Akshay S Dissertation- Architecture through the frames of Maniratnam movies 1990-2000

ARCHITECTURE THROUGH THE FRAMES OF MANI RATNAM MOVIES 1990 - 2000 A STUDY ON THE ARCHITECTURAL PERCEPTIBILITY OF SPACES AND EMOTIONS IN MOVIES

EIGHTH SEMESTER B ARCH DISSERTATION MAY 2020

Submitted by Mr. AKSHAY S

Marian College of Architecture and Planning Kazhakkuttam, Thiruvananthapuram Email: marianarch.in@gmail.com Mob: +91 82813 88111 www.mcap.edu.in

ARCHITECTURE THROUGH THE FRAMES OF MANI RATNAM MOVIES 1990 - 2000

EIGHTH SEMESTER B. ARCH DISSERTATION MAY 2020

A Dissertation submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements For the award of Bachelor’s Degree in Architecture of Cochin University of Science and Technology

Submitted by Mr. AKSHAY S

Guided by Ar. VIVEK VENUGOPAL

Marian College of Architecture and Planning Kazhakkuttam, Thiruvananthapuram Email: marianarch.in@gmail.com Mob: +91 82813 88111 www.mcap.edu.in

DECLARATION

I hereby declare that the Dissertation entitled “ARCHITECTURE THROUGH THE FRAMES OF MANI RATNAM MOVIES 1990 - 2000” is an independent work of mine and it has not been submitted to anywhere else for any Degree / Diploma or Title. No material from other sources has been used without proper acknowledgment.

Signature of the student

Place: Kazhakkuttam, Thiruvananthapuram Date: 19/09/2020

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CERTIFICATE This is to certify that this Dissertation entitled “ARCHITECTURE THROUGH THE FRAMES OF MANI RATNAM MOVIES 1990 - 2000” is a bonafide record of the dissertation submitted by AKSHAY S under our guidance towards partial fulfilment of the requirements for the award of Bachelor’s Degree in Architecture of the Cochin University of Science and Technology (CUSAT) during the year 2019-20

Guide: ……………………………

Ar. VIVEK VENUGOPAL Assistant Professor Dissertation Coordinator: …………………………

Ar. ADARSH VISWAM Associate Professor

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HOD Ar. Prof. Ganga Krishnan

1. External Examiner

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Principal Ar. Prof. C V Dileep Kumar

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Director Ar. Prof. Baby Paul K

Signature ………………………………………………………

Name …………………………………………………………

Designation ……………………………………………………

2. Internal Examiner

Signature ………………………………………………………

Name …………………………………………………………

Designation ……………………………………………………

3. Internal Examiner

Signature ………………………………………………………

Name …………………………………………………………

Designation ……………………………………………………

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

To the Cochin University of Science and Technology, and Marian College of Architecture and Planning for this opportunity to conduct a research as part of curriculum requirement in the B.Arch. course syllabus.

To our director, Ar. Prof. Baby K Paul; our principal, Ar. Prof. C V Dileep Kumar, head of the department, Ar. Prof. Ganga Krishnan, for your reviews and guidance throughout the process.

To my staff advisor, Ar. Levin Prabhu J, for your keen interest in my work and your constant support.

To Ar. Prof. Suja Kumari L, for introducing me to the process of research and for the guidelines and directions that helped me to conduct and complete this dissertation.

To my guide, Ar. Vivek Venugopal, for mentoring me through the process.

To Ar. Rajsree Rajmohan, Ar. Joseph James Alencherry, Ar. Ankur Bardhan, Ar. Arunraj for your patient response to my doubts, for the interest you’ve shown in my project, and for the constant support and help during the initial stages of my research.

To all my friends, for helping me with suggestions, collection of data and formatting the report document.

And lastly, I express a great amount of gratitude to Mr. Maniratnam, Mr.Santhosh Sivan all the actors, technicians of their movies which gave me the parent material that contributed to my research.

Thank you.

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ABSTRACT Ever since time immemorial art has been a reflection of the society and architecture was one of the tools to express it. And as time passed by, the society changed and so was art and architecture. The act was expressed to the people lively and later it was recorded and projected, the canvas on which the play was portrayed now had a significant role to play, the method of depicting had a role to play, thus studies were done to advance this. Indian cinema being a crucial factor in the Indian society had a role in maintaining the unity of the country by equating the diversity of emotions.

This dissertation tries to compare and analyse the impact of the theme and mode of expression of content of Indian cinema through the reflection of a particular time period, ‘90s where the country witnessed the end of the century through various advancement in technological, cultural, religious aspects through both positive and catastrophic events.

It has been concluded over the process that composition of the primary, secondary and tertiary subjects in a frame along with proper establishing scenes of a movie improvises the imageability of the space which eventually benefits the content, enhancing its social relevance, artistic, aesthetic and commercial value.

Word count: 10891 Keywords: Cinema, Imageability, Screen setting, Frame setting.

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CONTENTS DECLARATION ........................................................................................................................... iii CERTIFICATE .............................................................................................................................. iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENT .............................................................................................................. v ABSTRACT ................................................................................................................................... vi LIST OF FIGURES ....................................................................................................................... ix LIST OF TABLES ......................................................................................................................... xi 1.INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................................................... 2 1.1 INDIAN CINEMA ................................................................................................................ 2 1.1.1 History of Indian cinema................................................................................................ 2 1.1.2 Indian Cinema Genres .................................................................................................... 2 1.1.3 South Indian Films ......................................................................................................... 3 1.1.4 Tamil Cinema And Aesthetics ....................................................................................... 3 1.2 FILM AND ARCHITECTURE ............................................................................................ 4 1.2.1 Rules of shot composition/ framing for

imageability ..................................................... 7

1.2.1.1 Rule of thirds................................................................................................................... 7 1.2.1.2 Balance and symmetry .................................................................................................... 7 1.2.1.3 Leading lines ................................................................................................................... 8 1.2.1.4 The 180-degree rule ........................................................................................................ 8 1.2.1.5 Golden proportion ratio ................................................................................................... 9 1.2.2 Indian films and architecture............................................................................................ 10 2. ARCHITCTURAL FRAMES OF MANI RATNAM ............................................................... 11 2.1 Mani Ratnam ....................................................................................................................... 11 2.2 Mani Ratnam filmography .................................................................................................. 12 2.3 Objective ............................................................................................................................. 12 2.4 Method of study .................................................................................................................. 13 2.5 Movies from 1990-2000...................................................................................................... 15 2.6 selected movies ................................................................................................................... 16 2.6.1 CINEMATOGRAPHY BY SANTHOSH SIVAN .......................................................... 17 3. Case studies ............................................................................................................................... 18 3.1 Case study overview ........................................................................................................... 18 3.2 Imageability and serial vision ............................................................................................. 18 3.3 Litrature case studies ........................................................................................................... 19 3.3.1 Taj mahal ......................................................................................................................... 19 3.3.2 Inferences ......................................................................................................................... 23 3.4 Live case study .................................................................................................................... 26 vii

3.4.1 thanjavur periya kovil/ brihadeeshwara temple ............................................................. 26 3.4.2 INFERENCES ................................................................................................................. 29 3.4.3 Frame setting .................................................................................................................... 32 4. Movie frame analysis ................................................................................................................ 36 4.1 Iruvar ................................................................................................................................... 36 4.1.1 Storyline ........................................................................................................................... 36 4.2 Thalapathy........................................................................................................................... 42 4.2.1 Storyline ........................................................................................................................... 42 4.3 Roja ..................................................................................................................................... 46 4.3.1 Storyline ........................................................................................................................... 46 4.4 Dil se… ............................................................................................................................... 49 4.4.1 Storyline ........................................................................................................................... 50 5. conclusion ................................................................................................................................. 60 5.1 Research summary .............................................................................................................. 60 5.2 General aspects derived from each movie .......................................................................... 60 5.2.1 Iruvar ................................................................................................................................ 60 5.2.2 Thalapathi ........................................................................................................................ 60 5.2.3 Roja .................................................................................................................................. 60 5.2.4 Dil se… ............................................................................................................................ 60 5.3 Forward ............................................................................................................................... 60 References ..................................................................................................................................... 61

