Talent Search-2001 is on
Janaka Palliyawatta, the popular Elvis impersonater, Deloraine Fernando
and Rebecca, Natalie and Branda, 'Rainbows' are the winners of the grand
finals in 'Pepsi Millennium Talent Search' last year.
'The Talent Search 2001' is now on at the Millennium Park to find the
new winners for this year too Pepsi Millennium Star 2001 talent search
is now on at Millennium Park auditorium.
You too can compete for this awesome title this year and achieve your
dreams of being the Star of the Year 2001. The Talent Contest (Vocals)
is open for all age groups. Applications are invited from (A) Juniors (4-14
years); (B) Seniors (14 years upwards); (c) Group Categories.
Winners will avail themselves of the opportunity of winning prizes to
the value of Rs. 100,000/-; Air Ticket and loads of gifts and trophies
courtesy Pepsi, Millennium Park and Gateway.
Preliminary rounds will be held on November 9, 16, 23, 30 and December
7. Semis will be on December 12, 14 and 19. The grand finale will be held
on December 21.
The Millennium Park along with Pepsi promote the event main sponsor
together with Gateway. The print media sponsors for 2001 shall be the TV
Times Entertainment/Daily Mirror.
The show will be co-ordinated and presented once again by Dalrene Suby,
an artiste par excellence in the music field.
'EBONY' the band that accompanied contestants last year will be in attendance
this year too ecouraging the wanna be stars each step of the way.
Fill in your application provided herewith and post it or fax to the
following address: Millennium Park, 338, T.B. Jayah Mawatha, Colombo 10.
Rod Rodrigo is back
Rod Rodrigo singer and composer of Sri Lanka original songs such as 'Read
My Eyes', and 'Treasure" in the mid nineties is back in Sri Lanka on a
short holiday. Rod now lives in the UK with his wife Miranda where he is
now the production Manager for a Video Producer.
'It was quite a difficult step switching over from audio to video for
me', says Rod. 'I had to learn from scratch about camera work and producing
and directing. Rod started his career in the UK as a Studio Manager for
a London based recording house where he produced amongst others, a best
of album for eighties band. The Doctor And The Medics who had a UK number
one smash hit with 'Spirit In The Sky'. He has also worked with people
such as Mungo Jerry aka Ray Dorset who has the mega hit In The Summer Time
as well as many others.
Rod was made a Sony/ATV composer where he has published several music
scores for Video and TV. He is also hoping that one day a big name will
pick up some of the original songs which he has offered Sony/ATV.
In 1999 Rod moved to a Video label where he is today, producing and
directing video programmes for general release in the UK and for broadcast
on Satellite and Cable channels worldwide.
'Whilst on holiday I decided to meet up with a major Sri Lankan Commercial
TV Channel to possibly get some of my company's programming broadcast here',
says Rod 'although nothing has been confirmed. I am confident that Sri
Lankan viewers will get to see some of this programming.'
Rod says it is a bit of busman's holiday because he has also been promoting
two of his brand new songs entitled 'Diamonds In The Dust' and 'Lessons
Of Life'. the songs are ballade to middle of the road and have definitely
taken on a cutting edge feel with the latest rhythm sounds and processed
back beats to complement an overture of acoustic guitar and an overdrive
lead.
'Diamonds In The Dust' says Rod, is a term used by air crash investigators
for the clues that they find that lead them to the cause of an incident.
This song is about a couple who has one partner who suddenly leaves for
no apparent reason. Of course no truth in it - I am happily married - just
in case my wife is reading! The next single is called 'Lessons Of Life'
about how a father's concerns about bringing up his baby, making sure that
they are protected and that they learn the lessons of life.'
Also included in Rod's latest offering are more brilliant remixed remakes
of some of his earlier work. 'Lessons From Legacies', and 'Dare To Dream'.
Rod has recorded interviews with SLBC who have always supported Sri Lankan
original artistes, and he is also taking to many major commercial stations
who might be listing the songs.
'Its been a while since I had some new music on the scene - this has
mainly been due to the fact that I have been settling down in UK - but
now that I have look out for regular new material which hopefully will
hit the charts here!
Karaoke contest at Galadari
Karaoke competition for young singers will be held at the Galadari Hotel
from November 23 to December 22.
The holiday of a Karaoke Competition will commence on November 23. The
competition will thereafter be held every Friday and Saturday till December.
The final is scheduled to take place on December 22. Competitors chosen
on a particular Friday or Saturday will go straight onto the Finals (A
nominal fee will be charged from each participant).
Those who are interested should call over at the Red Sun Karaoke Lounge
of the Galadari, any Friday or Saturday by 8.00 p.m. to fill in the entry
slip and select the song of their choice. The co-ordinator for this competition
is Mervyn Direckze.
