Dil Chahta Hai

Well, here's a thing. I am quite the movie lover, a fan of cult movies, but will watch anything. I believed I had covered all genres and styles of movie making, until now. A friend pointed out that I was missing an important element of modern film making, Bollywood. "Do you have a reason not to watch these?", I am asked. "Well... umm... no, none at all..." I guess it was the lack of this style of movie in national cinemas and non promotion by DVD rental companies that caused this gap in my viewing pleasure. No excuse really, it may just have been my belief that these were musical movies, which I lean away from.
So, I receive a recommendation. Dil Chahta Hai. A modern example of the style billed as a romantic comedy. Ok, overall I wasn't disappointed. It was a good coming-of-age, entering adulthood movie. The musical set pieces, a novelty for me, actually had a purpose. Cool, this was better than the occasionally cringe-worthy Hollywood musicals that I lean away from. The songs continued or added to the storyline, very clever. I think I missed some cultural references regarding family and growing up, but not to the detriment of the movie. Funny, sad and happy. It was all of these, which is just what I look for in romantic comedy. Would I recommend it? Well, only with reservations. I had a problem with the movie, it was very long, 3 hours. I tried very hard, but 3 hours of subtitles really took it out of me. This isn't the movies fault, I am giving it 7 out of 10.
Is this the start of a whole new era of movie viewing for me? Maybe, yes. I want another recommendation, half the length if possible. And then there's a good chance I'll be looking for a good Bollywood review site.