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LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1: Stills from renowned South Indian movies Veerapandya kattabomman, Parasakthi, Anubhavangal palichakal, Annayin anna, Chemmeen, Thanga padhumai ............................................................................. 3 Figure 2: Various one-point perspective shots from the 1985 movie ‘The Shining’ ...................................... 4 Figure 3: Spaces from Stanley Kubrik’s THE SHINING 1985. ..................................................................... 5 Figure 4 alfred hichcock's psycho (1960) ....................................................................................................... 6 Figure 5. A still from the movie ‘Joker’ where the main character portrays an emotional instance and to give the importance to the subject the shot has been manipulated such that main subject occupies almost one third of the screen space. ......................................................................................................................................... 7 Figure 6 A still from the movie ‘2001 A space odyssey’ which shows the symmetrical and balanced frame composition. ................................................................................................................................................... 8 Figure 7 A shot from the 2016 movie ‘Doctor Strange’ where the imaginary lines lying parallel to the subject’s axis frames rather focuses the main subject i.e. the injured Stephen Strange.................................. 8 Figure 8 180-degree rule ................................................................................................................................ 9 Figure 9 Golden proportion ratio in frame setting, the primary subject comes within the centre of the spiral. ........................................................................................................................................................................ 9 Figure 10 Sets created by architects for the biggest grossing Indian movie- ‘Bahubali-the beginning and conclusion’ ................................................................................................................................................... 10 Figure 11 Mani Ratnam, the revolution of Kollyood ................................................................................... 11 Figure 12 Thanjavur street sketch showing framing of the temple .............................................................. 14 Figure 13 Iruvar movie frame analysis ......................................................................................................... 14 Figure 14 Iruvar movie frame analysis ......................................................................................................... 15 Figure 15 Still from the movie Roja which was the film of Mani Ratnam to be critically acclaimed nationally for its theme and beautiful picturization. ...................................................................................................... 15 Figure 16 Still from the Mani Ratnam movie ‘Raavan’ 2010 shot by Santhosh Sivan. ............................... 17 Figure 17 Cullen’s work showing how movement can be read as a pictorial sequence. .............................. 19 Figure 18 Areal view of Taj Mahal showing the darwaza, garden and tomb mausoleum ............................ 20 Figure 19 The zoning of Taj Mahal complex. .............................................................................................. 21 Figure 20 Areal image of Taj Mahal complex showing the points where the serial vision images are named as shown in figure......................................................................................................................................... 21 Figure 21 The Taj Mahal complex – view frames from strategic locations A-D. ........................................ 22 Figure 22 The Taj Mahal complex – view frames from strategic location E. .............................................. 22 Figure 23 The Taj Mahal complex – view frames from strategic locations F-G. ......................................... 22 Figure 24 The Taj Mahal complex – view frames from strategic locations h-k. .......................................... 22 Figure 25 The Taj Mahal complex – view frames from strategic locations L-O.......................................... 22 Figure 26 The Taj Mahal complex – view frames from strategic location P. ............................................... 23 Figure 27 Frames created from the Mughal openings. ................................................................................. 23 Figure 28 Frames created from the facades; the golden proportion rectangles created at each frame at the main tomb facade. ........................................................................................................................................ 24 Figure 29 Frames created by the minarets. ................................................................................................... 24 Figure 30 Frames at the axis connecting entrance and main building. ......................................................... 25 Figure 31 Iconic frame from the song ‘Sangmarmar’ from the movie ‘Youngistan’. .................................. 25 Figure 32 Thanjavur Periya Koyil/ Brihadeeswara temple........................................................................... 26 Figure 33 Zoning of Thanjavur Periya koyil ................................................................................................ 27 Figure 34 The strategic locations where serial vision studies are conducted where points A-D are outside the temple boundaries, E-H are from the main temple entrance gopuram and points I-N are locations within the main temple premises. .................................................................................................................................. 27 Figure 35 Corresponding visions from strategic locations A-N ................................................................... 28 Figure 36 The path to the main temple composed axially symmetrically so that a singularity, Gopuram stands as a mass balanced on both sides, the view from eye level is taken as the reference. .................................. 29

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Figure 37 The entrance to the periya koyil is visually defined to a viewer to the frame created by the main entrance gopuram. Its composition gives the subject its significance. ......................................................... 30 Figure 38 Temple frame massing by rule of one thirds ................................................................................ 31 Figure 39 The one-point perspective frame perception of a long corridor space. ........................................ 31 Figure 40 Frame 1. ....................................................................................................................................... 32 Figure 41 Frame 2. ....................................................................................................................................... 32 Figure 42 Locations of respective frames. .................................................................................................... 33 Figure 43 The priority order of objects in the frame; (i) primary subject- orange shade (ii) secondary subjectgreen shade (iii) tertiary subject- blue shade. ............................................................................................... 33 Figure 44 Lighting concept of the frame. The yellow arrows represent the incident primary light source. The red dotted region refers to the dim shadow or the penumbra region, darker parts represent the umbra region of the shadows. ............................................................................................................................................. 34 Figure 45 The priority order of objects in the frame; (i) primary subject- orange shade (ii) secondary subjectgreen shade (iii) tertiary subject- blue shade. ............................................................................................... 35 Figure 46 THEATRICAL POSTER FROM THE MOVIE ‘IRUVAR’ ....................................................... 36 Figure 47 Serial vision frames from the movie ‘iruvar’ The priority order of objects in the frame; (i) primary subject- orange shade (ii) secondary subject- green shade (iii) tertiary subject- blue shade. ....................... 37 Figure 48 Serial vision frames from the movie ‘iruvar’ The priority order of objects in the frame; (i) primary subject- orange shade (ii) secondary subject- green shade (iii) tertiary subject- blue shade. ....................... 38 Figure 49 Serial vision frames from the movie ‘iruvar’ ANALYSED with respect to viewing angle and eye level. The priority order of objects in the frame; (i) primary subject- orange shade (ii) secondary subjectgreen shade (iii) tertiary subject- blue shade. ............................................................................................... 39 Figure 50 In this frame, golden proportion is used as an expression tool the primary subject, the speaker is composed at the focal half of the spiral. ....................................................................................................... 40 Figure 51 Screen occupancy of primary subjects. ........................................................................................ 40 Figure 52 SCREEN OCCUPANCY OF PRIMARY SUBJECTS. ............................................................... 41 Figure 53 THEATRICAL POSTER FROM THE MOVIE ‘THALAPATHY’............................................ 42 Figure 54 IMPORTANT SHOTS FROM THE MOVIE ‘THALAPATHY’. .............................................. 43 Figure 55 The critically acclaimed silhouette shot from ‘Thalapathy’ ......................................................... 44 Figure 56 A transitional shot along the banks of a temple river from the movie, the areal movement of the camera defines the perceptibility of the space. ............................................................................................. 44 Figure 57 A SHOT ALONG THE AXIAL PATH AND A CROSSING NODE OF A STREET, THE MASSING OF THE BUILDINGS, STREETSCAPE ARE DEFINED THROUGH THE SHOTS. ........... 45 Figure 58 Theatrical poster of ‘Roja’. .......................................................................................................... 46 Figure 59 A SHOT ALONG THE STREET DEFINING THE LOCAL SETTING OF THE SETTLEMENT. ...................................................................................................................................................................... 47 Figure 60 SCHEMATIC DIAGRAM SHOWING THE RELATIVE JAMMING OF THE PATH AND BUILT AND UNBUILT SPACES ON IT’S EITHER SIDES. YELLOW SHOWS THE PATH AND GREEN SHOW THE BUILT FEATURES FROM THE INITIAL SHOTS OF THE MOVIE. .................. 48 Figure 61 THEATRICAL POSTER OF ‘DIL SE…’. .................................................................................. 49 Figure 62 A shot along the streets of Kashmir defining the local setting of the settlement. ........................ 50 Figure 63 A shot along the streets of Kashmir defining the local setting of the settlement. ........................ 51 Figure 64 A LONG SHOT FROM THE MOVIE. ....................................................................................... 52 Figure 65 Establishing scene. ....................................................................................................................... 53 Figure 66 BEGINNING OF THE RELEVANT CONTENT. ...................................................................... 54 Figure 67 FINISHING THE RELEVANT CONTENT. .............................................................................. 55 Figure 68 CLIMAX OF DIL SE…............................................................................................................... 56 Figure 69 The establishing scene.................................................................................................................. 57 Figure 70 Begining of RELEVANT CONTENT ......................................................................................... 58 Figure 71 closing scene ................................................................................................................................ 59

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LIST OF TABLES Table 1 Selected movies ............................................................................................................................... 16

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ARCHITECTURE THROUGH FRAMES OF MANI RATNAM MOVIES 1990 - 2000

ARCHITECTURE THROUGH FRAMES OF MANI RATNAM MOVIES 1990 - 2000

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1.INTRODUCTION 1.1 INDIAN CINEMA Cinema being an art form expresses various stories that tends to entertain and manipulate human minds, filling hearts with joy, sorrow, evoking brains to a greater level of thinking and finding new faces of emotions. Indian cinema being one of world’s oldest film industries, depicts not only the whole diversity and integrity of the country but also plays as one of the key factors in maintaining the unity of the country. From the past few decades, it’s been evident that the country’s feeling unites only during happenings in Bollywood, cricket matches and defence achievements.

