“The mirror is the only constant in Viju’s life. It’s the only friend he can trust. A mirror is also an element that can add more layers to a character, because a person is only truly himself in front of a mirror. With a good actor, a mirror scene is like an inner voice.” These are the words Vincent Vadakkan, the screenwriter of Trance, said in an interview with Film Companion. The makers of Trance used mirror shots with Fahadh Fasil several times in the movie at important moments in the movie. There were moments of self reflection-both emotional and physical, reinforcing one’s artificial personality, cheering oneself up, attaining self tranquility etc. in Trance with Fahadh giving deeper meaning to the character with each of these shots.
Over the span of his career, Fahadh has done several mirror sequences and the actor himself has said in a recent interview that the mirror scenes probably are the toughest to portray on screen. Here are a few other notable ones from Fahadh apart from the above scenes from Trance.
Shammi’s introduction scene from ‘Kumbalangi Nights’ is my favourite of the lot. He stands in front of a mirror, setting his bold black moustache and announcing to himself, “Raymond-the complete man”. A brilliant scene which shows Shammy’s conceit and assurance of ego, it establishes the character in the introductory scene itself. And Boy! didn’t we see Fahadh in his brilliant best!!
In Dileesh Pothen’s trend setter ‘Maheshinte Prathikaram’, we see Mahesh in front of camera in a brief moment of innocence and self-assurance.
VK Prakash’s ‘Natholi Oru Cheriya Meenalla’ showed the turmoils of a writer when the characters in his story started taking life of their own in most quirky way. This particular mirror shot explores the writer asserting supremacy over his characters. The wicked smile of Fahadh brilliantly complements to the meaning of the shot.
We see a mirror shot of Fahadh in Dileesh Pothen’s latest ‘Joji’. A crucial phase in the movie where Joji learning to accept and deal with his darker side is portrayed in the most effective manner.
Acting in front of mirror is a really tough job and Fahadh brings subtlety through his eyes and expressions to make all of these interactions unique and effective in its own way!
Movies - Inside Out 