Decoding a scene | How Meghana Raj's stunning entry in 'Beautiful' was conceived
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The 2011 Malayalam movie 'Beautiful' was widely regarded one of the most absorbing films of the year. With a fresh and honest attempt by director VK Prakash, the film proved to be the turning point for its lead stars including Anoop Menon, Jayasurya and Meghana Raj.
While Jayasurya played the role of Stephen Louis, a quadriplegic, Anoop Menon was seen as musician John who comes to help the former. Meghana Raj appears as a home nurse.
The Characters
Director Prakash explained how a crucial scene in the film was shot and presented in the film.
"When Anoop Menon (who was also the writer of the movie) wrote about the character of Stephen and John, he made sure that their extreme attitudes and lives were well presented. Accordingly, much emphasis was given to give depth to the duo's character. It takes a while for them to realise that they were even once childhood friends. Meghana Raj, who played the home nurse Anjali in the film, came from yet another background. The interesting fact about the character development was that as soon as Stephen and John get along with each other, Anjali has to enter and it has to be an impactful entry," recalled director Prakash.
The Model Scene
Initially, it was decided that Anjali's entry should remind one of Clara from the 1987 film 'Thoovanathumbikal'. "We shot the scenes in a way that when Anjali enters, John and Stephen would be watching a sequence from the film 'Thoovanathumbikal' and later the two should amusingly welcome her," Prakash narrated.
The Visualisation
The director and his crew had a different plan for the entry scene and had shot accordingly. But the sequences that appear on the screen were totally different as the scenes were re-arranged significantly at the editing table.
"During the post-production work, editor Mahesh Narayanan called and asked me to come over. He was excited to share an input from his side. When I saw what he had done, I literally had goosebumps. The scene just before Megha's entry was a rain sequence where Anoop and Jayasurya bond with each other. The sequences were arranged in such a manner that Mahesh took out another rain sequence in which Meghana comes wet and merged this in continuation with the former one. In fact, Megha's introduction into the film was an editor's vision. It was Mahesh's take and I am glad that it came out well," the director said.
"It's because of this wonderful process that film making excites us all the time. We get to learn a lot each time we work," he added.