1.1.1 HISTORY OF INDIAN CINEMA The first ever motion picture released in India was ‘Raja Harishchandra’ in 1913 by Dada Saheb Phalke which marked the birth of Indian cinema. From the artistic and commercial point of view, Indian cinema was divided to further themes.

1.1.2 INDIAN CINEMA GENRES • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

Action Adult Adventure Animation Biopic Children’s Comedy Crime Culture and Society Dance Documentary Drama Education Fantasy History Horror Music Mystery Romance Science fiction Spirituality and philosophy Suspense and Thriller Travel

Source: (Srivasthava, 2017)

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1.1.3 SOUTH INDIAN FILMS The cinema of South India is used to refer as the collective of five film industries that consists Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam and Tulu films as Kollywood, Tollywood, Sandalwood, Mollywood and Coastalwood respectively based on language and region.

The first ever South Indian movie to be made was ‘Keechaka vadham’ (assassination of Keechaka) in 1918, the first talking motion picture, Kalidas, was a multilingual and was released on 1931. South Indian movies are particularly respected and recognized for its aesthetic, artistic and cultural aspects.

FIGURE 1: STILLS FROM RENOWNED SOUTH INDIAN MOVIES VEERAPANDYA KATTABOMMAN, PARASAKTHI, ANUBHAVANGAL PALICHAKAL, ANNAYIN ANNA, CHEMMEEN, THANGA PADHUMAI

Source: (Old Malayalam Movies, 2012) 1.1.4 TAMIL CINEMA AND AESTHETICS Even if a director may be largely responsible for a film’s language, the part played by other technicians cannot be ignored. Every film demands a visual language of its own and there are no specific rules to be followed in order to achieve this. In Tamil cinemas there is a

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unique identity for cinematography, editing and acting that comes together to form a unique visual language.

The three most important elements of cinematography—composition, camera movement, usage of light—do not stand by themselves in the film. They are based on a central theme that’s woven into the film. Every frame is filled with different geometric shapes. It’s beautiful to observe the windows, doors, the corners of walls, the structure of buildings, and even electric wires dissecting certain frames; all of these contributing to the film’s visual structure.

The secondary elements of frames, the background either built or unbuilt has its own significance according to the way it is composed in the frame. Apart from these, the lighting, shadow casted, size of the objects, relevance of the focus point, these forms important aspects in the aesthetics. Every movement of the camera alters these qualities of the frame.

1.2 FILM AND ARCHITECTURE Architecture as a cinematic device: Cinema came from the society; it is a reflection of the society with an artistic and commercial value. Some classic issues from environment behaviour studies- privacy, personal space, cognition and symbolism- have played dramatic roles in cinema. Architecture and the built environment have been used as vehicles for various cinematic devices.

FIGURE 2: VARIOUS ONE-POINT PERSPECTIVE SHOTS FROM THE 1985 MOVIE ‘THE SHINING’

• • • •

Source: (Preetika.B, 2015)

• Architecture as backdrop or setting.

Use of architecture to enhance mood and context.

Metaphorical representations through architecture.

Direct representation of narrative elements through architecture.

Architecture as an active character.

For instance, The Shining, 1985 directed by Stanley Kubrik shows the entire plot revolving around a mysterious hotel and a family taking care of it becomes a prey for psychological anomalies forcing the members to behave in strange mental patterns. In this movie the spaces are organised in such a manner that displays the old palaces, the horrifying moments it creates when its unoccupied; the ideal depiction of spaces causes a different horror mood I spaces.

The extravagancy and long lobbies create the haunted instances.

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ARCHITECTURE THROUGH FRAMES OF MANI RATNAM MOVIES 1990 - 2000 FIGURE 3: SPACES FROM STANLEY KUBRIK’S THE SHINING 1985.

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The critically acclaimed huge long corridor scene from the movie.

Expressed the scenes using tools like one-point perspective.

2.

The extravagant spaces of the bar and party areas.

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1

Source: (Preetika.B, 2015) Another example; Psycho, 1960 directed by Alfred Hitchcock shows a plot revolving around the missing of a woman who is killed by a mentally unstable man who suffers from split personality disorder and kills people in the name of his diseased mother. The film mainly portrays two spaces; one the inn which she resides in and a mansion nearby where

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the main antagonist resides in. Limited by the technologies and architectural discoveries then, the production design was mainly focused in order to successfully differentiate the hierarchy of the two spaces in terms of the range of safety for the chief characters moved through the entire plot. The film popularly referred as a parent material to the present psychological films was successfully able to establish the fear in each audience.

FIGURE 4 ALFRED HICHCOCK'S PSYCHO (1960)

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2.

3.

The motel which is situated at the lower land profile i.e. At the road level.

The haunted bungalow placed at the hillock.

The motel room where the killing took place.

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Source: (Preetika.B, 2015) Another critically acclaimed movie, Titanic, 1996 directed by James Cameroon is a fantastic work to be looked upon where the entire space inside a ship is portrayed wisely.

The movie revolves around a cruise journey of world’s largest ship in 1900s and a love story that grew and got buried due to the tragic collapse of the ship each and every frame is a visual treat with respect to the camera positions, spaces covered, focused instances and MARIAN COLLEGE OF ARCHITECTURE AND PLANNING

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so on. Every space within the ship ranging from the engine to the uppermost mast is brilliantly executed so that the viewer gets the complete imageability about the whereabouts happening to the movie context. Generally, a movie frame is the dynamic interaction of three vital features object, nature, and built environment and the relation within these object-nature, nature- built environment, object-built environment evokes the viewer to find greater depth to the plot. In the case of Titanic, all these relations move in perfect balance so as to enhance the visual appeal and better path to the viewers’ mind.

1.2.1 RULES OF SHOT COMPOSITION/ FRAMING FOR

IMAGEABILITY

1.2.1.1 RULE OF THIRDS Firstly, the rule of thirds is one of the most common camera framing techniques used in film or photography. It's about positioning a character to show their relation to other elements in the scene. The camera frames the shot, keeping the main subject on occupying roughly one thirds of the screen area. It’s more pleasing to the eye. But also, different camera framing will tell a different story. It is an easy way to determine the character's place in the world.

FIGURE 5. A STILL FROM THE MOVIE ‘JOKER’ WHERE THE MAIN CHARACTER PORTRAYS AN EMOTIONAL INSTANCE AND TO GIVE THE IMPORTANCE TO THE SUBJECT THE SHOT HAS BEEN MANIPULATED SUCH THAT MAIN SUBJECT OCCUPIES ALMOST ONE THIRD OF THE SCREEN SPACE.

Source: (Maio, 2019)

1.2.1.2 BALANCE AND SYMMETRY One of the chief principles of designing, Artists, Cinematographers and Architects use this technique to direct the viewer’s eye to a specific place. And leading the eye to the centre of the screen might end up serving the story better, and garner more emotion. Past films have done this well. Balance and symmetry in a shot can be very effective.

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ARCHITECTURE THROUGH FRAMES OF MANI RATNAM MOVIES 1990 - 2000 FIGURE 6 A STILL FROM THE MOVIE ‘2001 A SPACE ODYSSEY’ WHICH SHOWS THE SYMMETRICAL AND BALANCED FRAME COMPOSITION.

Source: (Maio, 2019)

1.2.1.3 LEADING LINES Leading lines are actual lines (or sometimes imaginary ones) in a shot, that lead the eye to key elements in the scene.

This technique is used to direct the viewer’s eye but they also use it to connect the character to essential objects, situations, or secondary subjects. Whatever the eye is being drawn to in a scene, leading lines probably have something to do with it.

FIGURE 7 A SHOT FROM THE 2016 MOVIE ‘DOCTOR STRANGE’ WHERE THE IMAGINARY LINES LYING PARALLEL TO THE SUBJECT’S AXIS FRAMES RATHER FOCUSES THE MAIN SUBJECT I.E. THE INJURED STEPHEN STRANGE

Source: (Maio, 2019)

1.2.1.4 THE 180-DEGREE RULE The 180-degree rule draws an imaginary line that connects the characters in the scene. The camera should be on one side of this line for every shot in the scene. This way, the first character is always frame right of the second character, and the second one is frame left of the first. This rule helps with continuity and eye lines.

