Three of Us
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Actress reveals that the script was initially sent to her as a “one liner” and that she is set to star in a story about love, hope, and healing.
The release date of Three of Us starring Shefali Shah, Jaideep Ahlawat and Swanand Kirkire has been revealed. Read on to know details.
Along with his dual role as director, Avinash Arun is also the film’s cinematographer. Three of Us features a lot of silent moments, thoughtful symbolism, and little to no conversation.
Any story—in books or movies—has memory as a central subject. It cuts deep when done correctly. Alfonso Cuarón, a Mexican filmmaker, assembled his own into Roma (2019), the greatest screen autobiography ever made. Memoria, the twisted masterpiece from Thai artist Apichatpong Weerasethakul, is a masterful use of it from 2021. Celine Song astonished everyone earlier this year with her sorrowful and eerie song Past Lives.
Synopsis:
Shailaja Patankar (Shefali Shah), a middle-aged woman from Mumbai, has been diagnosed with an early stage of dementia. Before her memories go, she chooses to take a week-long vacation and return to her childhood home in Vengurla, Konkan.
Overview:
Memory flows in one direction while time goes in another. What transpires when the two begin to deviate from their natural synchronization? The melancholic film by Avinash Arun depicts the unsettling silence that precedes the dementia’s seismic waves destroying Shailaja’s (Shefali Shah) past—a memory she holds dear, a traumatic experience she has sealed away. She’s reached a point in her life when marriage is as necessary as breathing. Shailaja is familiar with how a relationship gradually deteriorates, having worked in the divorce division of a Mumbai family court. She is a zestful yet effective Mumbai Local.
That is her spouse Dipankar (Swanand Kirkire). He is there for her without really being present because he is in the insurance plan marketing industry. Before her memory fades her, Shailaja wishes to return home to a small Konkan hamlet where she spent the formative years of her adolescence. When Dipankar joins her, we embark on a lyrical voyage that, after a certain age, we all take in our minds but rarely plan ahead for. We share Dipankar’s amazement when we learn that the reserved Shailaja was actually quite the Mogambo in her early years and that she had a Daga in her life. He begins to wonder about his continued significance in her life. The fact that Shailaja is seeing another man is beyond him to comprehend.
The Daga has matured into a calm bank manager with a flair with words named Pradeep Kamat (Jaideep Ahlawat). When he unexpectedly runs into Shailaja more than twenty years later, he rediscovers his poetic spark. His wife Sarika (Kadambari Kadam), like Dipankar, is shocked by her partner’s abrupt change, but she also chooses to give Shailaja room instead of becoming resentful. Since Shailaja doesn’t tell anyone about her failing health, it isn’t out of sympathy. She simply enjoys Shailaja’s desire to take one final look at her past before it fades into obscurity.
With Killa and School of Lies, Avinash skillfully solved the riddle of a child’s gaze in the past. This time, he forces adults to reflect on the past. Avinash’s camera moves in time with Varun Grover’s astute speech and Alokananda Dasgupta’s subtly intrusive background score to create an immersive experience, all without the sappy feeling that such themes often acquire.
Together, they reignite an old spark in Shailaja’s life, preventing it from destroying either her or Pradeep’s present. This ambiguity causes us to reflect on and cling to the tale, which explores the greater meaning of life and how we frequently start new chapters without finishing those we’ve already begun. The movie tackles the anxiety or complication of what if… without making a big issue out of it because it doesn’t deal in binary terms. Grover has provided us with a number of metaphors to ponder games that involve memory and reality play. There is a lot going on beneath the surface of this seemingly simple story that makes you laugh and consider the burdens our consciences bear on a regular basis, whether it’s Shailaja’s English instructor inquiring about the meaning of a picture or an elderly woman bringing to life the tale of a paranormal presence. Toward the end, the Ferris wheel clearly represents life’s cyclical nature.
There are times where the writers’ self-awareness begins to obstruct the actors. The story should have been delivered in Marathi because of the captivating Konkani atmosphere that Avinash skillfully depicted without wasting any details. With Shefali and Jaideep, however, language is irrelevant. She has expertly timed her movements and gaze to capture the emptiness that is engulfing Shailaja’s life and paint a picture of a mother who is fearful of losing her son, her abilities, and her memories while being optimistic about the here and now. The scenario where Shailaja’s Bharatanatyam teacher asks her to demonstrate whether she remembers her steps is a perfect example of it. She smiles as she slides behind a pillar, leaving an enduring impression. Jaideep, who has an intimidating build, also softens when he tells about a traumatic childhood experience that caused him to lose faith in males. The performer uses a wry smile to convey the agony of a broken heart once more.
What’s Three of Us about?
Three of Us, filmmaker Avinash Arun’s reflective return to the Konkan after Killa (2014), is a class apart. Shefali Shah plays the lead role, and all it takes to make you choke is a glimpse of her cleavage—I found myself choking three times while watching it. She portrays middle-aged Mumbaikar Shailaja, who begs her husband Dipankar (Swanand Kirkire) to go with her to Vengurla, a quaint village in Sindhudurg, Maharashtra. Though he’s accustomed to forcing his wife to get up from the dinner table so he can grab the salt he needs, the mild-mannered life insurance agent obliges. They end up in the picturesque village she grew up in for four years.
Shailaja discreetly reconnects with her group of childhood pals in Vengurla, and despite it being 28 years since they last saw her, they don’t appear to have any trouble recognizing her. While visiting her childhood sweetheart Pradeep at his job at the local bank, Shailaja notices her name written on a piece of paper that is given to him. Pradeep, portrayed well by Jaideep Ahlawat, is initially taken aback by the onslaught of memories that hit him (luckily, without the corny flashbacks that come with mainstream movies). He acquiesces to Shailaja’s sudden and tactful request for a reunion. A subdued, melodic farewell to the best years of their lives.
Together, they explore this tangible representation of her fleeting recollections, revisiting their former hangouts and catching up on historical events. Pradeep has a very strong sense of character; he is a man who finds it difficult to trust other men and who, despite his strong build and towering stature, uses writing and embroidery as a way to express his feelings. Similarly, Dipankar’s gentle giving both reflects and surpasses that of Arthur (John Magaro), the main character’s spouse battling her history in the movie Past Lives, which Three of Us initially reminds you of. But that is the extent of their similarities.