In an interval, we witness Ramani (Gautami) being physically abused by her uncle (Nizhalgal Ravi) through a makeup mirror. The Pookodiyin sequence in Iruvar shows characters falling for each other in the interstices of a film shoot. The indirectness that comes with looking at something through its reflection also dramatically contextualises other kinds of actions and relationships. This allows for an upward trajectory of emotional intensity within the scene: characters who are at first, looking at their own reflection, will then meet their partner’s eyes in the mirror, and finally, at the peak of dramatic/sexual/emotional tension, the characters look at each other directly. The mirror also doubles as an object that allows characters to direct their eyes away from the person they’re interacting with. However, the mirror has another, more effective, hidden function: looking at the couple through the reflection, the viewer is one level removed from the “performance” of intimacy - we are looking indirectly - chancing in on a sight reserved for themselves as they stand before the mirror. Courtesy: Amazon Prime Video Guru (2007) Cinematographer: Rajiv Menon.
#NAYAGAN BEST SCENES PC#
Courtesy: YouTube Alaipayuthey (1992) Cinematographer: PC Sreeram. Roja (1992) Cinematographer: Santosh Sivan. On a compositional level, the mirror functions as an effective staging prop - it allows for the faces of two characters to be fully visible while they’re interacting. S ome of the more memorable Mani Ratnam scenes are ones where couples are framed in mirrors. A confrontational scene from O Kadhal Kanmani (2015). Sometimes, they’re used to add depth to the frame by introducing the third dimension in a two-dimensional frame or to emphasise a character in the composition by doubling (or tripling) them. Mani Ratnam and his cinematographers make use of mirrors primarily in scenes where two characters are in conversation.