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FIGURE 8 180-DEGREE RULE

Source: (Maio, 2019)

1.2.1.5 GOLDEN PROPORTION RATIO In nature we see the golden ratio in plants and the branching of trees, the spirals of shells, the curves of waves, in our DNA and the solar system. It has also been used in architecture, art and music. It was used in architectural masterpieces such as the Greek Parthenon, the pyramids and later in such great works of art such as Notre Dame. There is also cause to believe that it was used by the great artists Michelangelo and Leonardo De Vinci. Simply put, the golden ratio is a ratio of approximately 1.618 to 1. This proportion creates a sense of harmony and balance.

FIGURE 9 GOLDEN PROPORTION RATIO IN FRAME SETTING, THE PRIMARY SUBJECT COMES WITHIN THE CENTRE OF THE SPIRAL.

Source: (Maio, 2019) MARIAN COLLEGE OF ARCHITECTURE AND PLANNING

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1.2.2 INDIAN FILMS AND ARCHITECTURE Indian films have been critically acclaimed for the content and aesthetics worldwide. The role of architecture in these are also commendable, the vast sets created for a movie; the framing of views size of the space perceived has a great deal in the success of a movie.

The ancient cinema concept of Indian cinema was confined in small studio spaces; from there, it began to explore nature and blended built movie sets outdoor. From there at its peak when larger than life character and stories which bend realities sprouted out, cinema again came back to studios, but this time; it focussed more upon technicalities and perfection objects either built or unbuilt were conceived by artists and architects, thus the vibrancy of space came ushering since the past decade of Indian cinema. New technological advancements like Vfx computer graphics, Computer aided designing made it easy for set designing technicians. Also, the digitalisation of cinematography techniques also aided the perfection in framing of movie shots, better perceptibility of movies was achieved.

FIGURE 10 SETS CREATED BY ARCHITECTS FOR THE BIGGEST GROSSING INDIAN MOVIE- ‘BAHUBALI-THE BEGINNING AND CONCLUSION’

Source: (Dalvi, 2016)

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2. ARCHITCTURAL FRAMES OF MANI RATNAM 2.1 MANI RATNAM Gopala Ratnam Subramaniam (born 2 June 1956), commonly known by his screen name Mani Ratnam, is an Indian film director, screenwriter, and producer who predominantly works in Tamil cinema. Unlike most of his contemporaries, Mani Ratnam did not assist anybody in film-making prior to entering the industry. A majority of his films are characterized by a string of socio-political themes. Because of his idea of combining art and commercial elements, most of his films garnered both critical acclaim and commercial success. Nayakan, Bombay and Iruvar were inspired from real-life incidents, while Thalapathy and Raavan were based on Indian epics. Right from the beginning of his career, his works were noted for their technical expertise in areas such as cinematography, art FIGURE 11 MANI RATNAM, THE REVOLUTION OF KOLLYOOD direction, editing and background score.

Source: (Pinterest, n.d.)

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A keen eye for cinematography, rim lighting and picturesqueness of films are Mani Ratnam's benchmark in films. Right from his initial films, his portrayal of crossover culture is apparent and evident, which was exploited to its fullest. In his ventures such as Roja, Bombay, and, Nayagan, the protagonists travel from typical south Indian urban or suburban areas and moves to metropolitan cities.

The love lives usually start in a conflict in a tranquil remote area cutting across social, economic or across 11

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religious borders. Protagonists cut through linguistic, cultural and demographic borders.

This crossover phenomenon is conspicuous in all his movies. Mani Ratnam tends to use crossover as a tool in his works, to achieve a twin objective of firstly glorifying Tamil culture across borders and secondly ensuring a wider audience for his films. The typical travel of the characters in all his ventures may be termed crossovers for the simple reason that they travel across states and cultures.

2.2 MANI RATNAM FILMOGRAPHY 1. Pallavi anu Pallavi (1983) 2. Unaru (1984) 3. Pagal nilavu (1985) 4. Idaya kovil (1985) 5. Mouna ragam (1986) 6. Nayakan (1987) 7. Agni Nachathiram (1988) 8. Geethanjali (1989) 9. Anjali (1990) 10. Thalapathy (1991) 11. Roja (1992) 12. Thiruda Thiruda (1993) 13. Bombay (1995) 14. Iruvar (1997) 15. Dil se... (1998) 16. Alaipayuthe (2000) 17. Kannathil Muthamittal (2002) 18. Yuva (2004) 19. Aayutha ezhuthu (2004) 20. Guru (2007) 21. Raavan (2010) 22. Raavanan (2010) 23. Kadal (2013) 24. O Kaadhal Kanmani (2015) 25. Kaatru Veliydai (2017) 26. Chekka Chivantha Vaanam (2018)

2.3 OBJECTIVE The core idea of the work is to analyse the composition of frames of continuous shots in few selected movies of Mani Ratnam and thereby defining the relevance of serial vision concept of architecture proposed by Gordan Cullen in improvising the perceptibility and imageability of a particular space in movies.

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2.4 METHOD OF STUDY The materials used in the dissertation are films, built environment, naturally existing both tangible and intangible elements in a space that gives a unique identity to a space. The architectural spaces and the built environment that take place in the selected films are the examples that defines the concept of imageability to a broad canvas to the viewer.

The primary meanings of architectural spaces that have been originated by the architects have been compared with the meanings derived or invented in the movies by the directors.

The primary visions of the two disciplines on space; both architectural space and cinematic space have been comparatively studied.

In third and fourth chapters the case studies regarding the concept of imageability and perception of spaces and cinematic instruments and primary concepts in film narration in making up a film are handled respectively.

In the fourth chapter, the representation of space has been considered within the narrative impact of film. The analysis regarding the composition of spaces, mandatory props the priority order of defining these on a frame, the movement of a camera shot, creating lighting so as to prepare the space for different sets of narration and so on.

The frame analysis is done through the serial vision process by Gordon Cullen. Each serial vision is considered as a movie frame which is a part of a continuous moving shot. The subjects within the frame are prioritised as: i. ii. iii.

Primary subjects (Orange colour) Secondary subjects (Green Colour) Tertiary subjects (Blue colour)

Here, the primary subjects are the core elements which are focussed upon; whether it be humans, buildings, animals or trees. The importance given to the primary subjects is analysed and checked considering the rules of proportion and shadow analysis.

The secondary subjects are the next important entities that support the primary subjects, these could be the motive, props used by the primary subject to convey the story or emotion at a particular point of time.

The tertiary subjects are the background objects that is on a broader canvas that gives an emphasis to both the primary and secondary subjects. These are predominantly analysed based on shadow composition.

The inter relation between human-built forms, human-nature, nature-built forms are also analysed through these frames. The priority of each of these components in a frame is observed from the screen space each of these occupies, its position in the frame and the shadow details each one carries. The shadow casted on or upon an object is divided into 2; umbra and penumbra which are dark shadows and soft shadows respectively.

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FIGURE 12 THANJAVUR STREET SKETCH SHOWING FRAMING OF THE TEMPLE

Source: (Self) The priority order of a frame is defined as per the screen space it occupies and its position it takes. In this case, the trees mark the main subject as it occupies most of the space; framing the temple and the background is marked by the built boundaries, dividers and the handrails.

FIGURE 13 IRUVAR MOVIE FRAME ANALYSIS

Source: (Self)

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FIGURE 14 IRUVAR MOVIE FRAME ANALYSIS

Source: (Self)

2.5 MOVIES FROM 1990-2000 As a filmmaker, Mani Ratnam got a creative enhancement during 90s to2000s.His movies were critically acclaimed and applauded for the methodology he portrayed his ideas. These movies even though represented various themes like crime, romance, love, terrorism, politics, social change; had a common character, a unique sense of visual representation that gave the viewer a better perception about the scenario, emotion and feel of a particular moment. His terrorism trilogy; Roja, Bombay, Dil se were critically reviewed among the public. His movies during the 90s period were awarded by numerous prestigious international, national, state and regional agencies.He used the 3 main elements Human subject, Nature element, built features and the inter relation between these elements, the way each of it is composed in case of spatial arrangement, visual dominance, frame area, frame positions, positioning of camera, lighting and shadows etc.

FIGURE 15 STILL FROM THE MOVIE ROJA WHICH WAS THE FILM OF MANI RATNAM TO BE CRITICALLY ACCLAIMED NATIONALLY FOR ITS THEME AND BEAUTIFUL PICTURIZATION.

Source: (Maniratnam, Roja, 1992) MARIAN COLLEGE OF ARCHITECTURE AND PLANNING

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2.6 SELECTED MOVIES The first set of two movies from 1990 to 2000 are selected based on the story lines defining periodic setting of spaces, romantic setting of the same space and criminal background of the same space as well. The second set of two movies are based on a single theme through various spaces across the country focussing on a social issue of terrorism and its impacts during 1990s time.

