As the story progresses Sharmila meets the young writer
played by Dharmendra . After Sharmila meets Dharmendra and
their relationship blooms the camera take a different position
in context to Sharmila. The camera now 'steps back' so to
speak to into what literary terms would call, the third person
and theater terms 'the fourth wall'. For cinema this is a
technique that suggest character interaction, as opposed to
the point of view shot that suggest action and reaction. In
"Anupama" the introduction of this technique that
is called 'shot - reverse shot' is used to show Sharmila's
coming out of her isolated shell to interact with the world
around her.
Frame 1 - Sharmila and Dharmendra stand facing
each other establishing apparent eye contact. The camera watches
them both from behind Dharmendra. The key word is that the
camera 'watches' and is not necessarily taking the point of
view of either character.
Frame 2 - Dharmendra speaks to Sharmila as she
listens gazing downward. This is the classic camera set up
for the shot - reverse shot that comprises what is termed
'invisible editing'. The reverse shot for this set up would
be looking over Dharmendra's shoulder from his back at Sharmila's
face. This is the standard way conversations are filmed in
modern cinema.
Later in the same scene the couple sit and interact.
Frame 3 -Dharmendra teases Sharmila and she smiles.
The camera now 'gazes' at Sharmila's reaction to Dharmendra's
teasing. There is a difference between a point of view reaction
shot and gazing at the reaction within the frame. The point
of view reaction shot is used to show a character's emotional
state and a shot that gazes is a form of voyeurism that objectifies.
Often this type of 'gazing' is associated with desire.
Frame 4 - The shot shows Dharmendra gazing at Sharmila
smiling as we also gaze at him. His desire is evident and
has been reinforced by the previous shot from frame 3. Through
camera shots and editing a deeper emotional meaning has been
layered to the films 'text'.
Dharmendra then says the words that lead to the action
of the next scene and example, "I think you have
never seen yourself smile. Just go before a mirror and smile,
and see how beautiful your smile is."