''Three Roses'' is a 2003 Indian Tamil-language

action-adventure film Action film is a film genre in which the protagonist is thrust into a series of events that typically involve violence and physical feats. The genre tends to feature a mostly resourceful hero struggling against incredible odds, which include life ...

directed by Parameswar, starring Rambha,

Jyothika Jyothika Saravanan (; born 18 October 1978) is an Indian actress, model and film producer who predominantly appears in Tamil films.

and

Laila Leila ( fa, لیلا, ar, ليلى, he, לילה) is a feminine given name primarily in the Semitic (Arabic, Hebrew) and Iranian languages. In Latin alphabet the name is commonly spelled in multiple ways, including Laela, Laelah, Laila, La ...

. The film features Vivek,

Urvashi Urvashi ( sa, उर्वशी, Urvaśī}) is the most prominent apsara (celestial nymph) in Hindu mythology, considered to be the most beautiful of all the apsaras, and an expert dancer. She is mentioned in both ''Vedic'' and '' Puranic'' s ...

, Rekha Vedavyas,

Tony Ooki is a Japanese, male adult video (AV) actor and singer. Life and career Tony Ooki was born in Tokyo on December 17, 1971. His father was a Japanese actor. He was a boxer before he made his debut in AV in 2002. Tony is widely known in Taiwan ...

and Billy Herrington in supporting roles, with the latter two making their Indian debuts.

Karthik Raja Karthik Raja is an India composer based in Chennai, India. He made his debut as film composer in the Tamil film ''Pandiyan'' (1992) and went on to score music for many critically and commercially acclaimed feature films. Personal life Karthi ...

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 A box-office bomb, or box-office disaster, is a film that is unprofitable or considered highly unsuccessful during its theatrical run. Although any film for which the production, marketing, and distribution costs combined exceed the revenue after ...

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 Jyothika Saravanan (; born 18 October 1978) is an Indian actress, model and film producer who predominantly appears in Tamil films.

as Pooja *

as Nandhini (Nandhu) * Vivek as Shankar / Bala Mani Bharathi *

as Chandralekha *

as Hitoshi Nakazawa, a Japanese

Yakuza , also known as , are members of transnational organized crime syndicates originating in Japan. The Japanese police and media, by request of the police, call them , while the ''yakuza'' call themselves . The English equivalent for the ter ...

oyabun * Billy Herrington as Billy Darkholme, Hitoshi’s bodyguard * Rekha Vedavyas as Asha *

Vijay Adhiraj Vijay Adhiraj is an Indian actor who has appeared in Tamil, Telugu, Hindi, and Kannada films and serials. He was introduced in the NFDC & Doordarshan produced ''Sahashraphan'' in Hindi, written by then Prime Minister of India Shri. P. V. Narasi ...

as Saleem * Rajan P. Dev as a politician *

Vijay Krishnaraj Vijay Krishnaraj, also known as R Krishnan, is an Indian actor, writer, director, who is working in Tamil Films and Television industry. He made his debut in Tamil cinema as story writer and dialogue writer of '' Rosappu Ravikkaikari'' film in ...

Manobala Manobala (born 8 December 1953) is an Indian film director, producer, actor and comedian who predominantly plays supporting roles in Tamil-language films. He started his career in Tamil cinema in the early 1970s and with Kamal Haasan's refere ...

Madhan Bob S. Krishnamoorthy (born 19 October 1953) professionally known as Madhan Bob, is an Indian actor and comedian, appearing in many Tamil films in supporting roles. Madhan Babu is known for his amusing facial expressions, laughter and protruding ey ...

Meera Krishnan Meera Krishnan (born 1968) is an Indian actress, who has appeared in Tamil-language films and television serials. She started her career as an announcer on the public broadcaster Doordarshan and later became a newsreader for Sun TV before ac ...

* Mohan Vaidya * Anu Mohan * Mahadevan *

Sampath Ram Sampath Ram is an Indian actor who works primarily in Tamil-language films. He is known for his villainous roles. Career Ram started his acting career with the television series '' Ethanai Manithargal'' that aired on Doordarshan as a thug. He ...

as Police officer *

Besant Ravi Besant Ravi (born R. Ravi Kumar; 1 June 1970) is an Indian actor and stunt choreographer. He has played antagonistic supporting roles in Tamil, Hindi and several other Indian language films. Early life Besant Ravi, who was born and brought u ...

Govinda Govinda (), also rendered Govind and Gobind, is an epithet of Vishnu which is also used for his avatars such as Krishna. The name appears as the 187th and the 539th name of Vishnu in '' Vishnu Sahasranama''. The name is also popularly addresse ...

as himself (guest appearance in the song ''Meiyanadha'') *

Abbas Abbas may refer to: People * Abbas (name), list of people with the name, including: **Abbas ibn Ali, Popularly known as Hazrat-e-Abbas (brother of Imam Hussayn) **Abbas ibn Abd al-Muttalib, uncle of Muhammad ** Mahmoud Abbas (born 1935), Palest ...

(guest appearance) *

Akash Akasha or Akash (Sanskrit ' ) means space or sky or æther in traditional Indian cosmology, depending on the religion. The term has also been adopted in Western occultism and spiritualism in the late 19th century. In many modern Indo-Aryan la ...

as Akash (guest appearance) *

Mumtaj Mumtaz, also credited as Mumtaj, (born Nagma Khan) is an Indian actress and a former item number known primarily for her work in Tamil cinema. Besides Tamil films, She has also appeared in Hindi, Kannada, Malayalam and Telugu films. She entered ...

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 ''Charlie's Angels'' is an American crime drama television series that aired on ABC from September 22, 1976, to June 24, 1981, producing five seasons and 115 episodes. The series was created by Ivan Goff and Ben Roberts and was produced by ...

'', and hired leading actresses

Jyothika Jyothika Saravanan (; born 18 October 1978) is an Indian actress, model and film producer who predominantly appears in Tamil films.

and

to appear in key roles alongside her.

Parameswaran Parameshvara (, sa, परमेश्वर), also rendered Parashiva and Sadashiva, is an epithet of the Hindu destroyer deity, Shiva. The term usually indicates the position of Shiva as the Supreme being and Supreme Reality in the tradi ...

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 Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of ...

with the producers also revealing they managed to rope in leading Hindi actor

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 Jyothika Saravanan (; born 18 October 1978) is an Indian actress, model and film producer who predominantly appears in Tamil films.

and

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 Shweta Mohan (born 19 November 1985) is an Indian playback singer. She has received four Filmfare Awards South for Best Female Playback Singer, one Kerala State Film Award and one Tamil Nadu State Film Award. She has recorded more than 700 s ...

, Karthik * "Oh Oh Sexy" – Rohini,

Bhavatharini Bhavatharani Raja is an Indian singer and music composer. She is the daughter of Ilaiyaraaja and her brothers are the noted film composers Karthik Raja and Yuvan Shankar Raja. She has mostly sung songs under the direction of her father and br ...

* "Oh Dil Se Pyar" – Sujatha, Karthik * "Anbal Unnai" – Bhavatharini, Annupamaa,

Febi Mani Febi Mani (also credited as Febi Srikanth Deva) is an Indian playback singer who has worked in the Indian film industry. Febi worked extensively with A. R. Rahman during the late 1990s and early 2000s, while also regularly collaborating with H ...

* "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