Film
Columbus
Other titles called Columbus: the 2017 film.
A Telugu romantic comedy about a college student whose obsessive pursuit of an uninterested woman derails spectacularly—landing him in jail and dragging him across India. When he's released, a new connection offers unexpected redemption. It's charming chaos: funny, earnest, and wonderfully unashamed about its emotional messiness.
Should you watch it?
Watch it if you enjoy a romance that wanders sideways into a murder mystery, where a lovesick hero's bad decisions are funnier than they have any right to be.
Skip it if you want a tight, efficient plot, since this one meanders across its 127 minutes and its tone swings between sweet and slapstick.
What it asks of you: Expect a long, unhurried run of nearly two hours with a light touch, and patience for scenes that linger on the hero's moping.
Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.
If you liked this
Arjun Reddy2017
Raw, combustible portrait of a man destroyed by romantic obsession. Like Columbus, it mines dark comedy from a protagonist's self-sabotage, but takes the spiral far more seriously and painfully.
But The lead character is genuinely awful for much of it. If you need to like the person on screen, this will exhaust you.
Pelli Choopulu2016
A Telugu romance that plays with meet-cute expectations and actually lets its characters grow. Warm, funny, refreshingly grounded about how relationships actually develop.
But The pacing is deliberate. If you're impatient for plot movement, it can feel slight.
Mahanati2018
Telugu cinema at its most confident. A biographical film with gorgeous production design, complex emotions, and a lead performance that commands every frame. Shows what the industry is capable of.
But Nearly three hours long, and it assumes some familiarity with Indian cinema history. Dense in ways Columbus isn't.
Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from Columbus
The wildcard
Something you would not have found on your own.
Natrang2010
Both explore how obsession—romantic or artistic—can consume a person and wreck their sense of proportion. But Natarang is serious where Columbus is comic, and about art rather than love.
Marathi film about an aging theater actor who becomes obsessed with a classical role. It's a portrait of obsession transforming someone—how it builds them and destroys them simultaneously. Funny and tragic in equal measure.
But Theater obsession isn't for everyone. The film is also very long and philosophically heavy. Not a light watch.
More like this (6)
Rang De Basanti2006
Hindi ensemble about young people grappling with purpose and idealism. Like Columbus, it's juggling comedy, romance, and genuine stakes—just with higher drama and national consequence.
But The tonal shifts are abrupt. Comedy disappears entirely in the second half, which feels jarring even when it works.
3 Idiots2009
College setting, ensemble cast, romance subplot, mystery structure. It balances humor and heart the way Columbus tries to, but with vastly more ambition and resources.
But Over three hours and deeply sentimental. The emotional beats can feel manipulative if you're not in the mood.
Premam2015
Malayalam romance spanning decades. Smart about how obsessive love changes shape as you age. Light-handed and genuinely touching without ever being heavy-handed.
But It's in Malayalam. If subtitles exhaust you, skip it.
Ee Nagaraniki Emaindi?2018
Telugu comedy-drama about a group of friends planning a reunion. Ensemble energy, warm ensemble cast chemistry, romance woven through friendship. Effortlessly likeable.
But The plot is tissue-thin. It's vibes and character moments, not story. Some will find that liberating; others will find it slack.
Pakeezah1972
A classic about love across social boundaries, shot like a dream. If you want to understand the romantic register that Columbus is playing in, this is the ancestral text.
But Made in 1972. The pacing, style, and politics will feel distant. It's a historical document as much as entertainment.
Lucia2013
Both are regional Indian films that refuse the big-studio romance template and build their own logic instead. Lucia goes surreal where Columbus stays grounded, but both trust the audience to sit with weirdness.
Kannada magical-realist indie about a woman who uses a drug to dream more vividly. Strange, lyrical, genuinely original. A complete tonal departure but shares Columbus's refusal to be a standard romance.
But Experimental and opaque. You won't always know what's real. The ending is deliberately unresolved. If you need narrative clarity, it will frustrate you.
People
Cast
Recommended by
Alone With Her, Windsor, The Intervention, The Myth of the American Sleepover