R&A : New DJs in town
R&A is the name of the latest DJ duo in town. Romesh and Anoj were
DJing since 1986 and they were the first. DJs to re-mix old hits to the
new versions in late 80's.
"We were 'on Air' on SLBC as 'AR Mixes' - thanks to Arun Dias Bandaranayake
and Rajan Virawanathan.
Than we were DJing at the 'Blue Leopard' in late 80's and at the CH
& FC Club every Fridays for members night for 4-5 years", said Anoj.
Anoj is also a partner of 'Enjay', the entertainment promoters. 'Anoj
and Naslin' (Enjay) are husband and wife combination work together for
entertainment, for which they have separate packages for any occasion to
suit the guests' requirement with music, fashions, and other shows.
"We organise dance activities on request", Naslin said.
Naslin Jayawardana was crowned Ms. Petite Sri Lanka for Mrs. Petite
International 1998.
Now EnJay and R&A Entertainment are together and I do my own designing
for ladies outfits, Choreography for fashion shows and has organized many
shows in Colombo and in beach resorts during the past years, she added.
Scream & Tackle at CR
'Scrum and Tackle', the annual dinner dance of CR & FC club will be
on at Hilton on December 1.
Popular band 'Ultimate' and country band Cosmic Rays will be in attendance
at the dance. Ronnie Leitch and Corrine will be the guest stars at this
dance. Tickets priced at Rs. 1,500/= inclusive of dinner will be available
at the club house.
CR&FC is this year's winners of SLRFU rugby tournament.
"Pateelage Kathawa": Problem of schooling
"Pateelage Kathawa" presented by the Education Unit of Sri Lanka Rupavahini
Corporation and sponsored by UNICEF has been nominated for the ten best
productions in the Child Right Award Competition in the Asia-Pacific Region.
This local product was nominated from the best ten productions out of
57 competitors from the Asia-Pacific Region.
"Pateelage Kathawa", a single episode teledrama depicting a school teacher's
attempt to educate some children who had dropped out of school was telecast
on Channel Eye.
With a special editing effect, except the last scene almost all the
scenes in 'Pateelage Kathawa' was done in black and white.
Educating the children and parents on the importance of schooling the
main role of a teacher is played by talented stage and small screen actor
Jayalath Manoratne.
The teleplay revolves around the single attempt to get to school a set
of children who are being exploited.
Other roles are played by Dhayadeva Edirisinghe, Jayani Senanayake,
Veeni Weththasinghe and Ranjith Nabamunna.
"Pateelage Kathawa" is directed by Athula Pieris and music is directed
by Navaratne Gamage.
'Movies Under The Moon' at Mount Lavinia Hotel
'Movies Under The Moon', is the name for the classic movies at the Mount
Lavinia Hotel.
The Terrace will form into a open air cinema every Saturday at 11.00
p.m. with a giant screen three times bigger than a cinema.
The movies for the month of December will start with 'Mission Impossible',
(special prepoya) on November 29 and 'Erin Brokowich' on December 1.
'Dr. Zhivago' will be screened on December 8 and 'Planet of the Apes'
on December 15.
The Movies 'Golden Eye' and 'Shrek' will be screened on December 22
and 29.
There will be midnight buffet at the Terrace for late diners at the
price of Rs. 390/= nett.
Patjiraja's latest film needed better handling
By Susitha R. Fernando
Experienced film maker Dharmasena Pathiraja's latest direction "Some Day
in the Future" (Mathu Yam Dawasaka) was released in theatres island wide
including the Empire in Colombo from last Friday.
The film portrays the ways and means the present youth dream to achieve
their goals which would bring them power and wealth.
The film centres around two young men, Dhammika and Lionel who seek
adventure, romance, excitement and power in a society that is quickly roller
coasting towards disaster and tragedy.
The film is also evocative of the political violence that has engulfed
Sri Lankan society from the mid 80's onwards.
To achieve their goal they become responsible for several killings which
bring them no profit but disaster and danger to their lives and future.
Trained to be criminals they use the very method to get out of that world
and become prey of the powerful hand that manoeuvre them and reach a miserable
end.
Dharmasena Pathiraja, second most popular filmmaker after Dr. Lester
James Peiris is popular for introducing an alternative film culture which
is close to reality. Popularly kuown as Pathi", he had handled a similar
theme in his last "Ahas Gawwa" directorial attempt twenty five years ago
with the film . It portrayed the everlasting youth problem a solution to
which has not been found even after two decades had passed.
The director deserves to be praised for the handling of a topical issue
like the youth unrest in our country after a long absence of over 17 years
in film making.
But many questions arise the way the main two characters had been handled.
The two main roles of Dhammika and Lionel played by the award winning young
stage actors Saumya Liyanage and Wasantha Moragoda are unstable. Sometimes
they are portrayed as being innocent and deprived of their right to be
useful to the society and win the sympathy of their viewers. But these
very characters play the roles of ruffians in several other incidents.
