Big secret behind captivating Kantara scream; sound designer M R Rajakrishnan reveals

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The climax scream that captivated the audience in the superhit movie Kantara: A Legend Chapter-1 was a Malayali’s creation. M.R. Rajakrishnan designed the voice of the film's hero, Rishabh Shetty, in tune with what the story demanded. Rajakrishnan, son of legendary musician M G Radhakrishnan, is stunned that the artificial scream he used for the movie did the trick with the audience.

“God is entering into the body of a human. The scene should be filled in devotion”; this was the prompt Rajakrishnan received from Shetty for the scene. Rishabh's character becomes feminine in the climax. Rajakrishnan says that the change in voice, with Rishabh's mannerisms, turned it into a divine experience. Initially dubbed by a female artist, the portion lacked emotion and thus was changed in a special way using the dehumanizer and Alterboy technologies (plug-in). These will be effective only if used correctly," said Rajakrishnan.

Rajakrishnan:

"In Kantara, the first scream comes in a top-angle shot. Rishabh said he wanted it like the whole forest is reverberating in the scream. For that, Rishabh's voice was processed several times. Rishabh's scream itself has a special quality. When it was modified, the outcome was magnificent. In the second part, the scream was controlled and used. It was brought to a peak in the climax."

M.R. Rajakrishnan had won the National Award last time for his work on the Bollywood film 'Animal'. It was his second National Award.