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Tears
of Joy, Joy of tears The Sumathi
films presentation with English sub-titles is now being screened
to packed houses at Colombo Asoka, Liberty, Sigiri (Katugastota)
and Sonia (Kalutara). Karan Johar's box-office shattering Kabhi
Kushi Kabhi Gham (Tears of joy, Joy of tears) that bagged as much
as five prestigious filmfare awards this year has been ideally plotted
for wholesome family entertainment. The film with
many scoring points, is sprinkled with the cream of Bollywood's
super stars - Amitabh Bachchan, Sharuk Khan, Hrithik Roshan, Kajol,
Kareena Kapoor, Rani Mukerjee and Jaya Bachchan. The family-centric
story unspools amidst half-a-dozen of catchy numbers composed by
Jatin-Lalit and speaks of the special bonds and unity between parents
and children. With a running
time of about three and a half hours, the film's touching scenes
leave the audience wet-eyed instantly and that's probably because
it focuses on love and affection in families. For moviegoers who
are looking for sensible, undiluted entertainment, this one is indeed
for you. Let the 'tears of joy and joy of tears' serve as an eye
opener to parents and children looking to strengthen their bondages. Ariyaratne
returns to his old love
"Sudu Sevanali"
(Shadows of White)- story is woven around a typical Sinhala family
in the year 1848. The monk Sumangala who had joined Weera Puran
Appu to rebel against the British finds himself a survivor when
all others are killed and the rebellion quelled by the British authorities.
This priest identified as Sudu Banda in lay life, spends some time
as an apprentice learning carpentry. Returning to his native village
Sudu Banda finds his family house in disrepair. His mother has lost
her mind. His elder brother (Heen Banda) is languishing in jail.
Heen Banda's wife (Podi Menike) with their two children and their
mother who has gone mad are now destitute in their own village. Sudu Banda who
learnt carpentry during his refuge in Colombo, sets up a carpentry
shop in the village and with the earnings begins the up-keep of
his family. Heen Banda's wife (Podi Menike)- a mother with two children
is a pretty woman. This is the very reason why Heen Banda had to
go to jail for attempted murder-when he set upon the Village headman
who raped his pretty wife. However Sudu
Banda takes his sister-in-law as wife as permitted by the custom
of the time. It was the
time of the British rule in the country. A Church is built in the
village. An English school too is established. Sudu Banda admits
Heen Banda's son to this English school. The boy stays at the church
while receiving his English education wishes to become a Christian
priest. Heen Banda's daughter comes of age. Podi Menike becomes
heavy with Sudu Banda's child. Heen Banda
receives a royal pardon in honour of Queen Victoria's birthday along
with a number of other prisoners. Heen Banda is home free. On his return
the happy home life is shattered. Heen Banda becomes an outsider
in his own house and sees his son too as an outsider with a missionary
education. Heen Banda's daughter can not get used to this man who
has come back after a long stay in jail. Sudu Banda is full of hopes
that his child borne by Podi Menike will be a baby girl....... 'Sude Sevaneli'
then unfolds the conflicts, heartaches, despair and depression and
finally ends giving us the reality of human nature. After having
directed many films like 'Anupama', 'Sarungale', 'Siribo Aiyya',
'Podi Malli', 'Vajira', 'Jeevithayen Jeevithayak', 'Kela Mal' and
'Kristhu Charithaya' some of which were award winners Sunil Ariyaratne
with "Sudu Sevanali" a story based on a novel written
by Piyadasa Welikannage has once more begun to dabble with this
art form. The theme of
this film with a historical issue is gradually built up in a unique
way. Though the
music is subdued it responds in a lively manner in justifying the
subject of the film. Talented Wasanthi
Chathurani's portrayal of a woman's dilemma caught between two brothers
is realistic. Veteran Irangani Serasinghe acts with her usual exuberance
and panache. Young Roshan Pilapitya- as Sudu Banda acquits himself
creditably in the dual roles-monk and lay person to show the audience
