“3BHK” Film Review

Sri Ganesh’s third directorial, 3BHK is much more than just a moving family story. It is also a raw look at the many challenges facing middle class families. Sarathkumar, Devayani, Siddharth, Meetha Raghunath and Chaithra J Achar head the cast, supported by Vivek Prasaana, Subbu Panchu, Yogi Babu, Thalaivaasal Vijay and Dileepan Krishnamurthy.

Vasudevan (Sarathkumar) and his wife, Shanthi (Devayani) live in a rental apartment with their son, Prabhu (Siddharth) and their daughter, Aarthi (Meetha Raghunath). Vasudevan’s goal is quite simple – He would like to own a house some day and see his children become successful. It is no different from the goals and aspirations of most middle class families, regardless of their country of residence. The film deals with the challenges faced by Vasudevan and his family and their attempts to surmount their personal obstacles.

The synopsis of the story does not appear to be the makings of a riveting or entertaining film, but director Sri Ganesh his transformed this ordinary tale by the intense authenticity of his characters – major and minor – and the very realistic treatment of the many relationships in the film. The challenges faced are organic and credible, and the intensity of the performances, supported by a brilliantly written script, enable the audience to become inextricably involved with the characters and their experiences.

This effect would not have been achievable without realistic and powerful acting performances, and it is to the credit of the cast and the film’s writer and director that the impact of the acting is felt so strongly.

Chaithra J Achar in her Tamil debut is most impressive, showing a remarkable ability to convey intense emotions without histrionics.

Sarathkumar is in the best role of his career and he achieves this without melodrama or overacting, instead relying on subtle expressions and body language changes to convey what no amount of dialogue could have achieved.

Siddharth has always shown a palpable comfort with deeply moving roles but none of those match the heights he reaches in this film. Like Sarathkumar, he does not rely on exaggerated displays of emotion but chooses subtlety in his performance. The pain, frustration, disappointments and rage that his character traverses are conveyed with disturbing realism, which ultimately sees the audience sharing the catharsis experienced by the character, Prabhu.

Devayaani makes her comeback to the big screen with all the bells and whistles deserving of an actress of hr calibre. She underplays many of the scenes to artistic perfection and shows increasing screen domination as the film progresses.

Meetha Raghunath is certainly an actress to be watched. Her ability to naturally portray emotions matches or surpasses this ability of more experienced actresses.

Vivek Prasanna, Subbu Panchu and Thalaivaasal Vijay all do an impressive job of their relatively small roles. Yogi Babu in a guest role delivers a memorable performance.

Cinematography by Dinesh B. Krishnan and Jithin Stanislaus show some creative framing and brilliant use of light, showing a particular flair for indoor natural lighting.

It is a very impressive Tamil debut for music composer, Amrit Ramnath, shining more brightly in the film’s background score.

3BHK is an outstanding, realistic and well-scrip[ted film that is backed by powerful acting performances and deals with issues that most people could easily relate to.

3BHK scores 9 points out of 10.