The first set of movies are Iruvar and Thalapathy. The second set of movies are Roja and Dilse. All these movies represent a wide variety of visual sequences composed using proportions, defined scales, screen spaces and so on. The visual composition of the movies are studied upon the nature-human interactions, nature-building interactions, buildinghuman interactions.

TABLE 1 SELECTED MOVIES

MULTI THEME DUOLOGY MOVIE

THALAPATHY

IRUVAR

YEAR CINEMATOGRAPHER

1991

1997

SANTHOSH SIVAN

SANTHOSH SIVAN

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STORYLINE The story was inspired from the life of popular Mahabharatha character Karna, that was a reinterpretation through the director’s conception, displays the cult background of Tamil Nadu and associated behavioural aspects.

Defines public spaces, religious areas and interior spaces.

The storyline pulls up the life of Anandan, a struggling actor who turned to be the leader of a political party and later the chief minister of Tamil Nadu. Contains various elements of timely changes of space that defines the tangible social, built and natural changes of Tamil Nadu.

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TERRORISM DUOLOGY MOVIE

ROJA

DIL SE…

YEAR CINEMATOGRAPHER

1992

1998

STORYLINE

SANTHOSH SIVAN

The plot revolves around the life of a couple who gets vulnerable to terrorist groups. The movie portrays different locations nature- human and nature – building interactions frames.

SANTHOSH SIVAN

It’s the love story formed between 2 individuals from different countries when the woman was vulnerable and associated with terrorism activities.

Table 1: List of movies chosen for study

2.6.1 CINEMATOGRAPHY BY SANTHOSH SIVAN The selected movies were captured by cinematographer, director Santhosh Sivan. Mani Ratnam and Santhosh Sivan are a widely acclaimed combo of creative works, his cinematography theme includes wide shots, primarily silhouettes in sunsets, landscapes composed of iconic landmarks, dynamic play with colour and nature.

FIGURE 16 STILL FROM THE MANI RATNAM MOVIE ‘RAAVAN’ 2010 SHOT BY SANTHOSH SIVAN.

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3. CASE STUDIES 3.1 CASE STUDY OVERVIEW Human beings naturally categorize the excess of sensory input that we continuously experience. This allows us to take the visual/auditory/olfactory/etc information, make it symbolically legible, and build coherent thought processes. In other words, we mentally structure our environment by simplification. We understand something (i.e. produce a mental image of it) only through a process of symbolic classification and extraction of the data relevant to us. If the mental image of one’s environment is produced by categorizing symbols, then the efficacy of this process is tied to the legibility of the symbols. An easyto-read environment is produced through easy-to-read symbols.

Kevin Lynch’s book, The Image of the City, is a detailed study of the way we structure our cities psychologically. For Lynch, the “imageability” of a city is directly related to the success of its urban plan. Lynch argues that the ease in which one can recognize the patterns and meanings of their environment, the more pleasure and utility they will extract from it.

3.2 IMAGEABILITY AND SERIAL VISION Gordon Cullen, the humanist and urbanist designer, first published his seminal work “Townscape” in 1961, and a concise version of it was published ten years later (Cullen 1961, 1971). Cullen liked to call his theory and approach to understanding and manipulating the elements of townscape an “Environment Game.” He presented his discovery of humanistic urban design in three “gateways”: Motion (Serial Vision), Position (Here and There), and Content (This and That). A detailed review of the entire Townscape treatise is not intended here but a short revisit of the serial vision. In concerning “Optics,” Cullen calls a series of “jerks or revelations” that we may experience when walking through a town or city at a uniform speed as Serial Vision. He considers that a town can become visible in a deeper sense if vivid contrasts can be felt, as “the human mind reacts to the difference between things,” or “the drama of juxtaposition” From his research works and discoveries, the term ‘serial vision’ turned to be a breakthrough in urban design. The sequence of steps taken by an individual creates a set of mental images, forming a logical connection leading to a mental mapping of the space and eventually leading to the perception of the defined space. The concept of serial vision is better analysed through the coming case studies.

The serial vision experiments conducted by Gordon Cullen on a street walk and he showed how movement through a space could be defined as a pictorial sequence to form a continuous perception to an individual. The following set of images show how Cullen formed the sequential mental images of a space.

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ARCHITECTURE THROUGH FRAMES OF MANI RATNAM MOVIES 1990 - 2000 FIGURE 17 CULLEN’S WORK SHOWING HOW MOVEMENT CAN BE READ AS A PICTORIAL SEQUENCE.

1

2

5

6

3

4

7

8

Source: (Lynch, 1960)

3.3 LITRATURE CASE STUDIES 3.3.1 TAJ MAHAL The Taj Mahal has long been recognized for its incredible beauty and merit. Also, it’s a vast heritage site built on the flood plains of Yamuna river. It was completed in 1653 and commissioned by Mughal emperor Shah Jahan. UNESCO named Taj Mahal as a world heritage site in 1982 as a national symbol of India. It’s the lager cultural landscape of river Yamuna and its flood plain, rural hamlets and farm fields, the streets and open spaces adjoining the river front that offer the best vantage for best viewing the monuments.

Known for its symmetry and order, it is surprising and worth to know how the principle of serial vision has been incorporated in it. Taj Mahal works on the principle of serial vision in a slightly different approach. Buildings of different scales are put together to form a composition. Passing by each of these, a new building is perceived or maybe a different perspective is formed. Multiple frames for the very same complex thus create a stronger

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feeling of curiosity. This builds the enthusiasm of the visitor who moves forward in an intent to catch a better glimpse after witnessing the monument’s skyline as he or she enters the city.

FIGURE 18 AREAL VIEW OF TAJ MAHAL SHOWING THE DARWAZA, GARDEN AND TOMB MAUSOLEUM

Source: (Raphy, 2019) Taj Mahal complex in India, a timeless architectural marvel had its global identity not only as a built mass of marble, but also bags the potential of retaining the image making pleasure of a visitor with its exuberant enunciation of volume and space. The following process of sequencing vision images attempts to discover certain principles of Gordon Cullen reflected in Taj physical setting that intensifies and escalates the imageability, and then concludes justifying the significance of visualization in the design of an urban space so as to stimulate the emotional conscience of a visitor.

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FIGURE 19 THE ZONING OF TAJ MAHAL COMPLEX.

Source: (Patnayaka, 2016) Built in Mughal style architecture, the complex as a whole is having different sense of unique identity in terms of planning, scale of buildings, proportion of the spaces, the size of gardens, areal and vertical symmetry. The streetscape at the vicinity of Taj Mahal is dense very much dense and thickly human populated. Taj Mahal being a national landmark contributes a huge share to overall Agra districts’ imageability and perception.

FIGURE 20 AREAL IMAGE OF TAJ MAHAL COMPLEX SHOWING THE POINTS WHERE THE SERIAL VISION IMAGES ARE NAMED AS SHOWN IN FIGURE.

Source: (Patnayaka, 2016)

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The above areal image marks the Taj Mahal complex which shows the outermost fort wall, the entrance; entrance to the garden, then to the main tomb and its surroundings. The coming images shows the various serial images leading to the logical sequencing of the space.

FIGURE 21 THE TAJ MAHAL COMPLEX – VIEW FRAMES FROM STRATEGIC LOCATIONS A-D.

Source: (Patnayaka, 2016) FIGURE 22 THE TAJ MAHAL COMPLEX – VIEW FRAMES FROM STRATEGIC LOCATION E.

Source: (Patnayaka, 2016) FIGURE 23 THE TAJ MAHAL COMPLEX – VIEW FRAMES FROM STRATEGIC LOCATIONS F-G.

Source: (Patnayaka, 2016) FIGURE 24 THE TAJ MAHAL COMPLEX – VIEW FRAMES FROM STRATEGIC LOCATIONS H-K.

Source: (Patnayaka, 2016) FIGURE 25 THE TAJ MAHAL COMPLEX – VIEW FRAMES FROM STRATEGIC LOCATIONS L-O.

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Source: (Patnayaka, 2016) FIGURE 26 THE TAJ MAHAL COMPLEX – VIEW FRAMES FROM STRATEGIC LOCATION P.

Source: (Patnayaka, 2016)

3.3.2 INFERENCES Viewing each and every frame of the sequence from A-P we could derive certain facts from the built and unbuilt aspects of Taj Mahal. The general analysis absorbed from the images are, the way the whole complex is built points out a unique set of parameters allow the viewer to concieve a vision where the whole space is enclosed within a frame. This is a unique characteristic of Mughal architecture evolved from the Perssian, Sarsenic building culture, the construction of the complex especially the tomb and garden area is so precisely done so that a person viewing it could always get to know the balance and unity of the built entity.

FIGURE 27 FRAMES CREATED FROM THE MUGHAL OPENINGS.

