3 Idiots is a great movie for the first 2 hours, and an okay movie for the last hour. And again a great movie for the last 5 minutes. I shouldn’t be rating movies by the hour, but this is what happens with Hindi movies. How many times have you heard “first half is good, second half is boring” for a Hindi movie? That’s because they cram all the fun in the first half (e.g. fun in Europe, carefree college, meet-cute love story) and then all of the plot in the second half. And the plot isn’t worth a naya paisa.

Of course, 3 Idiots has a different problem– it has a fairly good plot for those great 2 hours, but then adds more and more and more for the last hour. Have we seen a yeh shaadi nahi ho sakti yet? No? Let’s add one. How about extended hospital scenes with doctor sahaab mere bete ko bacha leejiye? No? Add one of those. And then maybe an is ladke se zyaada pyaar tumhe kahi nahi milegaa. Before we get to the actual climax.

But it is a great movie for the most part. Rajkumar Hirani is three for three in my book. The story, told in flashbacks Dil Chahta Hai style, involves three engineering students with different approaches to life. It’s funny, it’s mostly accurate, and it’s fresh.

∞

Aamir Khan is 44. Madhavan is 39. And Sharman Joshi is 30. And they’re all playing college kids. This is ridiculous and has to stop. Leaving your hair messed up and never tucking in your shirt doesn’t make you 18.

So we just watched <em>Oye Lucky, Lucky Oye</em> and while it’s not the greatest of movies, it tries all kinds of fun stuff, succeeds at some, fails spectacularly at others, but everyone involved seems to be having such a great time that it’s infectious.

And this has been true about every Abhay Deol movie I have seen: Ek Chaalis ki Last Local, Manorama Six Feet Under and even the silliness that was Dev D. He’s like early Edward Norton— I’d watch a movie just because he was in it and not because he’s the best actor around, but because the fact that he chose to do the movie is a pretty good endorsement for it.

Also I think he is my favorite Deol in the entire world, though early Dharmendra would give him a run for his money. Before the mein tera khum pi jaunga era.

∞

Edward Norton’s first six movies were:

• Primal Fear
• The People vs. Larry Flynt
• Everyone Says I Love You
• Rounders
• American History X
• Fight Club

Then he went on to make 3 movies that were merely okay. But exactly 10 years ago, he could do no wrong.