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Tikiri
aims for a plentiful harvest
This
film was shot in areas in and around Mahakanadarawa, 25 kilometres
away from Anuradhapura where stands a tank by the same name. Talking
on the location Tikiri said it was the dry zone that I wanted to
capture and my first visit was to Galgamuwa. But to me the area
looked too dry and remote. Then I found this place which looked
ideal for the film. Set in a drought
and poverty stricken remote agricultural village, "Pura Sakmana"
tells the story of a mother and daughter who are forced to do the
bidding of the local village 'Mafia' boss in order to ensure that
their next meal is on the table. The struggle for survival in conditions
of severe drought for the rural farmer and the problems of the brewing
and selling of illicit liquor and the destruction it causes to the
fabric of traditional village life are well portrayed in this film.
Tikiri Ratnayake
is admirably supported in his maiden effort by one of Sri Lanka's
leading film stars, Anoja Weerasinghe who has returned after a long
lay off from the silver screen. "When
I was designing the script it was Anoja who first came to my mind
for the role of Gunawathi. The mother who had to fight with almost
everything around her including herself as the woman who could depict
the character in my script best. For Kanchana, I wanted to introduce a new face and Kanchana had not played this type of serious role earlier in the silver screen. According to the director, his make-up-artist J. Suranimala had to change the skin tone of both Kanchana Mendis and Anoja Weerasinghe throughout the film to suit the women in the story line who were accustomed to a hard life in a remote village. Others in the
cast are Hemasiri Liyanage, Cletus Mendis, Janaka Kumbukge, Grace
Ariyawimal, Vinnie Wettasinghe, Richard Weerakkody and Duleeka Marapana. Tikiri Ratnayake
first came on the scene in 1994 with 'Swayan Wara' which was selected
for the final round of the ten films in the international competition
conducted by the British Council on theme of Women and Development.
His teledramas included 'Viman Dorakada' (1995), 'Isuru Diya' (1997),
Sathi Pooja' (1999) and 'Gandela Nisali' (2000) for which he was
awarded the Best Tele Drama Youth Director in 2001. Being involved
in grass-roots poverty alleviation and development programmes among
the poor for a long time Mr. Ratnayake said "I have come across
a number of stories like this and these are very common experiences
in every village". Questioned as to whether he could achieve
all his objectives with this maiden effort Mr. Ratnayake said it
was due to his unending interest that it was completed. "However I had certain limitations specially with regard to the non-availability of finance and materials and this was a recurring shortcoming till the end." The film was
also screened at 26th Cairo Intentional Film Festival and Asian
Film Festival in Mumbai. "I could not send my film to certain
other festivals as I could not get it subtitled. But with the intervention
of the chairman of the Film Corporation this was made possible,"
Tikiri said thankfully. However I started the film with my own money and it was due to the interest in making a film that drew me to complete it and I am satisfied with what I have done" Tikiri Ratnayake sighed. The film will be released in EAP circuit cinemas from February 12. 'Nandunana
Neyo': Double faced drama
Wilfred
Wanasinghe (Neil Alles) is a landed proprietor. He is a middle -aged
person with a dubious character. His intimate friend Mannage (Wasantha Ramya (Nelum
Perera) is the wife of Wanasinghe and their son Ranesh With the sudden death of the watcher of Wanasinghe's estate confirmed by the police as a murder, the true picture of Wanasinghe's dubious character begins to unravel gradually. At this point Wanasinghe divulges to Mannage the affair he had with the watcher's wife and that he has a daughter by her namely Samadara (Nimanthi Porage). He does this with the intention of getting his friend Mannage's sympathy and support. Mannage takes the advantage of this situation and proposes that Wanasinghe give his daughter in marriage to Mannage's son. With Ramya and Ranesh opposing this Wilfred Wanasinghe falls into further difficulty. Upananda is a childhood friend of Wanasinghe from his village. Later for reasons not clear he becomes the number one enemy of Wanasinghe. Once Mannage exposed the true face of Wanasinghe, his wife Ramya and son Ranesh seeks further assistance from Upananda about the crime by Wanasinghe. But Upananda the only witness does not betray his childhood friend.
After its release
on December 20, Priyantha was compelled to withdraw his film from
all the cinemas around the country on January 2. This came about
as his film 'Arumosam Wehi' was replaced with a cheap, erotic film
at a theatre in Avissawella just after three days of its release.
Priyantha who claimed that this was due to the Mafia pressure in
the industry claimed that his film would not be released until a
national policy was formulated. Priyantha's third film represented Lanka at the 33rd Film Festival of India held in New Delhi and Jakarata International Film Festival of last year The film revolves around a fight between the clown in a circus, who is innocent and ill-treated by the manager of the team who is working hard to own the circus. The real culprit is punished at the end with the help of the children. A number of child stars are introduced and others in the main cast include W. Jayasiri, Mahendra Perera, Nuwangi Liyanage and Wasantha Wittachchi. The film is to be screened at Empire theatre Colombo and fourteen other cinemas around the country. 'Mayim
Neyo': Tale of a courageous daughter
This
26 episode miniplay scripted and directed by Nimal Ratnayake is
a production of Thushara Peiris for Media Image. It is telecast
on Mondays at 7.30 pm on ITN channel. In the plot is Kirihamy who looks after his three children with the untimely demise of his wife is the best blacksmith in the area. Karuna the eldest daughter in the family takes care of her younger sister Mallika and brother Sarath, thus filling the void created by the loss of their mother. 'Badiththa' an arms vender who regularly visits Kirihamy to get his work done is interested in Mallika, who is the mid-wife of the area. The affair between Mallika and Badiththa develops creating a disharmony in the family. Meanwhile Sarath the younger brother of Karuna falls in love with Shiromi, a playful girl who had returned from the town and is more attracted to western culture. Hearing the son's affair elderly Kirihamy gets disturbed. The only relief for Kirihamy is Karuna who gets a proposal from Dabare, a bachelor. But Karuna is determined not to get married until her brother and sister are settled. In addition to her role as the responsible eldest sister she supports the family with the earning she makes from odds jobs. Karuna refuses Dabare's repeated suggestion to get married. Meanwhile elderly Kirihamy hears that his only son had secretly got married to Shiromi despite the objection. As a result he falls sick suddenly. The husband and wife are seen always quarrelling. Kirihamy did not favour the friendship between his daughter Mallika and Badiththa. This gives rise to misunderstanding. Sarath's sudden death following a quarrel with his wife Shiromi, shatters Kirihamy's world. Karuna, the caring sister of Mallika finding the sister in the family way becomes angry and beats her. Now it is only Karuna who could bring hope to the desperate family with a father who has lost his memory and a young sister with fatherless child. |
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