3 Idiots

I asked my co-workers to recommend a Bollywood movie. I expected "Dumb and Dumber" by the title. It wasn't that at all. It is more of an inspirational comedy with some serious but good messages. A more accurate title would have been "The Legend of Rancho".

Odd to me is that they speak in part English, part Hindi through the movie, kinda like some speak "Spanglish" here I suppose. I know none of the actors but the acting was good, and there was plenty of humor. The characters were believable. Most movie dancing I find a little silly but I even liked the dancing routines in the bathroom.

I will be asking my co-workers for more recommendations after this one!

Like Dead Poets Society but with Robin Williams as a student and some extra tonic and spice thrown in for good measure. Serious, sad and silly, often concurrently but overwhelmingly very, very funny and engaging, as engineering students at an Indian college end up teaching as much as they learn. Who could disagree with the distinction between education and learning while recognising the often sizable gulf that exists between the two after watching this. Who would dissuade those with aspiration and passion from pursuing their dreams and goals. Weighing in not too shy of three hours you'll be shocked how quickly the time flies as your attention is vacuumed up and your view of the world turned on its head, or inverted, depending what you've learned.

Until recently my only exposure to Indian cinema was Satyajit Ray. Like a lot of Americans, my knowledge of Bollywood was based entirely on film clips and American take-offs of lavish musical numbers.

I searched a few lists of top Bollywood films and settled on 3 Idiots, which turned out to be a wonderful decision. The movie is terrifically funny and engaging, seamlessly moving from comedy to tragedy to musical numbers.

The story centers around a brilliant, iconoclastic technical student who spends the movie telling people to follow their dreams. While generally lighthearted, the movie strongly addresses the apparently terrible stresses on Indian college students. But in spite of some dark moments, overall this is about as feel-good as you can get. Feel-good to an absurd degree? Sure. But what's so bad about feeling good?

When I think of Bollywood I think of big musical numbers, and there are a handful here, although they're a tiny part of the three-hour running time. Still, they are tremendous fun.

To sum up, I saw a Bollywood movie, I laughed, I cried, and now I want to see more.

UPDATE: I saw more. So many good movies out there!

This is the very first time i write a review, mostly because I'm very lazy.

However I just watched this film and i gotta admit it...

I loved it!!!!

At first i was like well "lets see what this movie has to offer"

(btw its also the first Indian movie I've ever seen) and I was like okay

its funny and then... like wow so thoughtful and reflexive! It really

made me meditate about my career and my real dreams! Its a very good

movie! I'll recommend it to all my friends!

You must watch it!

All is Well!

Awesome film man. Saw this with my family in a theatre. Worth every penny n worth every minute. Never seen such an amazing film from Bollywood. What is so great about the movie is that it moves you, it gives you hope. It is a simple film, yet it has an everlasting message. The last 30 mins were beautifully shot. Very good direction by Hirani. The star cast is good n Aamir khan steals the show. The editing is top notch. U don't feel bore for even a sec. Awesome screenplay. It's hands down the best film in the history of Bollywood.