In one such incident one of the two boys rapes a girl on her way to home
from work.
The viewers question the latest film Pathiraja who was responsible for
making near classics like Ahas Gauwa (1974), Eya Dan Loku Lamayek (Coming
of Age in 1977), Bambaru Avith (The Wasps are Here in 1978), Ponmani (Younger
Sister in 1978), Para Dige (Along the Road in 1980) and Soldadu Unnahe
(Mr. Soldier in 1981) Some of them are considered as landmark films in
Sri Lankan film history Pathiraja fans query the artistic depth of his
latest work.
However the two young actors had done justice to their roles with acclaimed
performances in addition to the role played by Radha De Mel.
The film also introduces Rukshana Miskin to the silver screen who has
a long long way to stardom ahead of him.
They also believe it was a poor attempt at handling a serious and timely
theme by one of the most experienced filmmakers in our country.
'Moving Images' in Tamil
For the first time in Sri Lanka a book has been written in Tamil on the
aesthetics and grammar of Cinema with guidelines to approaches of film
criticism. The book is titled "Asaium Padimangal" meaning "The Moving Images".
The author, K.S. Sivakumaran, is a veteran journalist and literary critic
in English and Tamil and author of 14 books both in Tamil and English.
Picture shows Siva is handing over the first copy of his book to Hashim
Omar, an entrepreneur at the launching ceremony held recently, while Dr.
M.K. Muruganandan, who chaired the occasion looks on.
Indian Film Festival
The Asian Film Centre in association with the High Commission of India
in Sri Lanka and the Directorate of Film Festivals of India is presenting
a retrospective festival of films directed by the eminent Karnataka film-maker
Girish Kasaravalli. The festival will take place from November 26 (Monday)
to December 01 (Saturday) at the BMICH Cinema.
A film will be screened at 6.00 p.m. each day. The festival will be
inaugurated by Indian High Commissioner Gopalakrishna Gandhi on November
26th with the participation of Girish Kasaravalli as Guest of Honour.
Girish Kasaravalli is one of the leading film-makers of India. He has
made nine feature films and about four short films. He has won several
national awards and his films have been shown in several international
film festivals. He graduated from the Film and Television Institute of
India, Pune, and was adjudged the best student of the year 1975. He was
born and brought up in Kasaravalli, a village in the Maland (hill country)
areas of Karnataka State. He made his first feature film Ghatashraddha
(The Ritual) in 1977 for which he won the President's Golden Lotus Award.
He was one of the key figures of the New Wave film-makers of Kannada Cinema.
The festival screenings from November 27 to December 1 are open to the
general public on the first-come first-served basis without any entry passes.
Kraurya (The Cruelty) one of the top films in the festival will be screened
on November 27th. This film won the best Kannada language film award for
its poignant travail of an old woman's agony in a middle-class family and
her complex relationship with the individuals of three generations.
Thabarana Kathe (Thabara's Tale) will be screened on November 28th at
6.00 p.m. In this film Girish Kasaravalli enlarges the dimension of a short
story by Puranchandra Tejeswi to build on the haunting character of an
ordinary municipal employee who is at once funny, loving, pig-headed and
tragic, a remnant of the past is still sunning himself in the warmth of
the Raj. Thai Saheb is scheduled to be screened on November 29th. Thai
Saheb is a film that captures realities of social and political changes
from a woman's perspective, locating the supralocal changes in the local-individual.
Thai Saheb has won four National Awards and six state awards for the year
1998 including President's Golden Lotus, the highest recognition for the
best film in the country.
The film to be screened on November 30 will be an early and much recognised
work. Ghatasharaddha (The Ritual). This film is about the extraordinary
ritual of funeral rites performed for a living person. This occurs in the
case of a young widow who has been seduced and made pregnant by the village
school teacher.
The films scheduled for December 1, is Mane (The House). It is a bilingual
film which won the President's Silver Medal for best Kannada feature film.
Deep Red Fragrance at MKOP
By Sanath Weerasuriya
What a night it was when Colombo's top perfume store - The Parfumerie -
launched HUGO DEEP RED, its second fragrance in one month, at a fabulous
night out, at the 'My Kind of Place' of the Taj Samudra Hotel.
We were first put thru' a 'media conference' with a difference as Manu
Hundlani introduced us to John M. Badcock, the Customer Business Development
Director of Fine Fragrances - Asia Pacific.
Then it was to 'My Kind of Place' which took on the effect of an underground
nightclub in any European capital. As the invitation card said, invitees
there to experience a sensual celebration for the sensual woman when lights
turn red, dark corners come alive and the unexpected awaits you at 'My
Kind of Place'.
Oh yes it was. There was unlimited music for dancing and drinks flowed.
