3 (2012 Indian film)

3 is a 2012 Indian Tamil-language romantic psychological thriller film written and directed by Aishwarya R. Dhanush, the ex-wife of the actor Dhanush, who also produced the film, thus making their debut in both the fields. He also played the lead role alongside Shruti Haasan, whilst Sivakarthikeyan and Sunder Ramu appear in prominent roles. The film follows Ram (Dhanush) and Janani (Shruti Haasan), two intermediate sweethearts who eventually get married. However, Janani is mystified when Ram commits suicide all of a sudden and she tries to find out the truth behind his death.

The film was launched on 5 August 2011 in Chennai, with Dhanush and Amala Paul in lead roles, the latter was replaced by Shruti Haasan, due to schedule conflicts. The cinematography was handled by Velraj and editing was done by Kola Bhaskar. The soundtrack album and background score were composed by Dhanush's cousin-in-law Anirudh Ravichander, marking his debut as a composer with lyrics written by Dhanush, received positive reviews upon release. The song "Why This Kolaveri Di" penned and sung by Dhanush, became one of the most streamed songs of all time and was also listed as one of the "Recently Most Popular (Gold) Videos" on YouTube.

The film was released worldwide on 30 March 2012, and received positive reviews, with most critics praising the performances of Dhanush and Shruti, Anirudh's soundtrack and score, but the narration of the film received some criticism. The film won three Filmfare Awards for Best Actor and Best Male Playback Singer for Dhanush, and Best Music Director for Anirudh Ravichander. Dhanush won three awards, Best Actor, Best Lyricist, and Best Male Playback Singer at the 2nd South Indian International Movie Awards. Following the success of the song "Why This Kolaveri Di", Dhanush was invited by Former Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh as a Guest of Honour.

Plot
At Ram's funeral, his wife Janani hallucinates about him running away, and the film flashes back to when Ram and Janani were 12th-grade students when Ram helps Janani fix her bicycle and tells his friends Senthil and Kumaran that he has a crush on her. He joins her tuition, in order to see her every day, in the hopes that she will reciprocate his love for her. As time goes by, she eventually reciprocates his love.

After Janani is awoken by her maid, she tries to hunt for Ram's friend, Senthil, for knowing the mystery behind Ram's death. Janani enquires about Senthil's parents but she doesn't find any clue. Later, Janani finds a suicide letter from Ram in his coat. She again requests Senthil's parents to convince Senthil to help Janani and she asks him to reveal what they were hiding from her. A distraught Senthil tells Janani that when she was leaving for the US, Kumaran got married and he went to Singapore. Upon finding out that his two friends have moved on, Ram hallucinates and almost drowns when he tries to swim past a beach but is saved by Senthil. Senthil doesn't suspect anything strange and just thinks that this happened because Ram was drunk. Later on, one day when Ram took a 3.2 crore loss, he lost his control and he accidentally kills Janani's pet dog, Tom. This leads Senthil to consult a doctor and notices him being strange having extreme emotions, the primary emotions being despair or anger. Senthil tells a doctor about Ram's actions, the doctor reveals it might be bipolar disorder, and if bipolar disorder is not treated, It could lead to suicide. When Senthil tries to warn Ram by inviting him to spend nights out with him, Ram loses his sense of control and attacks Senthil with a bottle, and chair, and he leaves the place. Later, Senthil finds Ram unconscious on the road.

The visit from the doctor confirms Ram has severe bipolar disorder, but Ram refuses to get admitted to Hospital because of his love for Janani. To stay away from Janani, Ram goes on a pilgrimage, causing further anguish. Janani takes notice of Ram's absurd behavior and she asks Ram why he is acting weird. Later, at a club, Ram picks a fight with a drunkard who was misbehaving with Janani. Later, Ram and Senthil are beaten up by the gang of the drunkard's friends. When the drunkard tries to kill him, Ram beats them up and incapacitates them. That night, Ram and Senthil get back home with wounds. Janani becomes restless seeing Ram injured. After this incident, Ram decides not to reveal his condition to Janani. Ram spends time in the hospital as his condition worsens. Janani becomes frustrated with Ram for not telling her where he goes, and why. Janani suspects Ram of having an extramarital affair. Janani lashes out at Ram and she cries. After a while, Ram, in a manic state, he tries to kill Janani, unbeknownst to her (since she was in a deep sleep) but is stopped by Senthil. This makes Ram feel guilty.

Ram requests his father to transfer his company shares to Janani, and Ram wants Senthil to leave him to see Janani. Senthil refuses, and Ram suddenly bashes Senthil's head against a steering wheel, rendering him unconscious. Ram tearfully says goodbye to Senthil and he leaves the car. In the present, Senthil and Janani are crying profusely. As Ram goes to Janani's bedroom and he watches her sleep, he suddenly hallucinates seeing a young girl saying "Either kill her or you die." Terrified, Ram immediately gets away from her bed. Ram goes to his office and he writes a suicide note while the hallucinations continue. Ram grabs a knife and struggles to kill himself. In the present Janani is wailing in grief as she learns her husband's fate. The film ends with Ram committing suicide by slitting his throat and saying his final words, "I love you, Janani".

The movie includes a message at the end that "Suicide is not a solution. Bipolar disorder can be treated with proper medical help."

