When you watch the first half of the movie 3BHK, directed by Sri Ganesh, you will sense this broad-stroke nature in the narrative as we skim through the teenage and college life of the hero, where he struggles to live up to the expectations of his family. Even though the emotions of the family and the situation of the hero are becoming highly relatable, there is this sense of rush to get through those parts of the story. When the movie entered the second half, I thought Sri Ganesh would be opting for one more round of rushed middle-class problems. But that’s the area where this movie wins you over emotionally by almost breaking the path one would imagine the story would take.
The story starts in 2007, where our main man, Vasudevan, and his family have just moved into a rented space. Vasudevan’s elder son, Prabhu, is now studying in a costly private school for the 12th, and the family has high hopes for him. At the same time, the family desperately wants to have a house of their own, and Vasudevan’s daughter Aarthy even has a plan ready for the family to save money. The hurdles that come in the way of their dream of having a home are what we see in 3BHK.
There are points in the movie where one would feel that Sri Ganesh might end up making a movie that glorifies sacrifice, marriage as an adjustment, and even building a home as mandatory. However, the goal of having a home is only a thematic element for the story to move forward. What was beautiful about the concept was how Sri Ganesh was able to place obstacles that land very organically in the way of this dream. Whenever that plan gets pushed, the reasons are very practical. The core idea is your clichéd “Do what you love” philosophy. But 3BHK was perhaps one of the most grounded films because the number of setbacks they had to face in order to understand that ideology was too many and too real.
The beauty of the second half of this movie is that it is much more about adult life, and that is an anxious phase for any person, as there are numerous responsibilities. Illness of parents, marriage of siblings, their own marriage, job frustrations, and several other things that happen in the life of an average person are being used here effectively. That relatability helps the movie in creating an emotional impact. Somewhere, the victory of the hero after all these emotional and financial setbacks feels personal. I loved how they never left the sister character Aarthy from the picture, and I would say Aarthy’s journey in the movie may have a shot at presenting progressive relationship thoughts in markets that prefer old-school sentiments. Throughout the movie, Vasudevan is shown as a well-mannered, sweet, and good family man, and I loved how Sri Ganesh breaks that stereotype of glorifying such people in the final bits of this movie.
One thing fascinating about this movie is the flexibility of the cast to pull off a twenty-year journey. Except for the really old version of Sarathkumar, everyone else in the cast looked perfect for their respective age in every phase of the story. Siddharth as Prabhu, pulls off the initial tandrums, the insecurities, confusions, and the eventual clarity of that character very beautifully on-screen. Sarathkumar, on the other hand, plays this calm father character. In general, the movie never goes into that overtly melodramatic phase in terms of performance, and Sarathkumar also restrains himself from there. In terms of the character design and the way that character has been performed, Devayani’s Shanthi is your typical peacemaker mother. But that one apologizing scene in the end sort of shows you the movie’s empathy towards that character. Meetha Raghunath, who rarely spoke in Good Night gets this vivacious, full on energy character in this movie and her performance makes Aarthy a significant voice in this story. Chaithra J. Achar as Aishwarya, the understanding and enabling partner, also did her part neatly, and I must say the placement of the ice cream guy in that romantic scene was hilarious.
On the whole, as a coming-of-age film, 3BHK is not trying to be this escapist feel-good movie. It asks you to pursue things with passion, and it also shows you the sad repercussions and the hollowness of achievements when the security of the future is your only concern. One of the names I saw in the filmography of this movie was Gullak, and just like that TVF series, 3BHK from Sri Ganesh talks about the uncomfortable things in a warm and pleasant milieu.
