Good entertainment

Rating: Null/10 (27 September 2011)

It does not really matter whether this is intentional on the part of the movie makers or just my own imagination – the three Indian leads, in order of their appearances, resemble Mark Ruffalo, Gael Garcia Bernal and Tony Curtis (some would say Tom Hanks). Whatever that is, it certainly doesn't hurt the movie at all, nor does the winsome eye-candy female lead.
The plot outline and story detail combine familiar stuff with some innovations. Starting with "ten-years-later", it employs the proved structure of flashbacks to recount the days the three protagonists share at college day when they cemented a heart-warming friendship – a full entertainment package complete with comedy, romance, breathtaking scenery, mild poignancy and even some "messages" with respect to the nature of education. On the last score I won't get overboard although some critics may make a big thing out of it. I rarely look at a movie as anything beyond entertainment, and those who believe that a 2-hour movie can double up as a full semester of philosophy, sociology, political or whatever "100" course are welcomed to continue to indulge in their delusion.
By the way, this is actually a 3-hour movie. Word-of-mouth recommendations I received unanimously agree that the 3 hours would fly by without one's noticing it. I generally agree, but not 100%. There are times in the middle when it drags on somewhat, although the last half hour of finale is redeeming. Knowing what Bollywood is like, one shouldn't complain too much about the song-and-dance sequences appropriately sparsely inserted. After all, they even have such things in Ozon ("8 femmes" 2002)), so what's the fuss? And I have to admit that the rhythmic tunes are quite enjoyable. The only downside is that the resultant length gave an excuse to the local cinema operators to hike the admission price – a bit of a rip off.
All told, this is a good entertainment package, price hike notwithstanding.