A dark background is quite powerful. I believe that even this writing would be more effective with a black background than the current white one. A dark background very often becomes a very powerful expression of the story that is being narrated. The use of darkness and shades in the movies with an underworld theme has a similar or may be even more powerful effect. The darkness in this case also clearly brings out the anti-social element involved in underworld activities. RGV uses the darkness and light and shade effects very effectively in his movies. In his movies like ‘Sarkar’ and ‘Sarkar Raj’, the protagonist remains in the dark for a major part of the movie to an extent that it sometimes becomes impossible to read the character fully. But that is perhaps exactly what RGV wanted- the darkness speaking out for the protagonist instead of the protagonist doing it himself. The darkness in this case is the signifier or the denotation, something that is very obvious. The signified or the connotation that RGV is trying to convey through this is about the dark, shady world where various nefarious acts are carried out. The dark room in the movie ‘Sarkar’ with a single ray of light emerging out of the window captures the usual grim mood in the Sarkar camp which is the connotation that RGV is trying to portray.
Image1: The line that gives the kick for the RGV fans
RGV brought in simple, crisp and hard-hitting dialogues instead of the long-winded never ending ones. The protagonist in his underworld movies is usually a silent and taciturn character who usually lets his facial and eye expressions do the talking. Even when he speaks it is usually a crisp dialogue that gives a killer effect to the scene. The scene in ‘Sarkar’ between Amitabh and Abhisek, when Abhishek assures Amitabh that he will fight for him and get him released has very few dialogues. The dialogues here are interspersed with gaps where a lot seems to be conveyed through the expressions of the eyes. It is finally the intensity in the eyes of the son that seems to assure the father and this in-effect makes the scene convey the meaning in intended to. Unlike the movies which have the dialogues carrying the message across, RGV uses crsip dialogues to convey the same. There is a stronger sense of the signified or the hidden message (connotation) that is conveyed here as opposed to the blatant and long dialogue (which is the signifier or denotation).
Image2: The intense eye expression- Abhishek Bachan in an RGV special
The scenes in RGV movies, such as the one discussed in the last paragraph are usually followed by an intense background tune that brings in the myriad of emotions that needed to be conveyed to the audience. The gripping background tune that is in play during the chasing scenes adds to the suspense of the chase. This kind of background music accompanied by the stunning camera work which brings in amazing angles is perhaps the stuff that marks out RGV as a special director of this genre. There have been times when the audience felt that his strong background score came in the way of the dialogues. This is what RGV has to say to them.
"My tendency is to have very dramatic and in-the-face background score. I have two reasons for it; one reason is I find background score drives the emotion of the audience in a specified intended direction. At times I have been accused that I use it so loud almost to the point that you cannot hear the dialogue properly. Sometimes the reason for this is when I reach the mixing stage at times I am so bored of the dialogues myself by hearing it so many times I feel like listening to the music at that time. I know it sounds stupid but it can happen. So I think more or less if we know of the emotion of what they are going to talk about so why do we need so specifically for them to hear the lines.” (Source: http://rgvarma.spaces.live.com)
In all these cases the text is the movie as seen by the viewers in the form of dark and shady locations, short and hard-hitting dialogues and gripping background score. The language is the meaning that RGV is trying to convey through the audio visuals- the shady activities and the grim mood. The discourse is the larger picture of the underworld - their lifestyle, their mindset, their eccentricities, and their perspective of the outside world that is portrayed using the darkness, dialogues and the background music.
Image2: The intense eye expression- Abhishek Bachan in an RGV special The scenes in RGV movies, such as the one discussed in the last paragraph are usually followed by an intense background tune that brings in the myriad of emotions that needed to be conveyed to the audience. The gripping background tune that is in play during the chasing scenes adds to the suspense of the chase. This kind of background music accompanied by the stunning camera work which brings in amazing angles is perhaps the stuff that marks out RGV as a special director of this genre. There have been times when the audience felt that his strong background score came in the way of the dialogues. This is what RGV has to say to them.
"My tendency is to have very dramatic and in-the-face background score. I have two reasons for it; one reason is I find background score drives the emotion of the audience in a specified intended direction. At times I have been accused that I use it so loud almost to the point that you cannot hear the dialogue properly. Sometimes the reason for this is when I reach the mixing stage at times I am so bored of the dialogues myself by hearing it so many times I feel like listening to the music at that time. I know it sounds stupid but it can happen. So I think more or less if we know of the emotion of what they are going to talk about so why do we need so specifically for them to hear the lines.” (Source: http://rgvarma.spaces.live.com)
In all these cases the text is the movie as seen by the viewers in the form of dark and shady locations, short and hard-hitting dialogues and gripping background score. The language is the meaning that RGV is trying to convey through the audio visuals- the shady activities and the grim mood. The discourse is the larger picture of the underworld - their lifestyle, their mindset, their eccentricities, and their perspective of the outside world that is portrayed using the darkness, dialogues and the background music.
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