‘3BHK' film review: This Siddharth-Sarath Kumar-starrer radiates warmth and goodness

The Hindu

6 hours ago

A few years ago, in 2022, came along a nondescript Tamil film titled Kuruthi Aatam. Starring Atharvaa in the lead role, this film packed too many elements. I wrote in my review about this sophomore film from 8 Thotakkal filmmaker Sri Ganesh: 'The biggest problem of Kuruthi Aattam is its desire to pack many things into its already-long 149-minute narrative. There's just too much happening too soon here.'
With his latest film, 3BHK,Sri Ganesh sorts this issue out. The first sequence gets you right into the story — and this elaborates what the trailer already beautifully showcased — Vasudevan (Sarath Kumar) and his family want to build a home. Can they?
This 140-minute cinematic effort goes into answering this singular question. And as it does that, it veers into the individual journeys of the lead characters — Vasudevan (Sarath Kumar), Prabhu (Siddharth), Shanthi (Devayani) and Aarthi (Meetha Ragunath).
Early into 3BHK, the family is rushing to watch a film. They are in an autorickshaw, with Prabhu clinging onto the driver's seat. Despite being worried if they will be late, Sarath Kumar's eyes wistfully looks at an apartment under construction. It was something that came up for sale a few years ago, which he couldn't afford.
And so that evening, the family huddles together after dinner to do the math. Can they actually afford to buy a home in the city? Or would they spend the rest of their lives living out of rented homes?
Could they — a regular middle-class family struggling to make ends meet — be a small king in the concrete jungle?
The math just doesn't work out. Aarthi, the brightspark in the house and a school topper, does the calculations and breaks it down into monthly savings. Everyone smiles. Maybe they just can buy their dream home.
Refreshingly looking at everything from the lens of the different homes that the family moves into, 3BHK delves deep into the average Indian mindset of desperately wanting to possess a home instead of living in rented accommodation. For some families, this dream is fulfilled within a few years. And for some, like Vasudevan and his family, it takes an entire lifetime.
This very desire of owning a home becomes the life purpose of Vasudevan and family. In its initial sequences, 3BHK recreates the Nineties beautifully – a time when exam results arrived on the computers over a patchy Internet connection, the tension over the marks increasing with every pause and keyboard blink on the computer screen.
Sarath Kumar packs a punch in his role, discovering layers to Vasudevan even as he reacts to mostly disappointing news that comes his way. This is as much a story of the father and son, as it is about the pursuit of various houses.
All four in the family are facing some sort of a test. While Sarath Kumar has to learn computers to cope with a changing work environment, Devayani needs to run some sort of a home food business to keep some money coming in. Aarthi needs to adjust too — in fact, the first scene has her jostling with her brother for the bigger cupboard in the house. The biggest exam, of course, is faced by Siddharth, whose life is literally a string of failures with little light at the end of the tunnel. He does destroy a few keyboards angrily in the process of finding light, but what keeps him going is his endearing family and their longing for a home.
3BHK (Tamil)
Director: Sri Ganesh
Cast: Siddharth, Sarath Kumar, Devayani, Yogi Babu, Meetha Raghunath, Chaithra
Runtime: 140 minutes
Storyline: A family has to overcome many odds to buy their own dream home
Siddharth looks not a day older than when he debuted in Boys in 2003 (How? Can he please write a book on this or share secrets? ). Besides his looks and the many books he's buried his nose into, he showcases a convincing performance as a frustrated man trying to address the constant battle between what he desires and what he delivers. Watch out for his agony when a boss gives him an average rating. Or the beaming pride that radiates when he hugs his father on the terrace after one of those life talks we usually dread having. With Chitha and 3BHK, there's a quiet reassurance that Siddharth can ease into his characters. As is the case with the endearing Meetha Raghunath, whose camaraderie with the entire family sparkles. Chaithra of Sapta Saagaradaache Ello fame makes an impact in the few scenes she stars in. With these two in the frame, 3BHK's family is as close to being a real one, with dreams.
What didn't work for me, however, was when 3BHK slips away from the core pursuit of the home story; there is a tangent involving a forced engagement that looked oddly out of place in an otherwise singularly focussed film that is paced leisurely.
Music composer Amrit Ramnath, who dished out a terrific soundtrack in Malayalam filmVarshangalukku Shesham, debuts in Tamil cinema with this and brings along a fresh musical perspective, thus servicing the needs of such a film to the fullest. Peppering the catchy stock musical phrase — 'Kanavellam Nijamaga...' — throughout the many phases in the film adds value. Also contributing in good measure are cinematographers Dinesh Krishnan and Jithin Stanislaus, as does art director Vinoth Rajkumar's blast-to-the-past props.
The most refreshing part of 3BHK is the absence of a singular hero. When you walk out of the cinema hall, it is the image of the four-member family that sticks with you. In a year that gave us Kudumbasthan and Tourist Family, 3BHK is a worthy addition to the list of feel-good entertainers. It shines light on the family, without veering into any unnecessary commercial elements such as fights or songs. 3BHK feels like a tight hug of reassurance.