“3BHK Movie Review (2025): Psychological Thriller That Redefines Home and Horror”

“3BHK” is not just the title of the film—it’s the silent fourth character that drives the narrative. Set largely within the confines of a newly rented 3-bedroom apartment in Mumbai, this film explores the psychological unravelling of a woman struggling to redefine home, identity, and belonging. While the movie uses horror-adjacent aesthetics, it is fundamentally a psychological drama dealing with grief, trauma, and the complexity of urban loneliness.

The story revolves around Alia (Anupriya Goenka), a woman escaping a troubled past who moves into a seemingly perfect 3BHK apartment in a posh neighborhood. As she tries to start afresh, strange events unfold—not overtly paranormal, but unsettling and disorienting. There’s a lingering sense that the apartment hides memories, and possibly secrets, of its previous inhabitants.

Her interactions with her eccentric landlord (Manoj Pahwa), a mysterious neighbor (Aamir Ali), and a young delivery girl (Ayushi Gupta) add layers of ambiguity. Are these people real? Are they fragments of her mind? Or is the house itself playing tricks?

The film doesn’t serve answers on a plate, rather invites the viewer into Alia’s psychological state, where trauma, guilt, and isolation merge with spatial metaphors.

• Anupriya Goenka delivers a stellar performance. Her portrayal of Alia is both fragile and fierce. She masterfully conveys suppressed trauma with minimal dialogue and intense body language.
• Manoj Pahwa is chillingly ambiguous. His performance balances between comic relief and eerie discomfort. He seems helpful, yet intrusive, making you question his motives constantly.
• Ayushi Gupta impresses in a limited role—her youthful vulnerability juxtaposes Alia’s maturity and deepens the generational tension.

• Cinematography by Akash Agarwal plays a pivotal role. Tight interiors, sharp angles, muted palettes, and mirrors create a claustrophobic tension, echoing Alia’s crumbling psyche.
• Director Manoj Tiwari keeps the pacing tight and narrative ambiguous, making the apartment feel like both sanctuary and prison. He resists spoon-feeding the audience, allowing the visual storytelling to evoke dread and unease organically.

• Space and Isolation: The apartment stands as a metaphor for the protagonist’s mental state. Each room holds a different emotional weight—regret, memory, fear.
• Memory vs Reality: Flashbacks are fragmented, possibly unreliable. This plays into the larger theme of reconstructing one’s self after trauma.
• Domestic Spaces as Psychological Triggers: “3BHK” cleverly subverts the Indian dream of owning a big flat. The larger the space, the lonelier it feels for Alia. Each corner reminds her of something she’s trying to forget.

There’s minimal background score—relying heavily on ambient sound design (creaking floors, hums of appliances, distant voices). This restraint amplifies tension without resorting to jump scares. When music does appear, it’s often diegetic—coming from within the world (e.g., a radio, a neighbor’s speaker).

• Strong central performance (Anupriya Goenka)
• Psychological depth over cheap thrills
• Clever, metaphorical use of space
• Atmospheric and restrained direction

• Pacing might frustrate viewers expecting conventional horror or faster storytelling.
• Ambiguous ending could divide audiences—those who prefer closure may feel unsatisfied.
• Some supporting characters feel underdeveloped, possibly intentionally, but they occasionally verge on symbolic props rather than real people.

“3BHK” is a slow-burn, arthouse psychological drama masquerading as a haunted-house thriller. It’s a film for viewers who enjoy piecing together emotional puzzles and who appreciate cinema that trusts their intelligence.

It’s less about what happens, and more about how it feels—the dread of remembering, the fear of being alone in your mind, and the difficulty of making peace with past trauma.

• For fans of: Karthik Calling Karthik, The Babadook, A Death in the Gunj, Hereditary (lightly).
• Skip if you want: Fast-paced horror, jump scares, or spoon-fed narratives.