A very different Indian film that I'm used to seeing. Small, personal, quirky, funny, and sometimes quite touching, it follows a young man using the excuse of driving his uncle's ancient Chevy truck across the desert as a way to get away from having to continue on with his father's hair oil business.
Of course, along the way, he gathers friends and enemies, and learns a host of lessons about life, love, poverty and what it means to be a man. While it was fun to see this familiar story in such a different cultural context, it is still a familiar story, at times too familiar.
There were also moments where the delicate blend of humor and reality didn't quite work - dangerous situations solved too cutely, complex relationships wrapped up in a few moments, important social issues touched on, but not explored.
Still, this is beautifully photographed, well acted, enjoyable and a very human movie, that also shows the world-wide power of film (on the truck are projectors and old films that serve our hero more than once).
Not quite a great film, but a charming, well made, and heart-felt one that's well-worth catching.