- Film : Minsara Kanavu
- Director : Rajiv Menon
- Cinematography : Ravi K.Chandran
- Cast : Prabhu Deva, Kajol, Aravind Swamy
Deva (Prabhu Deva) and Priya (Kajol) have just fallen in love in the previous song sequence, the classic “Vennilave”. But after the dreamy night, comes the storm of emotions in this scene. Its beauty comes from the struggle experienced by each character. Priya was supposed to become a nun and is struggling with her faith.
Deva was supposed to make Priya falling in love with another man and is struggling with his loyalty towards him. We are in the heart of a love triangle. The tempestuous ocean in the background is a reflection of their souls torments, Priya’s green eyes mingling with the changing color of the waves, in a very aesthetic visual composition. “Alaipayuthey” would say the poet. Moreover, Rajiv Menon uses a very effective shot/revershot on Deva and Priya to show how each one reacts and struggles with his/her feelings.
But despite this emotional symmetry, there is an asymmetry between Priya and Deva because of their opposite social backgrounds. Deva, a lower middle class hairstylist, is so aware of social boundaries that separate them that he has a slight inferiority complex : “Ungakitta pesunumnaale dictionary vechikkunum polairukku”. That’s why, in the beginning of the scene, Priya appears like a silhouette carved in the blue ocean landscape, like an inaccessible “goddess” (“paartha kumbidhura type” as he said). On the contrary, Priya is a rich girl who doesn’t seem to be bothered by social backgrounds, everyone is equal to her eyes. The love story beyond social inequalities is an usual pattern in tamil cinema : the disturbing thing is obviously that it’s very often a poor guy and a rich girl but rarely the opposite, and in fact, the rich girl, a pure and innocent soul, seems to be unaware of social inequalities, her life being a very dreamy utopia, a “minsara kanavu”. Despite that, this scene has a special place in my personal love scenes pantheon because of Prabhu Deva and Kajol’s acting and Rajiv Menon’s staging, with this sweet melody of raging waves.
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Watch the full scene here :
Shakila Z.
1916 