Cast

 * Dhanush as Ramachandran
 * Shruti Haasan as Janani Ramachandran, Ram's wife
 * Sivakarthikeyan as Kumaran, Ram's friend since school days
 * Sunder Ramu as Senthil, Ram's friend since school days, the only one who knew Ram's condition
 * Prabhu as Ram's father
 * Bhanupriya as Ram's mother
 * Jeeva Ravi as Janani's father
 * Rohini as Janani's mother
 * Gabriella Charlton as Sumi, Janani's sister
 * Sunita Gogoi as Priya, Janani's friend
 * Sumathi Sree as Eshwari, Ram's and Janani's housemaid
 * Badava Gopi as Teacher
 * Manoj Kumar as Senthil's father
 * Anuradha Krishnamoorthy as Senthil's mother

Production
Aishwarya R. Dhanush stated that the script was written with Amala Paul in mind after being impressed by her work in Mynaa, but the actress was initially unavailable to do the film. Aishwarya later signed Shruti Haasan to the role. This film's press meet was held at the Star City Hotel on 5 August 2011 in Chennai with the director, the cinematographer and the lead pair, Dhanush and Amala Paul.

The film was originally meant to begin its first schedule in October 2011 but in a turn of events, Dhanush had free dates in August and September 2011. However, Amala Paul was unavailable to start the film early and left the project, and Shruti Haasan joined the team after her Telugu film was delayed.

Music
The soundtrack and score for this film are composed by Anirudh Ravichander, marking his debut as a music composer. The song... "Why This Kolaveri Di" was released as a single by Sony Music on 16 November 2011. This song written and performed by Dhanush, became one of the most streamed songs of all time. It also featured in the "Recently Most Popular (Gold) Videos" on YouTube. The full soundtrack album was released at a launch event on 23 December 2011 and gained extremely positive reviews.

Release
The satellite rights of the film were secured by Sun TV. The film released on 30 March 2012. Its Hindi dubbed version was supposed to release on 29 May 2012 but it was released in 2020. The film released with 1000 prints in Tamil. The film released in 1250 screens worldwide for both versions.

Film producer and distributor Natti Kumar reportedly said that out of the Rs. 60 million (US$1.33 million approximately) he spent on distribution rights and publicity, he had been able to recover only Rs. 47.0 million (US$0.83 million approximately).

In 2024, the movie was re-released in the UK, at theatres.

Reception
The film received mostly positive reviews from critics. Vishnupriya Bhandaram of The Hindu wrote "Aishwarya R. Dhanush takes a twisted look at love and its meaning – when you put someone before your own existence – comes across as profound, underlining theme in the film. It fades out as a moving and tragic ode to romance, to the grand idea called 'love'". Moviebuzz of Sify called the film "poignant", quoting that "On the whole, 3 has its heart in the right place, though the second half seem scattered. Overlook these faults, and make it a point to watch 3". One India concluded that "3 is an engaging tale backed by wonderful performances of Dhanush and Shruti Hassan" and rated it 60 out of 100. Pavithra Srinivasan of Rediff rated the movie 3 out of 5, saying that "There are certain moments in 3 that defy logic at times, and sentiment rules the roost, but Aishwarya Dhanush has chosen to present a take on romance that is appealing in its freshness. The lead actors help as well. Her little thriller-twist aside, 3 is a movie that is an ode to romance, above all else." L Romal M Singh of DNA India gave the movie 3 stars out of 5, commenting that "We do not think anyone would want to watch the movie again, only because it demands too much from you emotionally. We however, plan to watch this movie once more and walk out during the interval, we'd advise the romantics to do the same."

In rated the film 3.5 out of 5, claiming that "3 is average and not worth watching in the theaters. Better wait for the DVD! It fails to meet the expectations and works only in parts, but Aishwarya had shown promise by taking a serious subject in her very first film". Behindwoods rated the film 3 stars out of 5, commenting that "3 has good performances, but is let down by slower narration". "

Awards

 * 2nd South Indian International Movie Awards
 * Best Actor - Dhanush
 * Best Lyricist - Dhanush for "Kannazhaga"
 * Best Male Playback Singer - Dhanush for "Why This Kolaveri Di"
 * Nominated—Best Actress - Shruti Haasan
 * Nominated—Best Music Director - Anirudh Ravichander.
 * Nominated—Best Male Playback Singer - Mohit Chauhan for "Po Nee Po"
 * Nominated—Best Female Playback Singer - Shruti Haasan for "Kannazhaga"
 * Nominated—Best Female Playback Singer - Shweta Mohan for "Nee Partha Vizhigal"
 * Nominated—Best Debutant Producer - Dhanush
 * Nominated—Best Debutant Director - Aishwarya Dhanush


 * 60th Filmfare Awards South
 * Best Actor - Dhanush
 * Best Male Playback Singer - Dhanush ("Why This Kolaveri Di")
 * Nominated—Best Actress - Shruti Haasan
 * won—Best Music Director - Anirudh


 * Asiavision Awards
 * Excellence in Tamil - Shruti Hassan


 * Vijay Awards
 * Best Actor - Dhanush
 * Best Male Playback Singer - Mohit Chauhan for "Po Nee Po"
 * Best Find of the Year - Anirudh
 * Nominated—Best Actress - Shruti Haasan
 * Nominated—Best Music Director - Anirudh
 * Nominated—Favourite Hero - Dhanush
 * Nominated—Favourite Heroine - Shruti Haasan
 * Nominated—Favourite Song - "Why This Kolaveri Di"