I've never been able to connect with Bollywood films, and unfortunately "3 Idiots" is no exception. Maybe a runtime of about 90 minutes would have resulted in a more enjoyable film for me. But 164 minutes is just too much. Every joke is unnecessarily drawn out so that the punch line has no effect. Furthermore, the character development only happens at a sluggish pace, even though you know exactly where the journey is going.

The biggest problem for me, however, was the main character, Rancho. He is nothing but a know-it-all, smug asshole. He bullies several people in the course of the film and never has to suffer any consequences for it. Not only that, but he also tends to lecture everyone around him without changing anything about himself. At the same time, he keeps lying to his friends and dragging them into all kinds of trouble. In the end, he even gets rewarded for it. Definitely a no-go for me.

There are, of course, a few positive things about the film, such as the solid score or the excellent cinematography. And the film is never boring—even if the plot drags, there is enough variety in it. However, for a comedy, there were simply too many jokes that didn't work for me to give it a higher rating.