3BHK

Over an hour into 3 BHK, director Sri Ganesh stages a scene in a restaurant that is completely disconnected from the rest of the film. It occurs out of nowhere and sticks out like a stray limb out of a burning pyre. Prabhu (Siddharth) and his sister Aarthy (Meeta Raghunath) take their parents, Vasudevan (Sarath Kumar) and Shanthi (Devayani), to a fancy restaurant for their wedding anniversary. The restaurant is way out of their middle class means. As a flabbergasted Vasudevan looks at the menu and his surroundings, Prabhu turns to him and says “kaalam maari pochu (times have changed)”. It is a regular aphorism, but it is also the title of a popular 1996 film from the stables of V Sekar, the ‘90s kingpin of middle-class family dramas. Dramas that might be lowbrow on the surface but have a remarkable level of honesty and clarity. They shoot straight and are seldom disingenuous. That moment really clicked into place what is not working with 3 BHK, ostensibly a similar film but one that takes itself way too seriously and has very little authenticity to deserve our attention.

For a middle-class family, owning a house is a distant dream – one that not many can afford. For some, this dream is their sole identity. For others, it is a mark of respect. But how long must a middle-class family of four toil to own a 3BHK flat in a high-rise building, especially when life keeps throwing curveballs their way? That’s exactly what director Sri Ganesh’s ‘3BHK’ explores. Vasudevan (Sarathkumar) is the sole breadwinner of a middle-class family of four. He and his wife Shanthi (Devayani), along with their son Prabhu (Siddharth) and daughter Aarthy (Meetha Raghunath), move from one rented house to another as he continues to save for a home of their own, because for Vasudevan, house = respect. ‘3BHK’ chronicles several decades of Vasudevan and his family’s life and their struggle to fulfil their dream. Every time they get inch closer to it, life intervenes – where needs become more important than wants. Vasudevan invests in Prabhu’s education, so he can share his dream and the burden of saving money with him. But, Prabhu, like Vasudevan, is fighting his own battle – one that drains him physically and mentally. When will Vasudevan’s dream come true?

A few years ago, in 2022, came along a nondescript Tamil film titled Kuruthi Aatam, starring Atharvaa. 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).

This is the kind of movie that is made with the certainty that it would strike a chord with the middle class and their struggles. “Nalla relate aagum" (It would be very relatable) would have been the feedback about the film at every stage of its making. The bet is all on creating the feeling in the viewer that one is seen, heard or represented. By doing so, filmmaker Sri Ganesh portrays the life of the class as nothing but struggle, stripped of any joy, and the viewer feels the same. 3BHK is the story of a father named Vasudevan (Sarathkumar), struggling to buy his own house. However, every time he gets closer to his dream, the finish line moves further. The entire family is on a mission to buy a 3BHK and move out of their rented house in a cramped complex. A chart is stuck on the living room wall with the goal amount for their dream. Vasudevan’s son Prabhu (Siddharth) faces financial pressure, making him fail in his academic pursuits. Despite his relentless efforts, he manages to clear his board exams only with ‘just pass’ marks. A management seat in a reputed engineering college for Prabhu costs the family more years to reach their goal. Then it’s a heart attack, then the wedding of Vasudevan’s daughter Aarthy (Chaithra), and then something else. By then, we understand the film’s intent and where it is heading.

Among the many factors that make director Sri Ganesh’s 3BHK consistently engaging is the film’s inherent relentlessness. It’s a film that spans a 20 year timeline, with it beginning in 2006 and going all the way up to 2027. Yet its temperament is closer in spirit to a thriller in which the clock is always ticking. 3BHK is about the average middle-class family’s struggles to buy an apartment during a period in history in which Madras slowly transformed into Chennai. With each passing episode, the family’s biggest battle is with time itself as they wonder if their city has room left in its heart for them. As they’re tossed around from one rented apartment to another, the film redefines the phrase “out of place”. Like time, we constantly see the four members of this family struggling to find a corner they can call their own. Yet ironically, it’s their dream of buying their own home that continues to push each of them into places where they do not belong. For the patriarch Vasudevan (Sarathkumar), it’s his office desk that’s slowly edging him out. As a computer lands up in his cubicle, he grapples with modernity and the task of staying with the times.