3
Theatrical Poster
Directed by	Aishwarya R. Dhanush
Produced by	K. Vimalageetha Dhanush
Starring	Dhanush Shruti Haasan Sivakarthikeyan
Cinematography	Velraj
Edited by	Kola Bhaskar
Music by	Anirudh Ravichander
Production companies	R. K. Productions Wunderbar Films
Release date	30 March 2012 (2012-03-30)
Country	Template:Film India
Language	Template:Film Tamil
Budget	₹ 22 crores

3 is a 2012 Tamil romantic psychological thriller film directed by Aishwarya R. Dhanush who made her directorial debut with the film. It stars her husband Dhanush, who co-produced the film, alongside Shruti Haasan.^[1][2] Soundtrack and background score was composed by debutante music director Anirudh Ravichander while the cinematography was handled by Velraj. The film released on 30 March 2012 in it's original Tamil version along with a dubbed version in Telugu to overall mixed to negative reviews. It is expected to be dubbed and released in Hindi in May 2012.^[3]

The film begins with the funeral of Ram (Dhanush), where where his wife Janani (Shruti Haasan) and the rest of his family mourn. It is later shown that Ram did not die naturally, as his room is found with blood shots. Janani could not believe that Ram is Dead and she begins to feel that he still lives in their home. Thus she recollects their past and the flashback is shown where Ram and Janani are 12 th standard students.Ram is a rich go lucky boy, who enjoys his life with friends Kumaran(Sivakarthikeyan) and Senthil. Ram and Janani eventually fall in love, and they seem to have a great life. One Day Janani tells Ram that her Mom is asking her to leave to USA, as it was her mom's dream to get settled in the States. Ram is shocked by this and he agrees to let her go. But Janani still loves him and she burns the travel documents, thus preventing their entire family to go to USA. This angers Janani's parents a lot and they avoid her. So Janani asks Ram to marry her. With Ram's Father's (Prabhu) permission, they get married and live a happy life. Now cut to the present, Janani wonders why ram is dead and she begins to investigate. She first enquires about Senthil, who has been missing since the day before Ram was dead. But she returns home in vain. Janani then finds a letter in one of Ram's suit, which says that he is going to quit. Now Janani believes that Ram has committed suicide. She finds Senthil and enquires about Ram's death. Senthil, then reveals what really happened to Ram. On the day when Janani says Ram that she is leaving to USA, Ram gets really disappointed and he develops a serious depression. (Which is not revealed in real time). And it also turns out that Kumaran , Ram's close friend since childhood also left to Singapore, even without saying Ram a word. Thus Ram is very much depressed and he gradually develops bipolar disorder, a mental condition where the person begins to hallucinate and get depressed or angered to the extreme, which if not taken care properly, may even lead to suicide. Senthil one day finds out that Ram is suffering from (bipolar disorder) and feels that he should help Ram to overcome it. But Ram is worried that if Janani comes to know that he has such a disease, she may start to hate him, and hence does not allow to get admitted to the hospital and get treated. The condition develops to an extreme, where Ram gets depressed so much that, he attempts to kill Janani while she sleeps. But Senthil stops him and decides to stay with Ram so that he does not do anything harmful. But Ram's mind is now so much out of control, that he decides to put an end to all these. He beats up Senthil in his car, and writes a letter to Janani saying that it all has to end now. He decides to slit his throat with a fruit knife. After a long emotional struggle, he kills himself.

• Dhanush as Ram
• Shruti Haasan as Janani
• Sivakarthikeyan as Kumaran
• Sunder Ramu as Senthil
• Prabhu as Ram's father
• Bhanupriya as Ram's mother
• Rohini as Janani's mother

Aishwarya revealed that the script was written with Shruti Haasan in mind to play the female lead role but the actress was unavailable to do the film initially. Subsequently, Aishwarya signed on Amala Paul, after being impressed by her work in Mynaa.^[4] This film’s press meet was held at the Star City Hotel on 5 August 2011 in Chennai with the director, the cinematographer and the lead pair, Dhanush and Amala Paul.^[5]

The film was originally meant to begin its first schedule in October 2011 but in a turn of events, Dhanush had free dates in August and September 2011. However Amala Paul was unavailable to start the film early and left the project, with Shruti Haasan joining the team after her Telugu film was delayed.^[6][7][8]

The soundtrack and background score is composed by Anirudh Ravichander, cousin of Aishwarya. The single track "Why This Kolaveri Di", written and performed by Dhanush, was initially leaked in internet. Having noticed its popularity, the makers launched the song as a single. The song became the most searched YouTube video in India, attracting more than 20 million views within 28 days,^[9][10] and was listed by YouTube under the "Recently Most Popular (Gold)" videos.^[11] Aishwarya denied reports that suggested that another song from the album had leaked.^[12] The soundtrack was released by college students on 23 December 2011 at the St. George's School, Chennai. Although Rajinikanth and Kamal Haasan were expected to attend the event,^[13] only Latha Rajinikanth was present. Sun TV bought the telecasting rights for the audio launch & Satellite rights for a whopping price.^[14]

