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Kala Korner - by Dee Cee

An unforgettable night for the Professor
It was a triumphant night for the Professor. Collecting nine awards on one night is no mean task. Professor Sunil Ariyaratne did it the other night when his recent creation, Sudu Sevaneli (The White Shadows) bagged nine awards at the Sarasaviya Film Festival.

Two of the awards went to Sunil himself - as producer of the Best Film for 2002 and Best Lyric Writer. The cameo performance by Iranganie Serasinghe won for her the award for Best Supporting Actress. The convincing role of Sudu Banda played by Rohan Pilapitiya secured him the Upcoming Actor award. Nanda Malini's rendition of the lilting melodies and clever art direction by Dharmasena Hemapala won awards for them, while Lionel Gunaratne won the award for Best Sound.

For Sunil, the awards are an encouragement to begin another film. "I was hoping to lie low for sometime but now that my last effort has been recognised with so many awards, I will seriously think of venturing on another," he says.Sunil has made 14 films but not all were of the same class as Sudu Sevaneli. The other outstanding creations were Sarungale, in which Gamini Fonseka's role will be long remembered, Christu Charitaya, Bamba Ketu Heti and Siribo Aiya. He has won eight Sarasavi awards and six Presidential awards, mainly in recognition as a lyric writer.

Sudu Sevaneli is based on the aftermath of the 1848 rebellion against the British. Concentrating on the human aspect, Sunil has turned the award-winning novel by Piyadasa Welikannage into a beautiful folk poem in cinemascope. It was Sunil's first film in 10 years - and a good one at that.

Best direction
Vasantha Obeysekera won the well-deserved Best Director's award for his absorbing creation Salelu Varama (The Web of Love), based on the life of an undergraduate. He vividly portrayed how violence in society is reflected in campus life. How such violence affects personal relationships was cleverly translated into cinematic language by Vasantha, who also won the award for the Best Screenplay.

Vasantha's ability to get his actors to do powerful portrayals was amply demonstrated when both Kamal Addaraarachchi and Sangeetha Weeraratne became contenders for the Best Actor and Best Actress awards respectively. They were among the final three but Kamal in Agnidahaya beat Kamal in Salelu Varama. Sangeetha, though she failed to win the award, was given a special Jury award. The Best Editor's award went to Elmo Halliday for his effort in Salelu Varama.

A welcome change
The Sarasaviya Panel of Judges may not have had much difficulty in selecting young Nityavani for her superb performance in Punchi Suranganavi. This film by Somaratne Dissanayake has been described as suitable for children from 5 years to 125.

Somaratne who seems to have mastered the art of making films which can be enjoyed by both children and adults alike (this was his second such effort after the very successful Saroja) also got a superb performance from Nityavani, whom we first saw in Saroja. S. Selvasekaran's portrayal of the humble gardener won for him the Best Supporting Actor award.

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