Source: (Patnayaka, 2016) The use of rectangular walls with different materials create volumetric elements.

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FIGURE 28 FRAMES CREATED FROM THE FACADES; THE GOLDEN PROPORTION RECTANGLES CREATED AT EACH FRAME AT THE MAIN TOMB FACADE.

Source: (Ahlawat, 2015) Vertical linear elements (in this case minarets) are defining a transparent volume of space.

In the example four minaret towers outline a spatial field from where dome rise.

FIGURE 29 FRAMES CREATED BY THE MINARETS.

Source: (Ahlawat, 2015) Serial visions are created along an axis. At entrance, only the central tomb is visible and going through the entrance gateway, the whole mausoleum frame is created. A visual axis is created by linear planning of water body from entrance to the mausoleum.

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FIGURE 30 FRAMES AT THE AXIS CONNECTING ENTRANCE AND MAIN BUILDING.

Source: (Ahlawat, 2015) FIGURE 31 ICONIC FRAME FROM THE SONG ‘SANGMARMAR’ FROM THE MOVIE ‘YOUNGISTAN’.

Source: (Afzal, 2014)

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3.4 LIVE CASE STUDY 3.4.1 THANJAVUR PERIYA KOVIL / BRIHADEESHWARA

TEMPLE

Brihadeeshwara Temple (Peruvudaiyar Kovil) is a Hindu temple dedicated to Shiva located in Thanjavur in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is one of the largest temples in India and is an example of Dravidian architecture during the Chola period. Built by emperor Raja Raja Chola I and completed in 1010 AD, the temple turned 1000 years old in 2010. The temple is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site known as the "Great Living Chola Temples", with the other two being the Brihadeeswara Temple, Gangaikonda Cholapuram and Airavatesvara temple.

Thanjavur is a location that lies almost midway in the state of Tamil Nadu, representing the general culture in the aspects of climate, linguistic nature, food, clothing and also architecture; why such a space is chosen was to resemble the movie location atmosphere of the selected 2 movies ‘Iruvar’ and ‘Thalapathy’. The imageability study was conducted upon the temple premises and along the crowds so as to analyse how to set a frame keeping in mind the available built and unbuilt features and reflect the overall perceptibility of the place.

FIGURE 32 THANJAVUR PERIYA KOYIL/ BRIHADEESWARA TEMPLE

Source: (Muralikumar, 2019) The temple is planned in an axial way which also abides geometrical and visual symmetry.

The temple is enclosed by a boundary of thick walls and the entrance is marked by the east side ‘gopuram. Further moving, there is another internal boundary wall which again has a gopuram entrance that leads to the main temple premises. The temple complex is a rectangle that is almost two stacked squares, covering 240.79 metres (790.0 ft) east to west, and 121.92 metres (400.0 ft) north to south. In this space are five main sections: the sanctum with the towering superstructure (sri vimana), the Nandi hall in front (Nandi-

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mandapam) and in between these the main community hall (mukhamandapam), the great gathering hall (mahamandapam) and the pavilion that connects the great hall with the sanctum (ardhamandapam).

FIGURE 33 ZONING OF THANJAVUR PERIYA KOYIL

Source: (Anat Geva, 2007) FIGURE 34 THE STRATEGIC LOCATIONS WHERE SERIAL VISION STUDIES ARE CONDUCTED WHERE POINTS A-D ARE OUTSIDE THE TEMPLE BOUNDARIES, E-H ARE FROM THE MAIN TEMPLE ENTRANCE GOPURAM AND POINTS I-N ARE LOCATIONS WITHIN THE MAIN TEMPLE PREMISES.

Source: (editor, 2020; Self) MARIAN COLLEGE OF ARCHITECTURE AND PLANNING

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The serial vision walk is conducted from the entrance to the sri vimana and covering the other mandapas and a walk along the long corridor, along with these; a subject is introduced through which the possibilities of frame setting is also introduced to the vision images.

FIGURE 35 CORRESPONDING VISIONS FROM STRATEGIC LOCATIONS A-N

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3.4.2 INFERENCES From the serial vision images, the temple premises do develop frames which either belongs to the rule of thirds or the balance and symmetrical composition. This is due to the massing character of the whole complex. The gopurams or entrance fragment stands out as a single enormous entity and forms a balanced symmetrical visual feature. The main temple portions however compose a vision where the sri vimana portion dominates, the height of the sri vimana is 66m which is much more than the average human eye level of 1.65m; hence the figure composes a tower like appearance that gives a composition where the sri vimana occupies one third of the frame.

FIGURE 36 THE PATH TO THE MAIN TEMPLE COMPOSED AXIALLY SYMMETRICALLY SO THAT A SINGULARITY, GOPURAM STANDS AS A MASS BALANCED ON BOTH SIDES, THE VIEW FROM EYE LEVEL IS TAKEN AS THE REFERENCE.

Source: (Self)

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FIGURE 37 THE ENTRANCE TO THE PERIYA KOYIL IS VISUALLY DEFINED TO A VIEWER TO THE FRAME CREATED BY THE MAIN ENTRANCE GOPURAM. ITS COMPOSITION GIVES THE SUBJECT ITS SIGNIFICANCE.

Source: (Self) As discussed in case of Taj Mahal the built components also play a role in the framing of views in a space; an arbitrary visual boundary thus formed allows the brain to formulate

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in a much faster way. Here, the framing is done by the gateways, mandapas and other semi open spaces these creates a physical boundary for the object in front, these might have been considered during its construction period the built frames are made in such a way that it houses the main object in a well-defined, composed manner.

FIGURE 38 TEMPLE FRAME MASSING BY RULE OF ONE THIRDS

Source: (Self) FIGURE 39 THE ONE-POINT PERSPECTIVE FRAME PERCEPTION OF A LONG CORRIDOR SPACE.

Source: (Self)

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3.4.3 FRAME SETTING From the serial vision study done, a frame setting experiment is done in both interiors and exterior spaces of the temple so as to analyse the lighting and shadow credentials of the space and the composition techniques which suit to the temple complex region.

FIGURE 40 FRAME 1.

Source: (Self) FIGURE 41 FRAME 2.

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FIGURE 42 LOCATIONS OF RESPECTIVE FRAMES.

1

2

Source: (Anat Geva, 2007) The first frame is selected inside the corridors of the temple premises, which is a circumambulatory pedestrian walking space which is an elongated, connected pillared space. The lighting aspects of this space is from the left side as per the frame viz. through the pillared face of the corridor.

FIGURE 43 THE PRIORITY ORDER OF OBJECTS IN THE FRAME; (I) PRIMARY SUBJECT- ORANGE SHADE (II) SECONDARY SUBJECT- GREEN SHADE (III) TERTIARY SUBJECT- BLUE SHADE.

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Here the primary subject denoted in the orange shaded area is a human on a dancing pose resembling the Hindu God ‘Krishna’ composed based on a triangular manner. Such a composition where the apex of the primary subject touches roughly the midpoint of the whole frame, ensures the balance and unity of the whole frame. The secondary object shown in green colour supports the primary object’s lighting from the left side; being a contrasting profile that of the left side, the secondary object also highlights the primary subject’s right side i.e. her right-side face portion, arms, the dupatta design and colouring, the dancer’s anklet or ‘chilanka’. The tertiary object shown in blue colour contains the primary and secondary objects. Also, it fades away the human objects from the behind due to the light coming inside.

FIGURE 44 LIGHTING CONCEPT OF THE FRAME. THE YELLOW ARROWS REPRESENT THE INCIDENT PRIMARY LIGHT SOURCE. THE RED DOTTED REGION REFERS TO THE DIM SHADOW OR THE PENUMBRA REGION, DARKER PARTS REPRESENT THE UMBRA REGION OF THE SHADOWS.

Source: (Self) Decoding the lighting aspects of the frame, the primary source of lighting is the available sunlight during evening. The location is a tropical region which lies at the south eastern part of India. The evening light at this region is western side. Pinpointing the location of the corridor from Fig 3.28; the corridor lies at the western end of the temple hence the primary light is the reflected, indirect lighting of the evening. The major part of the shadow casted is soft shadows which are called penumbra and the minor darker regions, umbra is present near the foot regions of the primary subject.

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The second frame is selected at the open spaces near the nandimandapa which is exposed to direct sunlight where the photo was taken during noon to observe the shadow effects to its minimum significance. Here the main subject is the human walking towards the main gopuram where there are multiple secondary subjects supporting the main subject’s significance. These include the destination where he is moving, defined by the gopuram, path on which he is moving, shown by the ground and the other human subjects immediately nearby. The secondary subjects are more carefully composed in this frame.

