting defeat to Rancho. |
Chatur Ramalingam, also known as Silencer, is the secondary antagonist of the 2009 Indian coming-of-age comedy-drama film 3 Idiots.
He is a former student (of Tamil descent) of the Imperial College of Engineering (ICE) from India who is very ambitious about his academic goals and devoted to Viru Sahastrabuddhe's ways, to which this kind of achievement is rivaled with Ranchhoddas Shamaldas "Rancho" Chanchad. After graduating albeit bitterly, he becomes an entrepeneur himself and has decided to make Rancho accept his "defeat" by signing the Declaration of Defeat, unaware that Rancho is Phunsukh Wangdu, who he is striking a deal with. He is also Rancho's second arch-rival behind Viru.
He was portrayed by Omi Vaidya.
Biography[]
Chatur is an African-born Tamil-blood student from Uganda who is devoted to Viru Sahastrabuddhe's ways and learns everything word-for-word by cramming it. He is also a cheater, as he slips porn magazines into other students' rooms to distract them from studying so he can come out on top. Despite this, when Rancho first comes to ICE, Chatur does greet him nicely and even tells him the rules. When Viru tells Farhan and Raju that Rancho is a bad influence, he advises Raju to move to Chatur's room, and Raju complies because of his family's poor condition.
Chatur is later chosen to be the one who will speak in Teachers' Day so the Minister of Education can continue to sponsor ICE. However, wanting to show Raju the consequences of learning everything word-for-word, Rancho and Farhan insert obscene words into the speech. When Chatur reads it, he ends up being shamed in front of everyone, and the Minister is displeased and leaves the hall. Upon figuring out the truth, Chatur drowns himself in alcohol and swears revenge on Rancho: ten years from now, on this exact day, they will meet at the top of the school's water tank to see who is more successful. This has therefore marked the beginning of their rivalry.
Later on, Rancho scores the highest and is thus allowed to sit next to Viru according to the rules, much to Viru and Chatur's disappointment. Later when the trio pretend to be in the machine class the whole time to hide the fact that they sneaked into Viru's house last night, Chatur exposes them after finding a bottle that they left on the floor. This causes Viru to call Raju to his office and force him to choose between getting himself or Rancho expelled, ultimately leading to Raju's failed attempt at suicide. Thanks to his friends' support, Raju later recovers. On the graduation day, Chatur is seen disappointed that Rancho is the top student instead of him. His mother later congratulates him and kisses him on the cheek.
Ten years later, Chatur is now the vice-president of Rockledge Corporation, and has married and has a successful life in America. The company tasks him to strike a deal with the successful scientist Phunsukh Wangdu, who is in truth Rancho himself. Wanting to reconnect with his two friends, Rancho gives Chatur information about the real Ranchhoddas' wherebouts, who conferred his name to him. Chatur calls Farhan and Raju to the water tank and the three go to Shimla to meet Rancho. Upon meeting the real Ranchhoddas and realizing that he is not the Rancho they knew, Farhan and Raju ask Chatur where he got the information about Rancho, and Chatur tells them the truth. The three then confront the real Ranchhoddas, who threatens them with his gun, so Chatur runs away, leaving Farhan and Raju behind. After telling them the truth and begging them to keep his secret, the real Ranchhoddas gives them Rancho's address, a school in Ladakh. Chatur assumes that Rancho is now a mere teacher and is confident that he has won.
Farhan and Raju later learn that Pia is about to marry, so they want to go to meet her, but Chatur opposes as he wants to finish the trip as soon as possible so he can meet Wangdu, forcing the two to tie him up and drive the car themselves. They successfully convince Pia to come with them. They eventually reaches the school and Chatur decides to piss on the wall, so the kids drop a light bulb to electrocute him, the same trick that Rancho pulled when he first came to ICE, causing Chatur to scream in pain and Farhan, Raju and Pia to realize that Rancho is near. The three later reunite with Rancho, and Chatur laughs that he is now a mere teacher and forces him to sign the Declaration of Defeat, to which Rancho does anyways since he finds it stupid. Chatur then takes Viru's pen away from Rancho since he believes that it is only for the winner. Upon learning that Rancho is Phunsukh Wangdu himself, Farhan and Raju call Chatur back, to which he refuses and mocks them. So Rancho decides to call him and pretend to call off the deal, much to Chatur's shock until he learns the truth. He then tries to please Rancho, but Rancho, Farhan, Raju and Pia run away, forcing Chatur to chase after them. Presumably, Rancho later agrees to strike a deal with his company and the two settle their past and remain on good terms.
Trivia[]
- Chatur's counterpart in Nanban, the Kollywood remake of 3 Idiots, is Srivatsan.
External Links[]
- Chatur Ramalingam at the 3 Idiots Wiki