User Reviews

Handover a Beautiful story to two acting powerhouses like Shefali shah and Jaideep ahlawat and they'll turn it deeply exquisite! Shefali's eyes shows the audien a million memories of Shailaja(character). Without Kamal hassan we wouldn't have discovered a gem of an actor like Jaideep ahlawat. Ending shot haunts us and gets etched in our memory. The Filmmaker doesnt give names to the malaises or emotions of the characters - as we grow old our childhood or past memories keep fading and revisiting them feels like knowing about a part of ourselves which we do not recognise by ourselves anymore- it's as if we all suffer with a conditionike dementia but in a non pathological term of definition. Do a favor and watch this gem of a film.

Three of us is a drama film directed by avinash arun dhaware.

You know the film is brilliant, when you can see through the characters, when they are crystal clear about their happiness and grief, their sorrow and joy. This film leaves a lasting impression on a human's present as well as the past. When shailaja's expression changes from a nostalgic twitch to a face saddened with the impending loss, you feel the pain within you. When two friends make up with their lost time on a ferris wheel, away from the chaos, beside the vast sea, you see the genuineness of their conversation. The piano notes in the bgm tap on the characters' memories. It feels like it is making time itself from the chaotic rhythmic progression just like the characters. The cinematography feels like a throbbing timeless nod to the beauty of a pendulum that swings between nostalgia and inherent joy to loss and grief.

The dialogues written are so well woven between the characters, it seems that they are meant to be spoken by them. So much is said through the unsaid. The screenplay peels like an onion one at a time, we get to know shailaja and dipankar. Then we come across pradeep. And at last, we behold their souls, some living in the present, some looking for their past in the present. The screenplay never feels slow, because it never becomes overbearing. It does not decimate its narrative deft in the name of pacing. We know, in the first half, that shailaja suffers a loss in her childhood, that pradeep has a lonesome side to him, but it is only in the second half, that they are conveyed to us, in a way that is subtle and tender. There are some neatly staged scenes. One instance being when dipankar is insecure towards shailaja feeling happiness around pradeep. He questions her whether she felt the same thing with him ever. We never feel it out of place, this insecurity out of place because the staging is such, the writing has been clean. There are scenes like this throughout the film where the film feels like a sweet beginning to something which is happening and also sonething which has been lost beyond ages. This film will be in my personal soace for a long, long time.

The music by Alokananda Dasgupta is exhilarating - particularly one falls in love with the Hindustani classical music and the captivating and soothing background score.

The soul of the film shakes you out of your stupor as we realize the uncertainties and vicissitudes of our lives. As we advance in age and are forced to deal with age-related ailments that threaten to destabilize our normal routine, the period of longingness starts. Shailaja too desires to visit Vengurla before her memories fade away and is supported by her caring husband. She has had a tragic past - both her parents passed away in quick succession a few months after her marriage - this is something that propels her to become an atheist.

One wonders whether Shefali Shah had visited a dementia patient to understand the finer nuances of her character and deliver such an absorbing performance. She brings to life the character of Shailaja Desai Patankar - a soft spoken woman with abundance of fortitude and mental tenacity.

The sporadic blank look on her face as she struggles to remember things and the languid gait as she walks through the roads of Vengurla expose the viewers to the plight of a woman struggling with dementia. The measured tone through which she converses with her husband and her school mates reflect the agony that she is going through. But the agony is not just with regard to her illness. It has also to do with the tragedies in her life. Her empathy with Pradeep when he recounts his tragic past with a drunkard father who just vanishes from their home one fine day gives the viewer a vicarious sense of what a traumatic childhood could be.

Some scenes and dialogues in the movie deserve a special mention. Dipankar assuring his son to study for his exams and focus on his studies and not worry about his mother's precarious condition presents a realistic portrayal of a family dealing with the threat of the woman of the house facing a debilitating illness like dementia. When Pradeep cannot remember whether he visited Parel or Parle during his visit to Mumbai earlier, Dipankar quips - Parel smells of the ocean while Parle smells of glucose biscuits. The penultimate scene in the movie where Shailaja asks Pradeep to recount the last day that they had met 28 years ago and then tells him that she may not remember it in the future is well written. Pradeep quipping that he would not forget it adds to the emotional quotient of this scene.

Every frame in the movie presents a realistic façade and we wonder why the Konkan region has never received publicity like God's Own Country. Maybe our PM should visit the region once to provide a fillip to the marketing efforts to promote Konkan as a tourist destination. Swanand Kirkire excels in his role as a caring and warm husband ready to oblige his wife knowing her medical condition well and attempting to deal with the reality in a pragmatic fashion. Jaideep Ahlawat manages to remain subdued in a power-packed performance and his histrionic abilities shine through in the way he has brought the character of Pradeep Kamat to life. The carefully orchestrated responses and the caution exercised by him not to hurt Shailaja at any point of time speaks volumes about the acting competence of this talented actor whom Bollywood is yet to utilize fully. As reiterated earlier, Shefali Shah lives the role of Shailaja and proves that she is an outstanding actress that Bollywood had ignored all the while.

If you are beyond your 40's and wish to revisit your childhood then "Three of Us" is certainly something that you should not miss. The aftereffects of watching this award-winning movie will linger with you for some time. An engaging narrative, mellifluous music, breathtaking locales, competent direction, sound production quality and awe-inspiring performances make "Three of Us" a delectable weekend watch.

So, if you haven't met any of your schoolmates so far and have an inner desire to do so, act now and act fast and do not forget to watch "Three of Us".

• G Venkatesh.