Discussing about the composition of the frame, the primary subject shown in orange colour is a human male walking towards the temple’s entrance gopuram. The subject occupies almost one-third of the frame space.

FIGURE 45 THE PRIORITY ORDER OF OBJECTS IN THE FRAME; (I) PRIMARY SUBJECT- ORANGE SHADE (II) SECONDARY SUBJECT- GREEN SHADE (III) TERTIARY SUBJECT- BLUE SHADE.

Source: (Self)

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4. MOVIE FRAME ANALYSIS 4.1 IRUVAR FIGURE 46 THEATRICAL POSTER FROM THE MOVIE ‘IRUVAR’

y

Source: (Maniratnam, Iruvar, 1997)

4.1.1 STORYLINE ‘Iruvar’ is a political drama that is based on the relationship between two famous politicians of Tamil Nadu -- MG Ramachandran and MK Karunanidhi. Starring Mohanlal and Prakash Raj in the lead, ‘Iruvar’ explores the close relationship between cinema and MARIAN COLLEGE OF ARCHITECTURE AND PLANNING

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politics in Tamil Nadu. It follows the story of Anandan (Mohanlal), an aspiring actor who befriends Tamilselvan (Prakash Raj), a Dravidian loyalist.

FIGURE 47 SERIAL VISION FRAMES FROM THE MOVIE ‘IRUVAR’ THE PRIORITY ORDER OF OBJECTS IN THE FRAME; (I) PRIMARY SUBJECT- ORANGE SHADE (II) SECONDARY SUBJECT- GREEN SHADE (III) TERTIARY SUBJECT- BLUE SHADE.

Source: (Maniratnam, 1997; Self) Understanding the frames from the shot, the key activity happening is the movement of the primary subject. The position of the camera is assumed diagonally opposite to the subject as per the composition of the image; the moving subject covers different frames from the scene that gives the viewer a perceptibility of the space. The space used as a medium in the particular frame is a movie set costumized as a palace. The demi palace in terms of scale is enormous as compared to a human scale, the camera heights shifted to a

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fixed point so as to cover the interaction of the throne and the primary subject as shown in Fig.4.3.

FIGURE 48 SERIAL VISION FRAMES FROM THE MOVIE ‘IRUVAR’ THE PRIORITY ORDER OF OBJECTS IN THE FRAME; (I) PRIMARY SUBJECT- ORANGE SHADE (II) SECONDARY SUBJECT- GREEN SHADE (III) TERTIARY SUBJECT- BLUE SHADE.

Source: (Maniratnam, 1997; Self) (Maniratnam, 1997)The next set of frames shows the areal movement of camera which portrays the dynamic activities of the subject. The axially moving rather running subject needs to be infused with its recognition or screen presence, thus the camera height and angles are adjusted and logically matched for the same. The movement is shown in the coming images.

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ARCHITECTURE THROUGH FRAMES OF MANI RATNAM MOVIES 1990 - 2000 FIGURE 49 SERIAL VISION FRAMES FROM THE MOVIE ‘IRUVAR’ ANALYSED WITH RESPECT TO VIEWING ANGLE AND EYE LEVEL. THE PRIORITY ORDER OF OBJECTS IN THE FRAME; (I) PRIMARY SUBJECT- ORANGE SHADE (II) SECONDARY SUBJECT- GREEN SHADE (III) TERTIARY SUBJECT- BLUE SHADE.

Source: (Maniratnam, 1997; Self)

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FIGURE 50 IN THIS FRAME, GOLDEN PROPORTION IS USED AS AN EXPRESSION TOOL THE PRIMARY SUBJECT, THE SPEAKER IS COMPOSED AT THE FOCAL HALF OF THE SPIRAL.

Source: (Maniratnam, 1997) FIGURE 51 SCREEN OCCUPANCY OF PRIMARY SUBJECTS.

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FIGURE 52 SCREEN OCCUPANCY OF PRIMARY SUBJECTS.

Source: (Maniratnam, 1997) At the first shot an both the subjects begin to share an important thought, since both have equal dominance with respect to the containing background, these are composed within half of the frame, whereas looking at the subsequent moment; the subjects are composed at one third of the screen space so as to create a dynamic output of the conversation.

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4.2 THALAPATHY FIGURE 53 THEATRICAL POSTER FROM THE MOVIE ‘THALAPATHY’

Source: (Maniratnam, Thalapathy, 1991)

4.2.1 STORYLINE An unmarried teenager gives birth to a boy and abandons him soon after birth. The infant is found and raised by another woman. He grows up to be Suriya (Rajinikanth), a smalltime criminal. Suriya comes into conflict with Devaraj (Mammootty), a big-time gangster after Suriya kills one of Devaraj’s henchman. However, Devaraj forgives Suriya when he realises that his man was wrong, and makes Suriya his commander. Suriya is so loyal to MARIAN COLLEGE OF ARCHITECTURE AND PLANNING

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Devaraj that he spurns an offer by a rival don, Kalivardhan (Amrish Puri), to join him.

Meanwhile, Suriya falls in love with Subbulakshmi (Shobhana) and wishes to marry her.

The town gets a new collector, Arjun (Arvind Swamy), who is upright, honest, and wows to destroy Devaraj. Arjun happens to be the son of Kalyani (Srividya), who is still torn by the fact that she abandoned her first-born. Arjun ends up marrying Subbulakshmi after her father rejects Suriya on account of his social background. Devaraj makes Suriya marry Padma (Bhanupriya), the widow of the man he had earlier killed. Kalyani eventually finds out that Suriya is her son and goes to meet him and ask his forgiveness. Moved by the encounter, Suriya pledges to surrender himself. Devaraj and Suriya come to Arjun’s house to give themselves up, but Devaraj is killed by Kalivardhan’s men.

The critical points of the plot focus on the emotions through which Suriya goes through the visual representations emphasises on various areas like Suriya’s criminal background, his romance, friendship, redemption, realisation of his origin. Every point of the plot going through such instances are emphasised with a warm mood by the aid of colour tone. The core essence of the movie is extracted from the life of India’s mythical hero, Karna of the epic, Mahabharatam. The overall warm tone of the movie shows the impact of shady events taking place in the movie. The setting of the movie is predominantly along streets, urban slums, government institutions like court, police stations, prison catchment.th FIGURE 54 IMPORTANT SHOTS FROM THE MOVIE ‘THALAPATHY’.

Source: (Maniratnam, Thalapathy, 1991) The above stills are from various shots from important parts of the story, the chief antagonist of the story who shows the life of Karna being assumed to be the son of Sun God lives a life under tremendous pressure from the society which banters him for not knowing the truth of his origin. Even though he is with the evil side, he is faithful and

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completely dutiful to his master who is the lone soul in the universe which took care of him. As the story moves on, there urges a need to fight his own brother who represents the peace. Realising the truth, Karna falls in a mental agony which forces him to obey his master at the same time when he needs to protect his brother.

All these philosophical movements require a strong set of characters to portray the story.

The so called larger than life characters are mostly expressed as primary objects that occupies about half the size of the frame. The figure.4.8. shows the chief characters of the movie placed on the frame giving equal dominance to the subjects.

FIGURE 55 THE CRITICALLY ACCLAIMED SILHOUETTE SHOT FROM ‘THALAPATHY’

Source: (Maniratnam, Thalapathy, 1991) The famous still from the shot of Thalapathy where the antagonist realises his demerits pointed out by the society being an orphan; the primary subject (human) occupies almost half of the frame and the rest half is occupied by the sunset background which symbolises the mythical character Karna’s origin from Sun God. FIGURE 56 A TRANSITIONAL SHOT ALONG THE BANKS OF A TEMPLE RIVER FROM THE MOVIE, THE AREAL MOVEMENT OF THE CAMERA DEFINES THE PERCEPTIBILITY OF THE SPACE.

Source: (Maniratnam, Thalapathy, 1991)

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FIGURE 57 A SHOT ALONG THE AXIAL PATH AND A CROSSING NODE OF A STREET, THE MASSING OF THE BUILDINGS, STREETSCAPE ARE DEFINED THROUGH THE SHOTS.

Source: (Maniratnam, Thalapathy, 1991; Self)

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4.3 ROJA FIGURE 58 THEATRICAL POSTER OF ‘ROJA’.