The film released on March 30, 2012, along with a dubbed Telugu version with English subtitles, while its dubbed Hindi version will release later.^[15] The film released with 400 prints in Tamil and 600 prints for the Hindi version.^[16]

3 received mixed reviews. Kannan Vijayakumar of Moviecrow rated it 3 out of 5. Kannan mentioned, "Aishwarya Dhanush has to be praised for her matured directorial debut but what made her fumble is the messy screenplay at the second half" but added, "However, kudos to her for the ability to derive the best out of the technicians (music, camera, editing), bringing out fresh visuals and music". ^[17] Vishnupriya Bhandaram of The Hindu wrote in her review of the film, (the film) "fades out as a moving and tragic ode to romance, to the grand idea called ‘love'. Vishnupriya talked about a few films in the scenes, "The ‘chase' is beautiful, as he tries to woo her, bike rides, following her home and to tuitions and as she tries to avoid him, before finally giving into his charms and falling in love. Accompanied by Anirudh's fresh music, watch yourself relive your own teenage romance – holding hands, pecks on cheeks and the naive little thinking that they cannot live without each other, strikes a pleasant chord." ^[18] Pavithra Srinivasan of Rediff rated the movie 3 in a scale of 5, noting that "There are certain moments in 3 that defy logic at times, and sentiment rules the roost, but Aishwarya Dhanush has chosen to present a take on romance that is appealing in its freshness. The lead actors help as well. Her little thriller-twist aside, 3 is a movie that is an ode to romance, above all else."^[19] Moviebuzz of Sify gave the movie a verdict of "poignant", saying that "On the whole, 3 has its heart in the right place, though the second half seem scattered. Overlook these faults, and make it a point to watch 3."^[20]

Behindwoods rated the movie 2.5 stars out of 5, commenting that "3 has good performances, but is let down by slower narration."^[21]Supergoodmovies stated that "The movie has stupendous visuals. Nice narration. More in the flashback mode. Aishwarya's stamps his authority all through. She has firm grip over the medium. The two halves of the movie are contrasting to each other. They ensure that they get our due attention" and rated the movie 3 out of 5^[22]. Oneindia concluded that "On the whole, 3 has a engaging tale backed by wonderful performances of Dhanush and Shruti Hassan." and rated 60 out of 100^[23]. However, Rohit Ramachandran of NowRunning rated the movie 1.5 on a scale of 5, noting that "3 is a heartless comedy involving mentally imbalanced characters, only one of which is lucky to have been diagnosed. This is not a safe place for you to be."^[24]

3 received mixed reviews. Vivek Ramz of in rated it 2.5 out of 5. Vivek mentioned "3 makes you sulk in the second half and fails to meet the expectations and works only in parts" and adds that the film's average and not worth watching in the theatres. Better wait for the DVD!^[25][17] Kannan Vijayakumar of Moviecrow rated it 3 out of 5. Kannan mentioned, "Aishwarya Dhanush has to be praised for her matured directorial debut but what made her fumble is the messy screenplay at the second half" but added, "However, kudos to her for the ability to derive the best out of the technicians (music, camera, editing), bringing out fresh visuals and music". [18] Vishnupriya Bhandaram of The Hindu wrote in her review of the film, (the film) "fades out as a moving and tragic ode to romance, to the grand idea called ‘love'. Vishnupriya talked about a few films in the scenes, "The ‘chase' is beautiful, as he tries to woo her, bike rides, following her home and to tuitions and as she tries to avoid him, before finally giving into his charms and falling in love. Accompanied by Anirudh's fresh music, watch yourself relive your own teenage romance – holding hands, pecks on cheeks and the naive little thinking that they cannot live without each other, strikes a pleasant chord." [19] Pavithra Srinivasan of Rediff rated the movie 3 in a scale of 5, noting that "There are certain moments in 3 that defy logic at times, and sentiment rules the roost, but Aishwarya Dhanush has chosen to present a take on romance that is appealing in its freshness. The lead actors help as well. Her little thriller-twist aside, 3 is a movie that is an ode to romance, above all else."[20] Moviebuzz of Sify gave the movie a verdict of "poignant", saying that "On the whole, 3 has its heart in the right place, though the second half seem scattered. Overlook these faults, and make it a point to watch 3."[21]

Behindwoods rated the movie 2.5 stars out of 5, commenting that "3 has good performances, but is let down by slower narration."[22]Supergoodmovies stated that "The movie has stupendous visuals. Nice narration. More in the flashback mode. Aishwarya's stamps his authority all through. She has firm grip over the medium. The two halves of the movie are contrasting to each other. They ensure that they get our due attention" and rated the movie 3 out of 5[23]. Oneindia concluded that "On the whole, 3 has a engaging tale backed by wonderful performances of Dhanush and Shruti Hassan." and rated 60 out of 100[24]. However, Rohit Ramachandran of NowRunning rated the movie 1.5 on a scale of 5, noting that "3 is a heartless comedy involving mentally imbalanced characters, only one of which is lucky to have been diagnosed. This is not a safe place for you to be."[25]

• 3 at IMDb