3 Idiots (2:40) 2009

I detest this movie title but really enjoyed this Bollywood film. The style of this film is hard to explain. It's serious, it's slapstick, it's a romance with song and dance. Three friends, Rancho, Raju and Farhan are studying engineering at an Indian engineering university. Rancho has a devil-may-care attitude and revolts against the high pressure of the school. Rancho is there to learn for the joy of learning. The trio try to outwit their nemesis, Virus, a rigid no nonsense college dean. Rancho, the leader of the group, falls for the daughter of the dean making the situation even more complicated. Although some of the antics remind me of Animal House, the serious subject of suicide is dealt with. One student, buckling under the pressure, attempts suicide by jumping out the third floor, another hangs himself as he doesn't want to enter the field and does so only to please his father. This is an interesting look at a very different culture but one that highly values learning. It was also interesting to see how adult men and women abide by the father's wishes. Watching the movie was a little bit of a culture shock, it took me about a half an hour to get accustomed to the style but I really did grow to like the main characters.