3 - Movie Review

Aishwarya Dhanush's 3 is an intense-romantic drama, which is youthful at core. It can also be termed as an urban-centric film that chronicles a couple's three stages of being-in-love. The debutant director has etched a story - with limited characters - keeping the new-age sensibilities in mind. She has also ensured to deliver what the modern-day men love to see on-screen.

The movie 3 begins on a death note and instantly tells the audience that the movie is not all about regular affair, and there is something serious about it. Within a couple of minutes, a flashback takes us to a lively atmosphere, where Ram (Dhanush) is seen dressing up to go to college. On the rainy day, he leaves the house on his bike and sees a girl named Janani (Shruti Hassan) repairing her cycle in the middle of the traffic. It does not take much-time for him to fall in love, which makes to do the things what every boy does in the initial stage. In no time, their love blossoms and after facing some minor hurdles, Ram-Janani ties the knot.

The first half of 3 goes like a usual love story, yet giving hints that the story will take a serious turn in the next half. In the second half, the tale takes a shocking twist, where it is revealed that Ram is suffering from Bipolar Disorder, a psychological disease. Then, its subject focuses on his struggling to come out of the sufferings. The remaining part is advised to watch on-screen.

Aishwarya Dhanush's way of narration and maintaining the suspense till the end are impressive. She succeeds in the first half by keeping the story lively with some wonderfully written one-liners. The natural-progress of the love tale between the lead stars is interesting. But in the second half, she seems to have lost the grip on the script, as it is too dragging at parts. The filmmaker has convinced the two phases of the film 3, but the last stage somewhat fails to impress the viewers.

Dhanush wins the heart with his impeccable acting. He reminds his looks of Thulluvadho Ilamai as a young boy in the first half and with his intense side of a mature man in the second. His performance, especially in the climax scene and its penultimate sequence are heart-wrenching. His co-star Shruti Hassan has equally competed with him when it comes to performance. In fact, she has tried to give a natural touch to her role, thereby avoiding overacting. Other actors like Prabhu, Bhanu Priya, Siva Karthikeyan have done justice to their roles.

Technically, the songs of 3 does not require any introduction, as the audio of the film has become a massive hit. Especially, the track, 'Kolaveri di...' not only drew the nation's attention but also our neighbouring countries like Pakistan and Sri Lanka. Cinematographer Velraj's work is praise worthy, but Kota Bhaskar's editing is not up to mark. The editor could have easily reduced the movie by at least 10-12 minutes, as the film gets boring at parts.

Verdict: On the whole, 3 has a engaging tale backed by wonderful performances of Dhanush and Shruti Hassan. The film gets 60 out of 100.