Three Roses

''Three Roses'' is a 2003 Indian Tamil-language action-adventure film directed by Parameswar, starring Rambha, Jyothika and Laila. The film features Vivek, Urvashi, Rekha Vedavyas, Tony Ooki and Billy Herrington in supporting roles, with the latter two making their Indian debuts. Karthik Raja composed the music and Rajarajan handled the camera. The film took two years to complete production and the eventual delayed release was met with a mixed response from critics and was a box-office bomb.

Plot

Charu, Nandhu and Pooja are friends who study music abroad. On their return they become embroiled in a case involving their friend Asha, who travels with her lover to Chennai from Dubai on a false passport. She is imprisoned and the three girls garner support for Asha who would be executed if sent back to Dubai. They also end up inadvertently crossing paths with Japanese criminal Hitoshi Nakazawa, who controls prostitution in Dubai with an iron fist, and who seeks to reclaim a sum of US$5 million stolen from him by a desperate Asha.

Cast

* Rambha as Charulatha
* Jyothika as Pooja
* Laila as Nandhini (Nandhu)
* Vivek as Shankar / Bala Mani Bharathi
* Urvashi as Chandralekha
* Tony Ooki as Hitoshi Nakazawa, a Japanese Yakuza oyabun
* Billy Herrington as Billy Darkholme, Hitoshi’s bodyguard
* Rekha Vedavyas as Asha
* Vijay Adhiraj as Saleem
* Rajan P. Dev as a politician
* Vijay Krishnaraj
* Manobala
* Madhan Bob
* Meera Krishnan
* Mohan Vaidya
* Anu Mohan
* Mahadevan
* Sampath Ram as Police officer
* Besant Ravi
* Govinda as himself (guest appearance in the song ''Meiyanadha'')
* Abbas (guest appearance)
* Akash as Akash (guest appearance)
* Mumtaj as herself (guest appearance)

Production

Actress Rambha along with her brother, Srinivas (a) Vasu, agreed to produce a Tamil-language film along the lines of the American franchise, '' Charlie's Angels'', and hired leading actresses Jyothika and Laila to appear in key roles alongside her. Parameswaran was signed as director. Initially the producers had approached Simran to play one of the lead roles, though the actress rejected the opportunity after completing the photoshoots for the movie. After much media speculation, the film began its first schedule on 21 November 2001 in Chennai with the producers also revealing they managed to rope in leading Hindi actor Govinda to make a guest appearance in the film. He shot for a song in Chennai. Reports also suggested that Arjun would play a supporting role in the film, although claims proved to be untrue.

During the shoot of the film, there was reportedly a clash of opinions between actresses Jyothika and Laila in January 2002, with the pair having to be restrained by the actress-producer of the film, Rambha. Problems continued as the careers of Laila and Rambha began to peter out, prompting distributors to back away from the film, leading to further delays. Prior to release, the team of the film collaborated with prominent tea brand, 3 Roses, for their media campaign. The brand is referenced in the film.

Release

The film evaded its release date several times and eventually took close to two years to complete, only finally releasing on 10 October 2003. Malathi Rangarajan of The Hindu said that "a frivolous storyline, a lackadaisical approach to the screenplay and inept direction mar ''Three Roses''", adding that "after all the hype and hoopla, speculation and delay, arrives ''Three Roses'', and ironically it is focus that the film lacks." Another critic claimed that "the disastrous effects all these problems (changes in cast, production delays) have had on the movie is clearly evident from the final product."

Rambha suffered losses from the film and fell heavily into debt, being forced to sell her home at Mount Road, Chennai. A cheque bounce case was filed against her as she borrowed a large sum of money, failing to return it. The failure of the film also led to Rambha taking an extended break from Tamil language films.

Soundtrack

All songs lyrics by Paarthi Bhaskar.

* "Meiyanadha" – Shweta Mohan, Karthik
* "Oh Oh Sexy" – Rohini, Bhavatharini
* "Oh Dil Se Pyar" – Sujatha, Karthik
* "Anbal Unnai" – Bhavatharini, Annupamaa, Febi Mani
* "Sevvai Desam" – Karthik, Shweta Mohan

Legacy

Vasu went on to produce Rambha's thriller film ''Vidiyum Varai Kaathiru''. However, the film never saw a release date.

References

{{Reflist

2000s action adventure films
2000s female buddy films
2000s Tamil-language films
2003 films
Indian action adventure films
Indian female buddy films
Films scored by Karthik Raja