When an entire Malayalam film crew shed their clothes to help an actress shoot a nude scene [Video]

Rehana Fathima, who plays the lead role in upcoming Malayalam film Eka, narrates an experience she had while shooting a scene which required her to shed her clothes.

Eka claims to be the first Indian film that discusses intersexuality, and is set for a September release. Though the country has seen several films which dealt with LGBT issues, intersexuality is a relatively new topic to Indian art and cinema.

Written and directed by debutant King Jones, the film features several newcomers both behind and in front of the camera. The film is produced by Manoj K Sreedhar, shot by Tony Lloyd Aruja and edited by Akhi Nanniyod.

Eka had raised a few eyebrows with its first poster, which released last month. It showed a topless woman, showing her hands bound together and her hairy armpits.

Two more posters were released in the following days - one depicted menstrual blood trickling down the feet of a naked woman and the another had a woman lying naked with a perfect reflection on the floor. All posters carried the tagline: ‘I am intersex. I have a penis and vagina by birth. I want to live’.

This is what Rehana had to say about the experience from the film's set while shooting a nude scene:

We were shooting a scene in which I had to be naked. There were 18 crew members on the set. The scenes were not easy and the director has a habit of going for 20-25 takes. I was nervous. 

"Are you conscious of being naked?" the director asked me. "Yes", was my answer.

The director then asked everyone on the set to take off their clothes. The cameraman, assistant directors, light staff, production staff and even the producer had to be naked if they wanted to be on the set for that scene.

Nudity also means innocence, the director told us. Only the ones with the purest of hearts can be naked.

Everyone got to work without any clothes. There was no gender bias there. It helped me overcome my fears and inhibitions. It was a different experience, like it was with most scenes during Eka's shoot.

Here is Rehana's Facebook post in Malayalam:

Watch Eka's making video here: