Three of Us Review: Profound, Poetic and Poignant

Three of Us Review: "Profound, Poetic and Poignant"

Ateet. Yaadein. Meaning Past and Memories. We human beings are shaped by our past. The memories of the past deeply and subconsciously govern our emotional and mental landscape. Filmmaker and ace cinematographer Avinash Arun Daware is a master of atmosphere where the setting and the memories form a strong leitmotif in his plots.

In his last outing, Three Of Us, Shailaja (played by the incredibly talented Shefali Shah) who is gradually sinking into the abyss of dementia develops an urge inside her to revisit Vengurla, a small town in the Konkan, where she spent couple of growing years during her childhood.

Her husband, Dipankar (Swanand Kirkire), who works as a life Insurance agent reluctantly agrees to her wish and both start off for a vacation. At Vengurla, they first visit her school where Shailaja asks for one of her estranged friends, Pradeep Kamat (played by Jaideep Ahlawat) to a worker. A chance encounter with one of her friends staying in the town helps her tracing the coordinates of Pradeep, who works as a branch manager in a bank.

Like a laidback vacation, together they embark on a journey to the past visiting the different places in the town and soak themselves with the memories. The film unfolds with a meditative pace like a personal visual portrait, navigating the past and present of Shailaja who is grappled with her thoughts and anxieties about the future – whether she will be able to remember anything due to her neurological condition.

Daware’s intimate storytelling creates an aching real world, and you start to gather a lived-in feeling and root for the characters. Shefali’s performance grows on you as she imbibes the soul and pathos of her character, and she does it without an iota of affectation. Her eyes emote resplendently, making every gesture count. There is a story that resides in each moment that Shailu and Pradeep spend with each other, recounting things of their past. Ahlawat renders another delicate and awe-inspiring act, sinking himself into the ’poet’ version of Pradeep, with the re-appearance of Shailaja.

Co-writers Arpita Chatterjee and Omkar Achyut Barve infuse depth and delicacy while crafting the characters and the resultant narrative flows like poetry. Even the conflicts between the couple between Shailu and Dipankar resonate with an introspective streak. Swanand Kirkire embodies the everyday common man caught between the everyday woes of a fast-paced life and an unsettling marital life, humanizing every aspect of it. Another character that I loved is Sarika, Pradeep’s wife - played by Kadambari Kadam. There is an unmatched easy portrayed in their relationship. Treat it as a Couple goal!

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