To start off 3 is not your run of the mill young romantic movie that you would expect. Go with an open mind and you will like the movie. 3 starts off on a grim note but then the breezy school day romance with Chennai and its tuition center culture and school background setting tugs your heart. Ram (Dhanush) is infatuated with Janani (Shruti Hasan) and follows her everywhere with his friend Kumaran (Siva Karthikeyan). There are some comic moments that really set the tempo for a nice romantic comedy you would think. Little bit of frantic chasing of the girl, Ram gets the love of his life. This whole phase is heart warming and both Dhanush and Shruthi look the part as higher secondary students. Ram has a loving family and Janani's family is trying to move to the US. This is the first phase of the movie and is nicely set up.
Phase 2- Is about a phase 5 years after they fell in love and Janani's family is moving to the US, Ram is not happy but lets her go. Janani cannot bear the thought of getting seperated and burns her travel documents and asks Ram to marry her immediately. What follows is a bit of really good interplay of parental love and anger and how Ram works for all of this to come together. Prabhu is really good as Ram's dad, a father who dotes on his son but is never very expressive. This part of the comes together nicely and all the characters play the part neatly.
Part 3- This is the phase of the movie where there are lot of twist and turns and the movie embarks on a serious path. Kudos to the director for exploring the psychological condition of bipolar disorder. Ram has bipolar disorder and is seriously affected by it, this is the part where Dhanush excels and makes the movie his own. Senthil (Sunder Ramu) as his close friend plays a very good supporting part. This is the part where the romance between Ram and Janani is tested with Ram withdrawing away from his love because of his fear that he might hurt her. The way the movie develops from here to a climax would be letting out too much about the movie at this stage.
First time director Aishwarya Dhanush must deserve marks for touching a subject that is not tackled frequently in mainstream Indian movies and needs to be commended for telling that even romantic stories have a darker side. The narration could have been tighter and more attention to script in terms of how actually Ram gets the bipolar disorder would have made given an authentic feel. Dhanush excels and proves why he won the national award last year, Shruthi Hasan gives a commendable performance and looks radiant throughout the movie. Siva Karthikeyan and Sunder Ramu have neatly supported the script as friends with Sunder Ramu deserving a special mention, he has really portrayed his confusion as a friend who is torn by what is happening to Ram. Prabhu and the girl who has played Shruthi's sister in the movie are good support too. The music of the movie is fresh and the song Kolaveri is really a deserving blockbuster. The movie is a tribute to childhood romance and it is a very nice attempt at showing how life challenges changes romance forever. Both lead characters do feel like 2 youngsters who are crazily in love with each other. What one would have liked is a tighter narration and a stronger script, nevertheless 3 is a brave attempt.
Rating:*** (out of 5)
Phase 2- Is about a phase 5 years after they fell in love and Janani's family is moving to the US, Ram is not happy but lets her go. Janani cannot bear the thought of getting seperated and burns her travel documents and asks Ram to marry her immediately. What follows is a bit of really good interplay of parental love and anger and how Ram works for all of this to come together. Prabhu is really good as Ram's dad, a father who dotes on his son but is never very expressive. This part of the comes together nicely and all the characters play the part neatly.
Part 3- This is the phase of the movie where there are lot of twist and turns and the movie embarks on a serious path. Kudos to the director for exploring the psychological condition of bipolar disorder. Ram has bipolar disorder and is seriously affected by it, this is the part where Dhanush excels and makes the movie his own. Senthil (Sunder Ramu) as his close friend plays a very good supporting part. This is the part where the romance between Ram and Janani is tested with Ram withdrawing away from his love because of his fear that he might hurt her. The way the movie develops from here to a climax would be letting out too much about the movie at this stage.
First time director Aishwarya Dhanush must deserve marks for touching a subject that is not tackled frequently in mainstream Indian movies and needs to be commended for telling that even romantic stories have a darker side. The narration could have been tighter and more attention to script in terms of how actually Ram gets the bipolar disorder would have made given an authentic feel. Dhanush excels and proves why he won the national award last year, Shruthi Hasan gives a commendable performance and looks radiant throughout the movie. Siva Karthikeyan and Sunder Ramu have neatly supported the script as friends with Sunder Ramu deserving a special mention, he has really portrayed his confusion as a friend who is torn by what is happening to Ram. Prabhu and the girl who has played Shruthi's sister in the movie are good support too. The music of the movie is fresh and the song Kolaveri is really a deserving blockbuster. The movie is a tribute to childhood romance and it is a very nice attempt at showing how life challenges changes romance forever. Both lead characters do feel like 2 youngsters who are crazily in love with each other. What one would have liked is a tighter narration and a stronger script, nevertheless 3 is a brave attempt.
Rating:*** (out of 5)
