• Brand New Day with Sting
• 'Alu Yata Gini': Young girl against social evils
• 'Murder isn't always a crime'
• First Year in office
• Originals from Home Entertainment

Brand New Day with Sting

By Sanath Weerasuriya

The CDs, audio cassettes and posters now can be of your choice. The winners of the competition, have the added benefit of choosing their favourite artistes from all the stocks at Maharaja Entertainment.

This week's star on 'Listen To The Original Music Competition' is 'Sting'.

To enter this contest, all you have to do is to answer the simple question on the coupon and send it to the address given below.

The address is "Listen to Original Music Contest- No. 22, C/o Maharaja Entertainments (Pvt.) Ltd., 330, T.B.Jayah Mawatha, Colombo. 10.

Tel: + 941672425-8, Fax + 941699070. E Mail: me @ lgo.lk

All the entries must be originals from the TV Times and no photocopies or faxes will be entertained. All correct entries will be drawn by a panel of judges. The entries should reach the above address by August 23, the latest.

After disbanding the band 'Police' at the peak of their popularity in 1984, Sting quickly established himself as a viable solo artiste, one obsessed with expanding the boundaries of pop music. Sting incorporated heavy elements of jazz, classical and worldbeat into his music, writing lyrics.

Either way, Sting remained one of pop's biggest superstars of the first ten years of his solo career, before his record sales began to slip.

Before the Police were officially disbanded, Sting began work on his first solo album late in 1984, rounding up a group of jazz musicians as a supporting band. Moving from bass to guitar, he recorded his solo debut, 1985's The Dream of the Blue Turtles.

Following the aborted Police reunion, Sting began working on the ambitious 'Nothing Like the Sun', which was dedicated to his recently deceased mother.

Sting began actively campaigning for Amnesty International and environmentalism, establishing the Rainforest Foundation, which was designed to raise awareness about preserving the Brazilian rainforest.

Sting took several years to deliver the follow-up to Nothing Like The Sun. Two years later, he delivered Ten Summoner's Tales, a light, pop-oriented record that became a hit on the strength of two Top 20 singles, "If I Ever Lose My Faith In You" and "Fields Of Gold." At the end of 1993, "All For Love," a song he recorded with Rod Steward and Bryan Adams. The single confirmed that Sting's audience had shifted from new wave/college rock fans to adult contemporary.

Three years after Ten Summoner's Tales, Sting released Mercury Falling in the spring of 1996.

The latest album 'Brand New Day' followed in 1999.

The decision of the judges will be final and the names of the winners will be announced in The Sunday TV Times accordingly.

Here are thewinners of Contest No. 21 of Bon Jovi

The winner of the Original CD (Album of Your Choice) is Ryan Graham of Jambugasmulla Mawatha, Nugegoda;

Winners of the Original Music Cassettes are M. Kulanjan of Wattala and M.T.M. Safeer of Puttalam.

Winners of a Posters of your Choice are Fathuma Shihara Hazeem of Dehiwela, Mahesh Sagara de Silva of Kandy,Upul Perera, of Wattala, Kesara Jayasinghe of Nawala,Chaminda Fernando of Ratmalana, Senaka Luke Jayasekera of Nugegoda and Ananda Lalindara Silva of Galle.

'Alu Yata Gini': Young girl against social evils

By Susitha R. Fernando

The story of the film "Alu Yata Gini" (Ash under the fire) which will be released soon is woven around a young girl battling against the social evils which made her destitute.

The film is the debut production of actress Sanoja Bibile who had played roles in both silver and small screens.

Living in a remote village Chathurika (Sanoja Bibile) has no one to complain when she was raped by a powerful politician in the area. Unable to face the situation she decides to make a secret flight to the town in search of a new life where she would be safe. The haven she dreamt of becomes another captivity when she had to face many barriers in the town including the security problems that had arisen due to the war in the country.

Though she does not become a sex worker it was a brothel that provided her security.

It was "Ramesh" who wins her heart while she was living here and was totally unaware of her past. But when he comes to know that she lives in a house of ill fame he does not believe in the fact that she is not a prostitute though she lived in a such a place.

Having this wrong notion in mind 'Ramesh' wants to take revenge from 'Chathurika' thinking that she has tricked him and tries to kill her. But no one knows the secret plans of Chathurika. Her main aim is to take revenge from the politician who caused her all the misfortunes in her life.

At this point she opts for a novel way to take revenge from the politician. This is not just by killing him physically but also mentally putting him in public disgrace.

Most parts in the film 'Alu Yata Gini' had been filmed in Nuwara Eliya. According to its producer the film is not totally a commercial or a artistic one but it brings out the theme that a woman can be inhuman when she wants to fight forces against her.

Tony Ranasinghe, Sanoja Bibile, Ranjan Ramanayake, Sureni Senerath Wimal Kumara de Costa, Miuri Samarasighe play main roles in the film.

"Alu Yata Gini" was filmed by Bandula Cooray, while Chandrasena Rubasinghe edited it. Music direction was by Nelson Dharmasena and the script and direction by Samson Kumarage, Sanoja Bibile produced it.

