A six-yard piece of hydrated cotton. Wrapped around a female form. Nothing could be more sensual. Fellow followers of the damp, wet, soaked, moist, drenched saree (and other tailored and untailored pieces of cotton body-wrappings), I bring you the Wet Saree in its most seductive form. Connoisseurs, join me! Let us embark on a journey to discover the beauty of the female form draped in a piece of unassuming and wet piece of cloth.
Gundello Godari has a few wet scenes, but the one near the end with Lakshmi Manchu trying desperately to get her saviour to the hospital in a rickshaw through the driving rain takes the cake. She is wearing a non-cotton olive green saree, an everyday black cotton blouse, and a black longskirt with red floral patterns. When the rain soaks her from head to toe, the saree darkens somewhat, while the blouse sticks to her body and shines from the shooting lights.
Olive green. Sodden. Clingy.
The previous scene of Manchu wheeling the rickshaw into the hospital premises was shot from a wide angle, and thus had the freedom of showing the rain pelting down on the hapless protagonist. This scene however, shot from a much closer distance, would not have worked with a full-blown downpour. It is apparent that, although she looks to be getting soaked further in the rain here, the sprinklers are actually off here. The water sluicing down Manchu's hair, braid, blouse, back, and saree are that of a person having just come in from the rain, and not actually standing in it. The sodden pallu wraps around Manchu and clings to her, while the blouse both shines and shapes itself to Mandhu's well toned body. All in all, a beautiful example of a just-drenched shot in a very non-sensual context.
The telugu movie Gundello Godari has a scene very near the end in which Lakshmi Manchu frantically brings an injured man to a hospital in a rickshaw. In driving rain. Manchu is wearing an olive green saree with a very appropriate black cotton everyday blouse and a black long skirt with red floral patterns. The saree darkens somewhat when soaked, and the blouse reflects light well. There is a very nice sequence indoors when Manchu runs around tries to get medical help, all the while in the soaked saree and skirt, which very effectively wraps around her body, accentuating it as well restricting movement. There are quite a few sequences that invite analysis, but for this post I shall restrict myself to the end of the action when Manchu, dejected and looking utterly worn out, steps out of the hospital back into the rain. Her saree had by this time dried out somewhat, and had a damp look. As she walks back out, the green fabric darkening as the water drops hit them can be seen quite clearly. The black blouse also almost immediately takes on a sheen. A lovely example of slow soaking.
