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".
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.