3 (Moonu) (2012) Movie Drinking Game
Raise a Glass: to everyone who’s been there for you, especially when your mental health was at its lowest.
Raise a Glass: to yourself. If your mental health is giving you a hard time, just remember that you’ll get through this eventually and you’re not alone.
By: Vidal D’costa (Three Beers) –
3 (alternate title: Moonu) opens in on the funeral of a young man named Ram. The cops are investigating his death as a murder, but soon his grieving and distraught wife Janani discovers that there was more to her husband than she was privy to and after a conversation with his best friend, she uncovers an upsetting and painful truth pertaining to the mental health of the jovial man whom she loved and lost.
A Toast
Dhanush emotes really well as the bipolar Ram, particularly in scenes where his character experiences countless mood swings in a matter of minutes, is plagued by hallucinations galore, undergoes a period of indecisiveness about his future, and is overwhelmed by the danger that his illness poses to others around him or even to himself. He succeeds at garnering sympathy for this character through a nuanced performance, especially since the writing and characterisation leaves much to be desired. In fact, his performance in the second half, post Ram’s diagnosis, is the backbone of an otherwise average movie which had plenty of potential if the writing had been far more engaging and tauter.
More often than not, the performances make up for an otherwise non-existent plot and for the lack of research put into the subject. Shruti Hassan lends ample support as Janani, but her acting potential could have been tapped further instead of relegating her to weeping in an over the top, melodramatic fashion every time she’s onscreen. She shares an immaculate chemistry with co-star Dhanush, which is one of the highlights of the movie. Sunder Ramu as Ram’s close supportive friend Senthil, too, leaves a mark with his endearing performance.
The soundtrack by Anirudh Ravichander, too, is a bop and it comes as no surprise to me that the catchy number ‘Why This Kolaveri Di?’ was such a viral hit upon the release of this movie.
Scenes such as the juxtaposition between Ram contemplating suicide and Janani ultimately weeping over his fate in the future are also executed well and definitely had me reaching for the tissue box.
Beer Two
While 3 does shed light on bipolar disorder, it also is not an in-depth portrayal of the topic that it seeks to explore. In fact, it barely manages to scratch the surface of the illness and the writing seems to heavily rely on stereotypes centred around mental health rather than being an accurate depiction of the same. Despite portraying the symptoms quite correctly, the movie also goes down the clichéd route of equating mental health with violence, something that medical professionals have viewed as highly harmful, especially in onscreen depictions of the same since it stigmatises or even demonizes patients.
I especially feel that the story would have been a lot more intriguing if it had focused more on Ram’s psyche before and after his illness as this would definitely have lent some depth to the character who was otherwise not fleshed out enough. It would most certainly have enabled viewers to understand Ram’s suffering and his state of mind both before and after his diagnosis on a greater level that didn’t feel superficial.
Beer Three
The movie would have worked far better as a psychological thriller or even just a psychological drama if the romance sequence that seemed to drag on for eternity had been cut back slightly or if it had struck a fine balance between both.
The movie also feels bogged down by countless song and dance numbers that add nothing to the already threadbare plot and only feel like they were added as filler. While I understand the need to build on Ram and Janani’s love life through some good old fashioned song and dance routines, these only stretch the pace of the movie out unnecessarily.
Also while Ram and his high school crush Janani eventually engage in a consensual relationship, the age old trope of ‘stalk her until she falls for you’ still feels problematic at best, and honestly this approach could have been omitted entirely or instead been replaced with a wholesome and non-problematic method of courting.
Verdict
While 3 is a bit of hit and a miss with regards to an accurate portrayal of mental health and features a dated representation of the treatment of the same, it definitely does a good job of sending across the loud and clear message of not ignoring or taking one’s mental health for granted and, of course, checking in on a family member/ friend if they are in dire need of medical help or even just a shoulder to lean on when such a daunting situation arises.
