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!

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!

"Whatever the problem in life is... just say to yourself 'Aal Izz Well'.. This wont solve your problems but it will give the courage to face it.." "Chase Excellence and success will follow".. " Life is not about getting marks, grades but chasing your dreams".. These are the golden rules which 3 IDIOTS teaches you in a very light and entertaining way.. The movie makes you laugh and in the process you learn many golden rules which can alter your life in a big manner...

3 actors from the path-breaking blockbuster RANG DE BASANTI( Aamir, Sharman, Madhvan) team up together with Rajkumar Hirani.. It couldn't get bigger! Loosely based on blockbuster novel ' Five Point Someone ' by Chetan Bhagat the movie deals with the present education system in India that whether getting more marks and better grades is better than gaining knowledge and is mugging up everything more useful than understanding it..

The movie has many hilarious scenes and everyone in the film form Aamir to Boman Irani to Omi Vaidya were superb in their roles.. Aamir has outdone himself.. Never in the film he has looked 44 year old... Film's music sounds mediocre but when viewed on the screen then the music sounds perfect.. Cinematography is awesome and so is the direction.. Raju Hirani's screenplay(you can easily ignore a few loose points) is a masterpiece and the film will achieve cult status for engineering students in a short period of time.. It has the soul which Five Point Someone had.. It is easily Aamir Khan's finest film to date.. The film's climax is fantabulous and is a shocker.. It takes everyone by surprise...

To conclude 3 IDIOTS has the potential to break all records and sweep all awards.. Watch it... You will Love it...

My Rating: 9/10

Thanks and Regards

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.

I'm from the Philippines. For years, I have always been curious about Indian cinema. I've seen clips of Indian films on cable TV and to be honest...I just don't get it. I don't get all the silly dancing and singing in almost all movies. I find it so corny and irrelevant to the story. But don't get me wrong, Philippine movies back in the 80's were also filled with corny singing and dancing. But we have gone past those and transitioned into movie-making based on good scripts...rather than cheesy story lines.

When a friend of mine recommended this movie, I haven't really heard of it. I thought it was a Hollywood release but it wasn't. It was a Bollywood movie. He said it was really funny, so out of curiosity, I got hold of a copy.

My first thought was that it was nothing but a silly story of 3 guys doing slapstick comedy that I have all seen before. When they started singing "All iz well.." I told myself... I knew it! Just what I thought.

But as the movie progressed...I was amazed at the intelligence embedded in this movie. I was so impressed with the smart dialogues delivered by Amir Khan. It was so mature and thought-provoking. The life crisis all of them were in... the pressures at school..the pressures from society and the pressures from family as well... they rang so true. I was even at one time crying my heart out. I can't believe it! All the preconceived notions about a Bollywood movie were obliterated. I was so moved by this picture and I have no regrets seeing it.