Anticipation and Reality: The Promise and Pulse of Three.
When Three was announced, it was thought of as ‘just another romantic drama.’ However, it was more than just another romantic drama. It was films like ‘Three’ that carried the weight of a generation’s expectations. It became a cultural talking point as it was the first collaboration between the daughter of the superstar Rajinikanth, Aishwarya R. Dhanush, as a director, and with actor Dhanush alongside actress Shruti Haasan as the leading role. The film was also a talking point because of the buzz surrounding it. The buzz was created not only by the star cast but also the hauntingly beautiful pre-promotional ‘Why this Kolaveri Di’ song that was and still is the anthem of the youth, coupled with the promotional material created a level of hype that was ‘almost unfair’ to the film.
After the pre-release buzz, the film’s promotional material was even more fascinating than the film itself. The film’s promotional material invited the audience for the cinematic journey that was ‘Three.’ The film irresistibly pulled the audience’s fascination for the romantic genre that was then, and still is, extremely popular. However, the film also invited complex feelings as it left the audience with a sense of disillusionment.
The Soundtrack That Became a Social Earthquake
Prior to the release of ‘Three’ in 2012, the collaboration between Dhanush and Anirudh had already gained considerable fame on the internet. ‘Why This Kolaveri Di’ was laidback, humorous, and tragically easy to get stuck in your head. Long before it became a marketing tool, it bypassed language barriers and became a pan-Indian, even global, meme. The quirky “soup song” had a halo effect on ‘Three’. Audiences expected a breezy love story with youthful chaos and emotional resonance.
However, audiences were in for a surprise when the film was actually released. Instead of being a simple romantic drama, ‘Three’ was a deeply unsettling emotional examination of mental illness, love, and loss. The promotional materials were overwhelmingly upbeat, so the film’s heavy emotional center was a profound and deeply unsettling surprise. The heavily advertised ‘musical romance’ that audiences were anticipating was in fact an intense psychological portrait.
A Love That Grew and Broke in Silence
The essence of Three captures Ram (Dhanush) and Janani (Shruti Haasan) – young lovers whose relationships evolve from teenage affection to the complexities of adult life. The first act of the film is radiant and vibrant. There is a genuine innocence in how Aishwarya R. Dhanush portrays young love: the first kisses, the rebellion, the promises whispered in the dark, and the love that made the characters feel like taking a ride on the adrenaline of a bicycle.
Shruti’s Janani is soft-spoken yet curious, and Dhanush’s Ram is the boy every parent warns their daughter about — impulsive but genuine, mischievous but kind. This organic chemistry can, in part, be attributed to the real-life friendship the two actors shared off screen. Dhanush is from the Rajinikanth household by marriage while Shruti is the daughter of Kamal Haasan. Both of them bear powerful film legacies but with seemingly different attitudes – Dhanush always the self-made artist, while Shruti the global-leaning perfectionist. That blessed blend of grounded intensity and intellectual restraint shaped their dynamic beautifully, and their friendship off the screen.
Yet, Three doesn’t remain in the sunlight for very long. As the story progresses, Ram’s mental health starts to decline. What begins as an unexplained sadness evolves into full-fledged bipolar disorder, which Dhanush portrays with excruciating realism. What he does in the role, from frenzied euphoria to paralyzing silence, remains haunting. Janani’s helplessness, her attempts to hold him together while losing herself, reflects the despair of countless relationships entwined with a mental illness.
In this way, the film’s title, Three, assumes deeper meaning — not only in reference to the stages of their love, but the three emotional states which underpin the story: innocence, passion, and despair.
Honoring Dhanush at His Rawest
At the time of the film’s release, Dhanush had only just acquired national fame with the release of Aadukalam, which won him a National Award. However, rather than pursuing commercial safety, he opted for this more personal and risky story, a decision that raised eyebrows. With the passage of time, we can more easily appreciate Three as the film he chose, which became a turning point in Dhanush’s artistic maturation.
Dhanush’s performance as Ram lacks polish and does not fulfill heroic expectations. It’s messier and more unpredictable, bordering on distressing. The breakdowns, moments of quiet detachment, and the climax where love tragically withers away; each emotion bears an authentic lived-in quality. On-set rumors indicated that Dhanush had become so absorbed in the role that he would remain quiet and withdrawn during breaks, leaving the crew worried.
This was not attention-seeking method acting, but rather sheer empathy. In interviews, Aishwarya noted that, due to the intensity of his performance, she would frequently take breaks in order to prevent him from becoming emotionally exhausted. This intensity was what transformed Three from a film to an emotional experience for those who have loved someone who is slowly slipping away.
Shruti Haasan’s Quiet Revolution
For Shruti Haasan, Three came along at a time in her career where her acting, unlike her musical career, was still struggling to find direction. This was a difficult time for her, as she had always lived under the artistic shadow of her father, and was often perceived in South Indian cinema as “too modern” for the traditional heroines. In this film, she was fortunate to have a role that allowed her to embrace vulnerability without sacrificing dignity.
Janani’s character is a woman who is torn between the demands of love and the need for self-preservation. Shruti’s portrayal was quiet, yet powerful. Shruti spent a lot of time preparing for the role, reportedly speaking with psychologists and taking the time to understand the emotional complexities of real-life partners of people with bipolar disorder. This was evident in the later scenes in which she tries to conceal her suffering beneath a practiced smile, but her haunted, desperate eyes give her pain away.
This was one of the few times Shruti shared a screen with a person she had known for several years. The sense of ease and comfort with one another was evident in the early intimate scenes of the film, where tenderness and unspoken trust became the defining elements of their romance.
The Director Who Wrote from the Heart
Aishwarya R. Dhanush’s debut direction was a brave choice, especially when taking her lineage into account. Choosing stillness and melancholy, rather than spectacle, was a risk. It was clearly a personal vision, a great deal of it she had to say in interviews, since 3 was inspired by real stories related to mental health and observations on the fragility of modern love.
The silences taxed her camera. Even if critics called it slow, her pacing was meticulous. The rain sequences, the candlelit arguments, the echoes of Anirudh’s aching score, and the meditative experience in totality. As a first-time helm, she displayed a remarkable control over tone.
The film’s second half, however, was divisive. While critics commendably acknowledged the risk it took, the mainstream audiences found it overwhelming, dark, and a far cry from the viral charm with which the film was initially marketed. The box office dwindled, but, in stark contrast, Three now thrives on streaming platforms and discourse from fans due to its forthright take on mental health.
What the Cameras Didn’t Show
Three had a wealth of stories behind the scenes. The emotional tension on the set was tangible; many scenes were filmed in darkness and fatigue to capture the raw exhaustion of the characters. Aishwarya and Dhanush, in supposedly creative disagreements over the film’s ending, settled on a hauntingly ambiguous finale that profoundly shocked audiences.
Concerns regarding marketing strategies were evident. Shruti Haasan cited the ‘Kolaveri’ situation during promotions when explaining how audiences became “unprepared” for the emotional depth of the film. Some distributors did recommend incorporating “lighter” scenes. However, Aishwarya’s refusal to compromise the integrity of her vision and storyline should be acknowledged.
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