3 Idiots (2009)

Masala Meter 4/5 · Quality 8.5/10 · Hindi · Comedy, Drama

The engineering-college film every Indian parent should be forced to watch.

Three friends, one tyrannical director and an education system that rewards rote over curiosity. It's a comedy first, and the jokes still land fifteen years on, but the reason it became a cultural event is that it said out loud what every hostel already knew.

It runs long and the final act piles on the melodrama, but by then you're too invested to complain.