Source: (Maniratnam, Roja, 1992)

4.3.1 STORYLINE Roja revolves around one Man's love for his motherland and a wife's unfailing love for her husband. Roja (Madhoo) is a village girl, born and brought up in Sundarapandianpuram in Tirunelveli district in Southern Tamil Nadu. She gets married to the handsome suitor and top cryptologist Rishi Kumar (Arvind Swamy), arriving in the village. Working for the Indian Government, Rishi is assigned a posting at an army communications center in Kashmir. In here Roja's world gets shattered when Rishi is abducted by the terrorists from

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Pakistan who are fighting for Kashmir and demanding the release of their terrorist leader Wasim Khan from prison, held by Indian military forces. Roja pleads with politicians and the military for help, Whereas Roja doesn't know the other languages much. She tries to convey the military officials and politicians in different ways that what pain she receives after her hubby's abduction but it all goes in vain. The rest story is about the pursuit Roja getting her husband back.

The major backdrop of the movie is two sites, a rural village of Tamil Nadu and the Mountain settlements of Kashmir respectively. The significant portion portraying the title character’s educational, cultural, socio economic background is establishing the place where she come from. Among the numerous rural areas of southern portion of the Indian subcontinent, the particular village acts as an establishing element of the movie’s sub theme. The secondary portion showing a much more serious social issue of terrorism, the cultural, educational, religious background there has another quotient of importance.

FIGURE 59 A SHOT ALONG THE STREET DEFINING THE LOCAL SETTING OF THE SETTLEMENT.

Source: (Maniratnam, Roja, 1992; Self)

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FIGURE 60 SCHEMATIC DIAGRAM SHOWING THE RELATIVE JAMMING OF THE PATH AND BUILT AND UNBUILT SPACES ON IT’S EITHER SIDES. YELLOW SHOWS THE PATH AND GREEN SHOW THE BUILT FEATURES FROM THE INITIAL SHOTS OF THE MOVIE.

Source: (Self)

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4.4 DIL SE… FIGURE 61 THEATRICAL POSTER OF ‘DIL SE…’.

Source: (Maniratnam, Dil se..., 1998)

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4.4.1 STORYLINE In this story of the clash between love and ideology, the focus is on Amarkant Varma, a deceased army officer's son. As a program executive for All India Radio, he travels all over India to interview citizens to mark the 50th anniversary of Indian independence. On one of his trips, he meets and falls for an intriguing and mysterious woman, whom he finds out is named Meghna, and who seems to enjoy leading him on. He follows her all the way to Ladakh, and after only two days together, she leaves him to join a group of insurgents on a mission. Heartbroken, Amar agrees to marry Preeti, a woman of his mother's choice.

Meanwhile, Meghna is chosen to lead a suicide mission on the Republic Day Parade, and when she runs into Amar again where the mission is to take place, their destinies intertwine. Amar along with Meghna dies in order to save the country.

The backdrop of the movie is mainly towns and rural settlements of Kashmir and the capital city, Delhi the uniqueness of Kashmir is captured with respect to food, culture, occupation, religion and so on. Among the chosen movies, this one contains longest shots on same spot rather contains a greater number of walking shots. Also, it shows another vernacular architecture, street settlements and geography of Kashmir.

FIGURE 62 A SHOT ALONG THE STREETS OF KASHMIR DEFINING THE LOCAL SETTING OF THE SETTLEMENT.

Source: (Maniratnam, Dil se..., 1998) MARIAN COLLEGE OF ARCHITECTURE AND PLANNING

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FIGURE 63 A SHOT ALONG THE STREETS OF KASHMIR DEFINING THE LOCAL SETTING OF THE SETTLEMENT.

Source: (Maniratnam, Dil se..., 1998)

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FIGURE 64 A LONG SHOT FROM THE MOVIE.

Source: (Maniratnam, Dil se..., 1998) The main protagonist, Amar enquires about the missing of Meghna. Here the content is simple but the method of expression is different from the rest. The shot establishes the space over which it happens. He enquires at the entry door of a local house where a lady sits. The shadow elements used in this frame is more of umbra portion. Everything appears to be in a darker tone.

The wide focus of camera is changed to a zoomed position covering the main characters immediately at the ending of the establishing shot, the method of triangular composition is used in this frame. The characters are enclosed within the entry door which in turn is a rectangular frame within a frame. The placement of the characters give a better appeal to the scene.

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FIGURE 65 ESTABLISHING SCENE.

Source: (Self) The sketched darker portions are the regions demarked by shadows. The scene focuses on the massing of the enclosure.

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FIGURE 66 BEGINNING OF THE RELEVANT CONTENT.

Source: (Self) The establishing scene is closed and the actual message or motive is conveyed.

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FIGURE 67 FINISHING THE RELEVANT CONTENT.

Source: (Self) The climax scene is a continuous long shot which is critically acclaimed which says both the central characters suicides for saving the country, it’s a long conversation between both and the final conclusion. Here there is a dynamic play between all three components of frames, nature, building and human.

The lighting during the scene is a significant part of the scene. The shaded dark regions and lighted entrances frames the characters so well that they get emphasised properly. The overall colour tone of the scene is of a desert theme with a muddy finishing. Both their costumes and the vegetation content of the setting goes in harmony.

In this scene, the female character is shown centring the frame showing her confusion and anxiety of such a situation, whereas the male character is composed by rule of thirds to show his power for the upcoming event.

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ARCHITECTURE THROUGH FRAMES OF MANI RATNAM MOVIES 1990 - 2000 FIGURE 68 CLIMAX OF DIL SE…

Source: (Maniratnam, Dil se..., 1998)

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FIGURE 69 THE ESTABLISHING SCENE

Source: (Self) In this scene the female protagonist walks from a darker region towards lighter region where the shot is explained as she walks from the accessory walking spaces of the Parade ground, the shot is established by the play of light and shadows of the tunnel she walks out through.

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FIGURE 70 BEGINING OF RELEVANT CONTENT

Source: (Self) The opening scene where the two central characters meet for the last time. Moving in a slow pace, its expressed through rule of thirds and balance considering the frame composition.

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FIGURE 71 CLOSING SCENE

Source: (Self) The closing scene where the two central characters talk with each other and one decides for a homicide. Moving in a moderate pace, its expressed continuous play of rule of thirds along with balance screen composition and complete lighted and complete shadowed appearances of the male and female protagonists respectively.

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5. CONCLUSION 5.1 RESEARCH SUMMARY The study has been done based on comparing movie frames based on the onscreen interaction of building- nature, nature- human and building- human expressed through the various composition techniques so as to improve the viewer’s perception and thus create an imageability of the space; making the content of the shot better and giving better expression to every other emotions through the whole movie.

Also, the study has moved on to aspects of lighting in spaces so as to emphasise the three components, buildings, humans and nature at relevant intervals. The shadow composition, intensity of lighting are the components of this part of the study.

5.2 GENERAL ASPECTS DERIVED FROM EACH MOVIE The conclusion drawn from each movie are as follows:

5.2.1 IRUVAR The vertical movement of camera through large spaces and composing the characters through golden proportion ratio could emphasize the content in much more aesthetically as well as emotionally pleasing manner. Also, the one-point perspective and triangular composition of characters at some instances helps in emphasizing the dominating aspects of the general psychology of the viewer.

5.2.2 THALAPATHI Colour grading, screen space play of frames through simultaneous change of rule of thirds and balance of screen has resulted in many memorable moments of the movie thereby improving its overall perceptibility.

5.2.3 ROJA The areal and wide shots help in setting the context of the scene along with the balanced composition of masses on screen helps in better lighting of shots, continuous running sequences through streets have well explained the overall composition of a wider area that with the range of a small village.

5.2.4 DIL SE… Establishing scenes helps in revealing the setting of the spaces, continuous silhouette scenes both shading the primary as well as the tertiary subjects at regular intervals helps in focussing of primary subject

5.3 FORWARD It has been concluded over the studies that the continuous frame setting of movie by the aid of general conditions of proportion clubbing nature, buildings and humans expand not only the artistic and aesthetic value of the content but also has psychological impacts upon the viewer.

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Dalvi, S. (2016, december 27). An architect explains why turning new Andhra capital into ‘Bahubali’ sets is a ridiculous idea. Retrieved from scroll: https://scroll.in/magazine/825094/newandhra-capital-to-look-like-bahubali-sets-an-architect-explains-why-its-a-bad-idea

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Maio, A. (2019, April 1). Retrieved from Studio binder: https://www.studiobinder.com/blog/rulesof-shot-composition-in-film/#1-the-rules-of-shot-composition

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Maniratnam (Director). (1991). Thalapathy [Motion Picture].

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Muralikumar, A. (2019). A Marvel of Dravidian Architecture: The Brihadeeswara Temple.

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Patnayaka, R. (2016). Influence of the urban fabric character on emotional conscience of the perceiver: In accordance with revelation of Sir Gordon Cullen’s principles reflected in Taj Mahal’s physical setting in India.

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Srivasthava, N. (2017). Types of genres in Bollywood and Hollywood movies. Retrieved from Filmy keeday: http://www.filmykeeday.com

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