Continuity editing in Kal Ho Naa Ho

In the Bollywood film Kal Ho Naa Ho (2003) we see that in Aman Mathur’s (Shah Rukh Khan) entry scene there are a variety of continuity editing techniques used to create a strong entry scene and build up Aman as a character. 

The scene starts off with 2 parallel tracks which are continued throughout the 3-minute run. We see  Jennifer Kapur (Jaya Bachaan), Naina’s mother with her two children crying and praying for an angel to come. This is then cut to a shot of Aman standing on a boat near a river. The following set of shots enforce the message that Aman will be the children’s “Angel” in some way. The shots are from various angles and only show the back portion of Aman. This creates a sense of mystery and keeps the audiences hooked as they want to know more about Aman as a character. There is a use of a tilt from the top to the bottom of Aman to further create mystery as well as a pan. These two camera techniques highlight that Man will be an important character in the play as his entry is grand. 

Not only are the shots creating a grand entry, but the location is as well. By having Aman on a boat standing facing the sea creates a grand image of the character and tells us that he may be the protagonist. The wind in the background also adds effect to the scene as well as enforcing that he will be the “Angel” for the children. 

The scene then cuts back to the children and Jennifer praying where we now see Naina (Preity Zinta) standing in the background. The camera slowly zooms towards Naina where the scene cuts to a previous meeting of both Naina and Aman at a train station. We see that Aman is walking with another person and they are shown from a back view in a long shot to create further tension. 

Furthermore, we see that the shots are cut and edited where there is a slight zoom which also adds to the thrill factor. It cuts back to Naina in the current scenario where she is shown to be praying with her siblings and mother. The zoom out creates a sense of vulnerability for the characters as they are smaller in size and so reinforce the message that they do require help and an “Angel” is needed. The scene cuts back to the parallel track where Aman is walking with his mother (Reema Lagoo). 

Then we see that there is a close up of Naina praying whilst the camera is tilting from bottom to top which again highlights her need for help. The body language, facial expressions, and background score create a contrasting scene. We see that it is contrasting as the background scores for Naina and Aman are extremely different which could suggest her require for aid. 

Whilst Naina is praying we see that her image of the angel is Aman from a previous meeting and so she opens her eyes. This introduces some sort of relationship between the characters and builds up the chemistry. The shots are mostly flashbacks that go from Naina praying and her previous encounter with Aman. She then says “Dear God, please help me find a way by showing me some light”. This line is key to the scene as when she says this the door to the balcony opposite to Naina’s house lights up and Aman walks through. This further allows us to understand that Naina and Aman are both neighbours and further solidifies the relationship between the characters. 


Finally whilst Aman is on the balcony, he sees Naina and her family playing. The use of pans and slow tilts are used to create this calming end to the scene and shows some hope for Naina and her family.

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