that he has a bright future ahead. Linton Semage as he always does
has played his role of Heen Banda to perfection. Sunil Ariyaratne's
extra effort taken to select the location in the hill country with
its poignant and heart breaking beauty and sites depicting historical
Galle Fort and Wadduwa Church and some scenes of old Colombo too
is worth a word of praise. The cast has
a mixture of both veterans and new comers. The principal roles are
by Irangani Serasinghe, Wasanthi Chathurani, Linton Semage and Roshan
Pilapitiya, Kanchana Mendis, Tharaka Hettiarachchi and Hemasiri
Liyanage. 'Sudu Sevaneli',
is a family film to be enjoyed by all and Sunil Ariyaratne has produced
a film that is thought provoking entertainment and at the same time
culturally educating. A
film full of drama The mini-play
directed by Christy Shelton Fernando based on a script by Sarath
Dharmasiri unravels the story of a young girl who returns to the
country with her earnings after having worked abroad for several
years and the mysterious events taking place on her way to her remote
home town. Having arrived
in the country, Menaka hires a van from the air port to make a quick
journey to her home town in Galgamuwa. On the way the driver, Victor
explains the danger of travelling at night and proposes that they
rest the night and start the journey the following day. And he promises
to take the girl to a safe rest house. However when they reach the
motel the driver demands that he too has to rest in a room. But
this infuriates Menaka and making the payment up to the point she
had come tells him she would look after herself for the rest of
the journey. Angry Victor returns. At night a
crew who were working on a film in the area comes to the rest house.
The group includes well known actor Mahesh. Having seen the actor
Menaka who herself was a fan of his strikes up a conversation with
the dramatist. The couple soon become friends and their talk last
till mid night. Menaka invites him for a photo session before their
departure. Tragedy begins
when a waiter who enters Menaka's unlocked room with the bed tea
the following day finds her lifeless body in a pool of blood. Police come
to the rest house and start investigation. Everyone in the rest
house is summoned to the open lobby except the filming crew including
Mahesh who had already left on location shooting. The detectives
call at the location site and find every one engaged in work except
Mahesh. Thus the actor becomes a suspect in the killing. Has Mahesh
really killed Menaka? If he had for what? If not what happened to
him? The end of the film reveals a number of unexpected situations
which had taken place during the night on which Menaka met Mahesh. The stellar cast include Palitha Silva, Roshan Pilapitiya, Jayantha Bopearachchi, Ruhani Weerasinghe and Srinath Maddumage. 'Ashoka'
once again The film stars
Shah Rukh Khan, Kareena Kapoor, Hrishtaa Bhatt, Danny Denzongpa,
Rahul Dev, Ajit, Suraj Balaje & Subhashini Ali. It's directed
by Santosh Sivan and the music score is by Anu Malik. The story unfolds
around King Ashoka who ascended the throne of Magadha in 3rd century
B.C. He falls in love with a pretty girl, Kaurwaki, who is the daughter
of the king of Kalinga. Without knowing her identity and also without
revealing his own, he marries her but circumstances separate the
couple. Unaware of his real identity, Kaurwaki searches for him
but is unsuccessful. Meanwhile, Ashoka gets news of his wife's death
and loses interest in life. Slowly but surely, he comes out of his
depression and is forced by circumstances to marry another girl.
After his marriage to her, his step-brother hatches a plot to kill
his unborn child but the mother is killed instead. This infuriates
Ashoka so much that he kills all his step-brothers and eventually
launches the war against Kalinga. After this war, in the battlefield
a land strewn with corpses of the people of Magadha and Kalinga
Ashoka is to meet someone who had been much precious to him at one
time in his life. The film which
was earlier shown at the Liberty cinema had a collection of Rs.
2.5 million with participation of 37,500 patrons during its six
weeks of screening. |
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