Thalapathi | How to write a scene | Video Essay Script | Moving Images

Hi, my name is Kishor and welcome to the first episode of MOVING IMAGES. I would like to start off this series by paying tribute to one of my favorite actor, director, and cinematographer from Tamil cinema and what better way to do that than by analyzing a movie where they all made together. If you haven’t figured it out already, the movie I’m talking about is Thalapathy.

Enough have been said about the master filmmaker Mani Ratnam and his equally competent cinematographer Santhosh Sivan and how well they’ve worked together. There are countless examples of the little dance Mr. Ratnam and Mr. Sivan have performed on screen in the form of a complimenting screen writing and cinematography.

While we all know that Thalapathy itself is an adaptation of Karna’s story from Mahabharatham and Rajni’s name Suriya is a call back to how the mythological Karna was Surya Bhagawan’s son. Santhosh Sivan embodies the fire and the rage within the character by giving us a reddish hue throughout the film. Suriya likes to wear red. Even in the scene where Suriya learns who his mother is, the sun plays silent witness in the background. These are the countless examples of an intelligent filmmaker and cinematographer giving us a visual experience. I would always like to advocate that filmmakers should say less and show more. Let the audience figure out rather than spoon feed information. And Mani Ratnam is a genius in that craft.

The scene I would like to analyze is where Suriya played by Rajni, and Deva played by Mamooty goes to meet the aptly named Collector Arjun played by the then newbie Arvindswamy. The scene is a confrontation between the gangsters Deva and Suriya and the law represented by Arjun. As the scene moves forward, you can see the camera pan in a circle around the three main characters showing us how the conversation is going round and round. The argument escalates and Deva accuses the Collector for having a personal vendetta against him and Suriya. This is the first time we get a hint of what this confrontation is all about. The collector does not like Suriya and Deva personally since they stand against everything he believes in. And this is when Suriya who’ve been quiet all this time starts talking. The camera still keeps panning around them in a circle symbolizing how the conversation is still revolving without touching the main issue, which is Arjun despises Suriya, but he refuses to come clean with it. As Suriya rebuts angrily, Arjun finally reveals his true intentions. This happens when he says he is not afraid of Suriya. The BGM escalates as the two characters’ stare each other down. The camera finally stops panning. With the motivation of the two parties out in the open, the camera goes for a steady shot. Arjun finally accepts by saying Yes he does not like people like Suriya and Yes he does not like Suriya. And we all know the epic comeback our Rajni delivers for this. And that is how you marry an awesome screen writing with a riveting cinematography.

Until next time this is Kishor signing off saying…