'Murder isn't always a crime'

By Sanath Weerasuriya

The film 'Double Jeopardy' is a emotional film with love, hate, passion, desires and packed with mysteries.

Released in Hollywood about ten months ago, 'Double Jeopardy' hit the silver screen in Liberty Cinema Colombo last week.

Bruce Beresford, the director of 'Driving Miss Daisy', 'The Fringe Dwellers', 'Crime of the Heart', 'Breaker Morant' and 'Tender Mercies' is the driving force behind the 'Double Jeopardy'.

The cast includes Tommy Lee Jones ('Love Story', 'Eyes of Laura Mars', 'Stormy Monday', 'The Package', 'Under Seige' and 'Coal Miner's Daughtar') Ashey Judd ('Kiss The Girls', 'Eyes of The Beholder' and 'Heat'), Bruce Greenwood ('The Sweet Hereafter', 'Exotica', 'Passenger 57' and 'Fathers Day'), Annabeth Gish, Roma Maffia and Davenia McFadden.

Framed for the murder of her husband Libby Parsons (Ashley Judd) survives the long years in prison with two burning desires sustaining her - finding her son and solving the mystery that destroyed her once-happy life. Standing between her and her quest, however, is her parole officer, Travis Lehman (Tommy Lee Jones). Libby poses a challenge to the cynical officer, one that forces him to face up to his own failings while pitting him against his superiors and law enforcement colleagues.

Libby Parsons has it all - a handsome, wealthy husband whom she loves, a son they both adore, a beautiful home near Seattle, wonderful friends. But her idyllic life suddenly turns into a nightmare when her husband Nick (Bruce Greenwood) disappears overboard during a romantic weekend of sailing and she is accused of his murder.

Convicted and imprisoned, Libby begs her best friend, Angie (Annabeth Gish), to adopt her 5-year-old son. Angie agrees... and then vanishes with Matty. With the help of prison friends Margaret (Roma Maffia) and Evelyn (Davenia McFadden), Libby uses the telephone to trace them to San Francisco.

There, she discovers to her horror, the two are living with Nick, who staged his own "murder" and has adopted a new identity. Margaret, a disbarred lawyer imprisoned for murdering her husband, pulls Libby back from despair with some comforting news: When Libby finally gets out, she'll be free to murder Nick-in the middle of Times Square if she wants - because she can't be tried twice for the same crime. That would be double Jeopardy, and she's already been convicted of murdering her husband Nick.

First Year in office

"The year 1999 was a juncture in the 28 years history of film corporation starting from January 1972" said the Chairman of the National Film Corporation, Tissa Abeysekara.

Celebrating the first anniversary of his appointment as the Chairman at a special press briefing held at BMICH he said that the Corporation is for the film industry of this country.

He said that there was 60% decrease of the filmgoers of this country due to various reasons and this has increased 81%.

Speaking on the past year the Chairman said making the opportunity of watching internationally acclaimed Hollywood films like 'Titanic', 'The Mummy', 'Gladiator', 'Mission Impossible-2' in the local cinema halls by breaking barriers which stand against importing them was a great achievement gained in the year 1999.

The press briefing also revealed that for the downfall caused in the industry during last 25 years identified by the NFC were decline of the film importation, poor facilities in the cinema halls and decreasing number of film halls, litigation against the Corporation and administrative failures.

Among the other achievements gained by the Corporation in the year 1999 was the introduction of quarterly film magazine "Sadisi".

"Giving the rare opportunity to Sri Lankan film goers to watch variety of prestigions films through different film festivals including German, Italian, Chinese, Kerale, Norwegian, British and Korean organised by the NFC was also a great achievement", said the Chairman.

Originals from Home Entertainment

Home Entertainment & Communications Ltd. [HECL] is the only authorised importer of original royalty paid video cassettes and the pioneering licensees for the major Hollywood studios such as Warner Bros. Home Video [WHV], Columbia Tri Star, Metro Golden Mayer, United Artists, BBC and Twentieth Century Fox in Sri Lanka.

All HECL audio cassettes are recorded in Hi-Fi Stereo surround sound and manufactured to the highest international standards. The titles which are very attractively packaged range from Family Entertainment, Cartoons, Animations, Classics, Romance, Drama & Action movies.

'Our list include OSCAR winning classics such as Ben-Hur, One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest, Bridge On The River Kwai and the more recent films such as the Green Mile, Stuart Little, The End Of The Affair, Three Kings, The Matrix, Anaconda and many many more,' said William Pinto, the CEO of HECL.

According to him, their next consignment will carry the very popular thriller The Bone Collector and the current hit Erin Borkovich among others.

"Very shortly we will have popular titles in VCD's as well - all originals! No fakes NOR pirated copies," he added. The original HECL audio cassettes are available for sale at most of the leading Video Rental Outlets, Supermarkets, Book Stores, Music Stores and General Stores.

The main shop is at the Liberty Cinema Basement at Colombo 3.

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