3 Idiots

This is a Bolywood film that our guide in Nepal (Kiron) insisted I should watch as an example of how Bolywood can be good and isn't all just about song-and-dance numbers and star-crossed lovers. Although I probably shouldn't have taken him seriously after he showed as an 'excellent political drama' on Indian TV that was literally laughably edited. Anyway, entirely randomly the film was available on the plane back, so even though I initially baulked at the 170 minutes run time I quickly realised I was due to be on a plane for 10 hours and pressed play.

"3 Idiots" is a film in which a bunch of university students get together 5 years after leaving university to work out which of them has done the best. Most of the film is told as a flashback to their university days at engineering college in which each of the characters fulfills a ready-made standard role. There's the studious but failing one with lots of heart, the religious one, the teacher's pet and their friend / nemesis - the naturally brilliant Rancho who defies the impossibly arch faculty head's rules and aces every test thrown at him with his endless talent.

Obviously the brilliant Rancho wins at everything, including wooing the faculty head's daughter and teaching his nerdier mates that they should live their own lives rather than struggling to be the sons that their fathers want them to be. It actually gets quite emotional towards the end as the main characters come to terms with their own dreams and face up to their overwhelming parental expectations.

I'm a little sad to admit it, but there was definitely a tear forming in my eye at this point. Bloody Boeing 777 air conditioning.

It's simple, obviously-plotted and melodramatic to the extreme with a couple of expertly-choreographed dance numbers - in other words, exactly what I would have expected from a Bolywood film. None of this is necessarily a bad thing though. Despite the long running time, hackneyed sight gags, fart jokes and made-for-the-masses love interest I mostly enjoyed it. Certainly not film of the year, but when you're next stuck in an aluminium tube for 10 hours you could do a lot worse.