Showtime began with a troupe of colourfully dressed Mardi Gras dancers
moving down the spiral staircase and onto the dance floor. It was great
performance.
Hugo Deep Blue, the male counterpart came on next, as Prageeth Jerome
took centre stage with his superb renditions of 'Hero' and 'Sex Bomb',
the latter even having male dancers on stage for added effect.
The Hugo Deep Red fragrance came through the air conducts as John made
his presentation on stage and two models walked around spraying it thru
the guests.
Hugo Deep Red is a sophisticated fragrance of excess - energy and sensuality,
strength and femininity.
Hugo Deep Red is for the modern independent woman who believes in making
the first move. The Deep Red experience begins with the sensual aesthetics
of the bottle - intense on the outside as it is on the inside. Modern,
touchable, sensual Hugo Deep Red clings to the curves of the bottle. Shape,
form and design all display what it means to be a modern, sexy woman.
As is now usual, the Parfumerie got together with Kumar and Tharindra
of 'Adahas' to put on a well-produced and exciting launch.
'Dosai Delight' at the AGH
In preparation for Christmas, the tradition of mixing the Christmas Cake
at Airport Garden was held recently.
Seen in the picture is the General Manager, Nirmo Thambapillai, the
Exec. Asst. Manager, Frigidian Fernando, Asst. F&B Manager, Errol Williams,
Sales Manager, Ashok Fernando and the Executive Chef J.B. Wijeratne and
his Team giving hand to the traditional cake mixing.
While Christmas preparation is on, a festival of dosai, will be held
at the Society Restaurant of Airport Garden Hotel from November 26 to December
1.
The Indian Chef Gangaram Belga will dish of a range of Dosai at this
'Dosai Delights'. Seafood Dosai, Masala Dosai, Chicken Dosai, Onion Dosai,
Ghee/Butter Dosai and Prawn Dosai, including Uththappam and Eddly are some
of the attractions at this festival.
These are all accompanied by Sambaru and Chutney.
Paths of glory end in misery
By Susitha R. Fernando
Teledrama "Derana" portraying the fate of the headman-aristocracy is the
latest film to be telecast at 8.30 pm every Saturday on Rupavahini.
The teleplay is produced and directed by Nalin Mapitigama to the script
of popular novelist Arrawwala Nandimithra.
The story discusses the lifestyle of people living in a remote village
away from the busy centre of country in the 1930s.
The theme of 'Derana' centres on the uncertainty of life and shows what
miserable end man could come to however powerful he may have been.
"Arachchi" of Maldeniya, played by Buddadasa Withanarachchi misuses
power vested on him to fulfill his selfish motives. All the villagers,
underlings of the powerful Arachchi are helpless before his sexual escapades
and labour exploitation.
The innocent villagers are subjected to the harassment not only of the
father but also of his only son 'Lional', (Mahendra Weeraratne) who follows
in the father's footsteps. In one such incident 'Iarin' played by Kanchana
Mendis, a poor village girl gets pregnant because of him. However the playboy
son is not able to succeed in life. Lional's wife, 'Dulsi' who married
him to satisfy the parent's wish, spends her youthfulness in tears.
The marriage of fat-headed daughter of Arachchi, 'Kamalawathi' with
'Advin' breaks up early due to her arrogant life style.
But 'Nimalawathi' the younger daughter in the family plays a major role
in the teledrama being generous to the poor subjects of her father. She
is interested in 'Wimaladasa', son of a villager who had grievously been
subjected to many an injustice by her father. However being different from
brother and sister Nimalawathi's kindheartedness helps her to become a
success in life.
However as the story continues Arachchi loses the power due to the people
close to him revealing that wealth does not bring about power to man permanently.
The others in the principal cast are Grace Ariyawimal, Jagath Benaragama,
Daya Tennakoon, Edward Gunawardena, Sujani Menaka, Jayalal Rohana and Ajith
Lokuge.
Art director is Hinatigala Premadasa, edited by Pubudu Kariyawasam and
Dushyantha Polgampala while the music is directed by Gayan Ganakadara.
'Derana' is presented by Sri Lanka Rupavahini Corporation.
Ventriloquist Jayaratne brings out 'Nimnade'
"Nimnade" an exceptional cassette making over 300 sounds using human voice
will be released today at "Janasetha" Hall in Pokunuvita, Horana.
The cassette with ventriloquist, D. D. Jayaratne's voice has been effectively
used to keep the music fans enthralled.
This is the first time that a cassette of this nature has been produced
to narrate a story. Incidentally Jayaratne is said to be able to imitate
the sounds of many a wide repertoire possesses. It also includes a few
songs sung by Jayaratne himself.
Geetha Kanthi Jayakody and Parakrama Perera compere while B. R. Dassanayake
did the music direction. D. D. Jayaratne had earlier held a one man mime
show and the cassette was recorded with certain items he performed at the
show. |
