Shefali Shah plays Shailaja Desai, the protagonist of Three of Us, which is a moving, poetic study of fading memories. Swanand Kirkire plays Shailaja’s husband, Dipankar, while Jaideep Ahlawat plays Pradeep Kamat, her childhood lover.
Together with Shailaja, Avinash Arun transports us from the hectic, fast-paced city of Mumbai to the serene Konkan shore. Shailaja resolves to fulfil her lifelong dream of returning to her childhood home of a small town after retiring.
She was a working lady who found it difficult to make time for herself. She didn’t understand the significance of taking care of her memories until she was given a dementia diagnosis.
Ending Explained
Shailaja had trouble going about her daily business. She looked over her to-do list and kept a little journal. She appeared to be lost in contemplation and found it difficult to stick to her regimen. Presumably, her decision to resign from her position was motivated by her inattentiveness.
Over the years, Shailaja observed several couples seeking to split while she worked in the divorce division. Shailaja thought she had very little influence over the couple’s decisions because they were generally certain of the result.
She thought that long before they filed for divorce, people had already made up their minds regarding their relationships. They need time to acclimate to the permanence of the separation between them.
Dipankar, a man who made his income selling policies, was Shailaja’s husband. Shailaja had always valued art above all else, but their son was enrolled in a top college to study engineering. Shailaja suddenly decided one night that she wanted to visit Vengurla.
Dipankar was a little taken aback to learn that Shailaja had never brought up Vengurla before, even after their lengthy marriage. She didn’t seem to have any connection to the site, so he was curious as to why she felt the need to go back.
There was no specific reason why Shailaja felt such a strong urge to visit the little town. To help her recollections a life-long since past, Dipankar took a week off to travel with her. From the first moment of the voyage to Vengurla, Shailaja was beaming. Her demeanour changed, and it became clear that she was finally looking forward to anything in life after a long period.
Shailaja and Gauri, her school classmate, were reunited not long after coming to Vengurla. Shailaja sometimes had trouble understanding the present, but she was aware of her early years. She was especially interested in meeting Pradeep Kamat and identified her classmates from an old, faded photo. She went to the bank where Pradeep worked with Dipankar.
Although Dipankar was uncomfortable at the time, he decided to stand with Shailaja despite his inability to fully comprehend what was happening. After 27 years, Pradeep was pleasantly pleased to encounter his boyhood girlfriend.
Shailaja began to converse after Pradeep and Dipankar were the only ones who spoke at first. She was clearly remembering Vengurla with Pradeep at its core. She asked him not to address her formally and suggested that they go to their school together.
Gauri also concurred with Pradeep. Though it didn’t seem as big as it had previously, the notes written on the tables served as a constant reminder that they had spent hours there. Even though Dipankar realized that Shailaja and Pradeep were once more than just friends, he never stopped Shailaja and Pradeep from exploring Shailaja’s former hometown.
Perhaps he understood her, or maybe he was eager to meet the teenage Shailaja his wife was searching for. Shailaja’s journey was centred around her attempt—or lack thereof—to reestablish a connection with her former self. She had lost interest in her small pleasures over the years, and over time, she had gradually changed into someone she was not.
She yearned to revert to her carefree self and feel as connected to those bygone days as possible. Pradeep and Dipankar were not envious of Shailaja; rather, they mostly looked at her with respect. Sarika, Pradeep’s spouse, had already heard tales of Shailaja and had her own family.
Not a trace of jealousy was present when Pradeep revealed that she had gone back to Vengurla. Sarika thought it was all very charming and suggested that her husband go with Shailaja. Their bond was characterized by love, respect, and affection for one another.
Although Dipankar had been his wife’s supporter, he could not disguise his uneasiness as he saw her take Pradeep’s hand as they descended the stairs. He questioned whether he had failed as a spouse, and Shailaja was taken aback by his abrupt change in demeanour.
She acknowledged that things had changed in their relationship and that the amount of unhappy days they had spent together had eclipsed the happy ones. Dipankar and Shailaja did not wander apart for long, but they returned to their room together in the end.
We eventually learn in Three of Us that Shailaja lost her younger sister, Venu, in Vengurla. She recalled being challenged to a tug of war by her sister, and losing as usual. Taking a hard hold of the rope, Venu mocked her. Her memory of her sister falling into the garden well was still raw, a horrifying sight.
Every time she went back into her mind to the traumatic experience, her heart ached. Her sister abruptly disappeared and the rope slipping through her fingers were memories. Perhaps Shailaja’s memories of her childhood home were triggered by her sister.
Fearing that Venu might fade from her memory, the journey allowed her to confront the burdens she had carried with her throughout her life. On their last day in Vengurla, Dipankar, Shailaja, and Pradeep’s daughter went to a local fair. Dipankar was not resentful of Pradeep; in fact, he invited Pradeep to stay at his Dadar home and the two remained friendly.
There was no space for envy in the love and respect both men shared for Shilaja. She had two selves: her past and her present. And both contributed, in one way or another, to Shailaja’s development as a person.
It was revealed to Pradeep after the conclusion of Three of Us that Shailaja had dementia. Shailaja’s unexpected arrival made sense to him, and he was almost thankful that she came back to reminisce about her early years. Shailaja said she couldn’t recall the last time she had gone to the Vengurla fair while they rode the Ferris wheel.
Pradeep remembered that all of their friends had visited the expo. Deepika, a friend of Shailaja, expressed how uncomfortable she was to hear that Pradeep had purchased flowers for Shailaja. After the event, she said that the flowers were for everyone and wouldn’t speak with Pradeep.
The previous time, they did not ride the Ferris wheel together. When Pradeep learned that Shailaja and her family had left town, he was devastated. Even Shailaja was unaware that she would be departing at the time, thus their final day together could not have been particularly memorable. As their friendship remained unfulfilled, Pradeep believed Shailaja had forgotten about him.
When she finally returned, twenty-seven years later, Pradeep felt a wave of joy. Even though it had been a while, he was glad that his boyhood sweetheart had remembered him and cared enough to come back.
Shailaja may have known from the minute she left Vengurla that she would return as soon as possible to be with Pradeep again, but the grind of life prevented her from doing so. Her illness made her understand how fleeting life was and how crucial it was to create the memories she had been longing to create. It’s important to observe Pradeep and Sarika’s relationship.
They prioritized their pleasure over material possessions since they knew it would improve the life they had created together. To express his gratitude, Pradeep sewed his wife a stole for hours every night.
The laborious stitching work revealed that not every relationship can be stated in words; perhaps a part of it might be expressed via llabour Sarika had once grumbled about Pradeep for not composing poems for her. It was time for Shailaja and Dipankar to part ways with Vengurla, having made new memories there.
Shailaja was afraid that she wouldn’t remember her son, even though she had come to terms with the fact that Pradeep would soon fade from her memory. She was terrified that she wouldn’t recognize her family, and Dipankar couldn’t offer her any consoling words.
Shailaja had to come to terms with it, but more than anything, Dipankar and his son Bharat had to face this horrifying fact. Their lives won’t get any easier, but at least Dipankar will always have her joyful childhood memories of Shailaja at her childhood house.