Mapitigama works on his 55th project

A bevy of stars appear to be as busy as bees at a location at Andiambalama in Minuwangoda where veteran director Chandraratne Mapitigama is working on his 55th tele project. Incidentally, Mapitigama is the only director who has surpassed this milestone in the local scene and probably in the region.

The tele series titled 'Pethi Ahulana Mala' is produced by Anuli Malkanthi Deewagiriwhile the cast comprises some popular faces including Palitha Silva, Ruwanthi Mangala, Buddhika Rambukwella, Roshan Pilapitiya, Vishaka Siriwardana, Oshini Dias, Rajitha Hiran Chamikara, Anuradha Udayangani, Rohani Weerasinghe, Miyuri Samarasinghe, Saman Almeida, Ravindra Mapitigama, Tharushi Perera, Nanda Wickramage, Melani Asoka and others.

Cameraman Nishantha Pradeep discusses the next scene with director Mapitigama. Vishaka and Oshini are going through the dialogues for the scene. Fun loving Producer Anusha Malkanthi is keeping the whole crew entertained with her good humour.

As the scene is ready for take, the whole team gets serious. While Vishaka is a seasoned campaigner in the glamour field, Oshini Dias is relatively new to the business but is showing signs of making a long journey.

She appears cool and confident, probably due to the attitude of her colleagues on the sets. As the shot is being taken, director Mapitigama says this story comes with a message to society.

"Today we see the harm done to young girls especially when they are given unlimited freedom and the after affects of indulging in pre-marital sex. This is a tale about a young good-looking girl who works in a record bar. She falls in love with a singer. The two make it a habit to spend the weekend in a guest house. But one fine day when they are in the guesthouse, the boy has to leave the place immediately as he receives a call that his mother is seriously ill. The boy leaves the girl all by herself in the guest house and goes to see her mother. This prompts the owner of the guesthouse to sexually abuse the girl who is helpless. Later the girl becomes pregnant but she never tells her boy about the guesthouse incident. As the baby is born, the guesthouse owner thinks it is his baby and tries to abduct the child. This fallen woman's struggle to save the child and the other unforeseen twists and turns make up the rest of the story. It is indeed a griping and emotional tale," says Mapitigama who has also written the script.

Director Chandraratne Mapitigama has always done things differently, and this project is also different.
Vishaka Siriwardana says she is happy to be part of the cast while Oshini says she is glad that her seniors are cooperating with a newcomer like her.

Narada Ratnayake is the assistant director of the project while Chaminda Kumara is the art director.