When Arjun’s death is about to be revealed, the camera captures the scene through a garland hung on the wall, hinting at what’s about to happen.
The garland idea was totally Nelson’s. We were trying to shoot the scene from different angles and Nelson suggested that it conveys the news metaphorically. Likewise, in the sweet shop scene where Arjun talks with a gangster, the camera is inside the oil pan, and you can see the jalebi being poured in the foreground as the main action unfolds at a distance. We shot many such scenes from weird angles but we were not able to include everything.
The interval scene is where you strike a balance between deadpan comedy and a riveting mass sequence. Besides the writing, how did you visually plan for this stretch?
We’d discussed ideas for the dramatic portions much before. The interval scene is where we usually have rain to enhance the effect. But we didn’t want to do a regular one. So, we picked the “just before the storm” theme. With the light from the street lamps penetrating into the house and the lightning striking when Rajini is in action, you see him in all glory, with a warm-yellow light on his face and a thunder-white effect from the back. As for the comedy, the brief for Jailer was to find unique angles to capture the scenes. For instance, in the shot where the dead henchman falls on Ramya Krishnan’s lap, we see both the dead man and her shocked face in one frame with an under-the-table shot. We had it in writing that we should use the best angle where we can capture both their faces.
