(Never thought in my life I would write a Bollywood movie review in my blog. Here we go.)

First off, I am not an established movie critic. I never had any formal training or hang out with the movie makers of the industry, let alone make a movie. Heck, there are only 4 posts in the movie category in this blog. But I considered myself quite a critical movie goers. Directed a few plays, wrote a couple of scripts, seeing emotions for a living, I think I know just a bit on how to tell whether a movie is good or not.

Tell you the truth, I am sick seeing Hollywood movies. The car explosions, the predictable plot, the national security situation, the forbidden love, the overwhelming computer graphics, the dialogues, and so on. Writing this now I can not tell you the last Hollywood movie that really inspires me, with some really smart lines in it, except The Weather Man (I am a big fan). I am bored. Even a portion of Avatar didn’t do anything for me. For the last year I thought I would never found another love in the movies. Then I watched “3 Idiots”.

Knowing the title from the buzz in the twittersphere, especially from the local artists (artists, not celebrities!) I walked into Blitzmegaplex in Pacific Place yesterday, with just a glimmer of hope seeing something ‘good’, something to cure my impotence in movie watching.

I never watched a Bollywood movie in a theater in my life before, so I am prepared for the worst. Because Bollywood has its shares of the predictable-lebayisque elements (the dance, the song, the chase, the rain, the I-can-see-your-nipples-through-that-wet-shirt-while-you-are-dancing) But after a couple of minutes in my seat, I am hooked. The movie picked itself in the first fifteen minutes, and you can just taste it in the dialogues n plots, that this is going to be a good one. This is it.

I don’t know how to write a review without giving some spoilers, since I also don’t really like spoilers, so I’ll do my best not to. The movie tells about a friendship between three guys, Rancho, Farhan, and Raju. Sound familiar? Because it is. Childhood/teenager friendship that shapes the future into an adulthood plot is a familiar approach to a movie. But this one is… different. The sub-plots are unpredictable (that’s a hard feat to accomplish in this day of everything-is-exploited age). The dialogues are smart. Really smart and those kinds that makes you wonder what’s the next line? Lines that are quote-worthy. The acting is superb. Really funny. You also can learn a lot about real life values. But most of all, it is entertaining. The movie itself is almost three hours. I can tell mid-way that the movie is long, since so many conflicts have not yet resolved, but I felt conciously that I don’t mind sitting since everything is so good.

I also miss a good laugh in the movies. You know those genuine laughter filled applause in the theater after a very good joke or twist on the screen? We got lots of that in the ‘3 Idiots’. People besides me are “woo-hoo”-ing all the time. Not to mention myself. (I love woo-hoo-ing in the movies).

My only dissatisfaction in the movie is that there’s too many man-tears in the last quarter of the movie. I understand the director’s intention to jerk our tears, but let the lines and the acting build up the atmosphere themselves, we don’t need to see a man crying every two minutes. Then again, I am a novice in the Bollywood circles, so maybe that’s how they do it there (lots of man-tears). And you also still can see some nipples in the rain. Just close your eyes a bit.

Conclusion: Go watch it. It is very entertaining, I guarantee you will at least talk about it in the car on your way home (which I doubt that’s the only place you’re gonna talk about it). The price might be a bit steep (Rp 75.000) – but it is worth more than three times your average Hollywood movie. Get your friends, mom, dad, grandma, grandpa, borthers, sisters, neighbours etc, to watch it. I am rallying my mom and dad to check it out right now. Check out the schedules for Blitzmegaplex here. Trailer here (would like to embed but its disabled). And iTunes soundtrack here (I have been shaking my booty all morning).

So please, Mr. Blitzmegaplex, don’t take the movie down anytime soon. Use the Universal Soldier slot. I am sure there’s not too many of us want to watch Dolph Lundgren and Van Damme exchanging bodily fluids.

UPDATE: Blitz is saying that the 75 thou rate is for weekend only. On weekdays its 50 thou. Well worth it.

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