‘Samanalunta Wedithiyanna’

'Samanalunta Weditiyanna', a teledrama with a novel theme and a presentation will introduce a number of new faces to the miniscreen. Based on the maiden script by journalist, poet, writer and TV presenter Manjula Wediwardena, the teledrama is the first directorial venture of young actor Pradeep Dharmadasa. Ranjith Jayaweera makes his debut role as producer while Amal Perera, the son of veteran musician cum singer Mervin Perera writes his first musical notation for a teledrama.

"The teledrama is a joint attempt by all of us who wanted to do something new. I was given the task to write the script while we all decided that Pradeep is talented enough to handle the direction," scriptwriter, Manjual Wediwardena told the TV Times. The editing of the drama which was done with detailed instructions from the script writer is a novel experience for viewers of the miniscreen. "The editing would bring diverse characters onto one platform. This is to show that though there are many differences all the people in one way or another are similar and the problems they face are the same," the script writer said.

This is not yet another teledrama or an experiment. And we also know that people have given up watching teledramas due to the poor quality of productions. So this is an invitation to experience teledrama as a form of art, says the scriptwriter who warned that one cannot catch the continuity if a single episode of the 26 is missed. Revolving the around murder of two youth and the events that follow, Samanalunta Weditiyanna will be telecast every Friday starting from November 16 on Swarnavahini.
Naradha had been mysteriously assassinated. The episodes of this drama unravels the mystery of this assassination.

Naradha, a city youth and son of a trade union activist labourer, who is dead lives with his mother and two sisters. An active member of a group that pursues an alternative political ideology, he bids farewell to his family and dwells with a friend in a run down flat, situated in a slum in Colombo. Naradha who is in love with Mauli, an upper middleclass girl, is constantly threatened by her brother who has connections with the underworld. He is also under the close scrutiny of the armed forces and others opposing because of his political endeavours.

About the same time as Naradha's assassination, Senevi, a school friend of Naradha's is also assassinated. The friendship of Senevi and Narasha, grows strongly during the period when Senevi joins an urban school on a scholarship. With the investigations into these deaths, the story evolves between the past and present is clearly portrayed through the characters of Mare and Mileena.

Whilst, Mare a youth, who indulges in a covert stream of politics and conducts classes in his chosen political ideology, Mileena is the sister of Senevi. The complex aspects of the growing love between Mate and Mileena unfolds parallel to the life stories of Naradha and Senevi.

As time flows by, the technical symbolism induces the viewers to realize that the actions of the players are not pre-meditated or willfull in spite of the nature of Naradha's or Senevi's assassinations being revealed. The talented cast includes Bimal Jayakody, Upeksha Swarnamali, Prasannajith Abeysuriya, Ruwanthi Mangala, Roshan Ravindra, Sujani Menaka, Gihan Fernando, Sampath Jayaweera, Mahendra Weeraratne, Athula Pathirana, Daya Tennakoon, Dasun Madusanka, Wishwajith Gunasekara, K. A. Milton Perera, Rex Kodippili, Nilanthi Wijesinghe, Kumara Thirimadura, Grace Ariyawimal, Gayesha Perera, Gayan Wickramathilaka and Mayura Kanchana.

Edited by Rukmal Nirosh, make-up by Priyantha Sirikumara and music director is Amal Perera. Directed by Pradeep Dharmadasa the teleserial is produced by Ranjith Jayaweera.