3BHK, Chaithra J. Achar, Devayani, drama, India, Karthi, Meetha Raghunath, movies, R. Sarathkumar, reviews, Siddharth, Sri Ganesh, Yogi Babu
July 13, 2025
by Carla Hay
Directed by Sri Ganesh
Tamil with subtitles
Culture Representation: Taking place from 2006 to 2025 in Chennai, India, the dramatic film “3BHK” (based on the short story “3BHK Veedu”) features an all-Asian cast of characters representing the working-class, middle-class and wealthy.
Culture Clash: A family experiences various setbacks and challenges in the family’s dream to own a home.
Culture Audience: “3BHK” will appeal primarily to people who are fans of the movie’s headliners, the short story on which the movie is based, and heartfelt dramas about family struggles.
“3BHK” can get a bit repetitive and long-winded in this drama about a family aspiring to own a home. It’s still a very good movie about the ups and downs of family love during many obstacles and difficulties. Viewers shouldn’t expect too many surprises, but this film is elevated by appealing performances from the principal cast members.
Written and directed by Sri Ganesh, “3BHK” is based on Aravindh Sachidanandam’s 2023 short story “3BHK Veedu.” The movie (which is intermittently narrated by actor Karthi) takes place from 2006 to 2025, in Chennai, India, where “3BHK” was filmed on location. The story is about two parents, their son, and their daughter, but the movie is told mainly from the perspective of the son, who has a fluctuating relationship with his father.
“3BHK” (which is told in chronological order) begins in 2006, when the family moves into a cramped apartment. An accountant named Vasudevan (played by R. Sarathkumar) and his homemaker wife Shanthi (played by Devayani) are parents to two teenagers: son Prabhu (played by Siddharth) and daughter Aarthi (played by Meetha Raghunath), who is about two years younger than Prabhu. Prabhu, who is about 17 years old in the beginning of the movie, remarks to his father that each new home they move into is getting smaller.
Vasudevan responds to Prabhu’s remark by saying that they have to move into a smaller home because the rent keeps increasing. Vasudevan then lectures Pradhu to do better in the private school where Vasudevan is paying for Pradhu’s tuition. Pradhu snaps back that Vasudevan still doesn’t have enough money to buy a house. This comment cuts deep for Vasudevan, who feels that he is failing in his goal to own a home for himself and his family.
This goal of home ownership and the family’s finances become the sources of emotional warfare that sometimes happens between Prabhu and Vasudevan. Prabhu has been failing in some of his classes (such as mathematics and computer science) at school, which has given Prabhu one last chance to improve his grades. And when Vasudevan finds out, he sternly tells Prabhu that he will disown Prabhu if Prabhu fails any of his classes and doesn’t graduate.
In contrast to Prabhu, Aarthi excels in academics and is considered the “perfect child” in this family. Aarthi is the one who comes up with an idea that the family should build their first house. But that idea is scrapped when they find out that the budget to build this house will be at least ₹15 lakhs, and Vasudevan has only ₹7.5 lakhs in savings. Shanthi offers to sell her jewelry, which would get them an additional ₹3.5 lakhs, which still wouldn’t be enough to cover the cost.
Over the next several years, as Prabhu and Arthi become adults, Prabhu struggles to find the right career for himself, while Arthi marries into a wealthy family and becomes a mother to a daughter. Prabhu has a high school sweetheart named Aishwarya, also known as Aishu (played by Chaithra J. Achar), who is in and out of his life. Through it all, the dream of home ownership remains constant. Yogi Babu has a small role as a real-estate broker named Babu.
One of the recurring themes in “3BHK” is that this home ownership goal is used as an embodiment of not only the family’s status in society but also how the family members feel about themselves. Vasudevan and Prabhu clash with each other many times in the movie. And the underlying reason is because they are both afraid of being disappointments.
If “3BHK” has any limitations, it’s in how the movie makes Shanthi a very underdeveloped character. Shanthi plays a generically supportive wife and mother, who tends to fade into the background when the conflicts between Vasudevan and Prabhu are at the forefront of the story. This 141-minute movie could have also shortened all the lengthy sequences of Prabhu getting rejected for various jobs.
Despite these flaws, “3BHK” can maintain viewer interest because the family members at the center of the story are all put in realistic circumstances. All the performances are capably delivered, with Siddharth as the obvious standout because Prabhu goes through the biggest metamorphosis, and the story is told mainly from his perspective. “3BHK” is ultimately a heartwarming film about the power of family love and never giving up in making a dream become a reality.
Shanthi Talkies released “3BHK” in select U.S. cinemas and in India on July 4, 2025.