This is one of my favorite bollywood movies, and I have only seen the best of them. What endears this film to me most is the sheer likability and charm of the main character, the absence of a definite villain and quiet pathos. Apart from that the director does a fair job of maintaining narrative focus and shooting with a grace that compliments the colors of rural life and India. However, the man who does his job the best is the composer. A.R Rahman delivers a top notch soundtrack thats both catchy, expressive and consistent with the tone.

What drags this movie down the most is ,of course, the excessive length. The director, who does maintain narrative focus, should have realized that the scale of the movie is not grand enough to require over 180 minutes of running time. The movie seems to stop at certain conclusive moments in between only to start again with a new dilemma. Other small problems include the mostly unfunny humor, the main female character's expository dialogue, the gooey obligate romance and the tacked on happy ending.

Now to address the summary, traditional Disney animated movies and most bollywood movies have a lot in common. Taking this movie for example, we find in it most of what is needed for a Disney feature, a charming male hero, a charming female lead with a plea for independence, songs that serve as major plot development, no room for an ambiguous ending, a warm hearted and simple message and the hero's emotional arc culminating in his salvation, but what this movie lacks in humor and pace Disney can provide.

Still, however if one thing needs to be said, it's what a lovely movie.