Cast: Aamir Khan, Javed Jaffrey, Sharman Joshi, R. Madhavan
Years after graduating from engineering school, Farhan (Madhavan) and Raju (Joshi) go off in search of their disappeared best friend and classmate, Rancho (Khan). The trio the three idiots of the title give the movie all the elements that make a Bollywood film so great to watch: a heavy dose of comedy, complex father-son relationships and class-defying friendships. It even boasts a runaway bride a plot line that somehow never gets tired. No wonder it's one of Bollywood's highest-grossing films of all time.
As the South Asian International Film Festival kicks off in New York City, feed your Bollywood fever with TIME's list of the best Bollywood classics as well as our Five Essential Bollywood movies to Netflix.