The East is Calling

By Susitha R. Fernando

'Neganahira Weralen Asena' or 'The East is Calling' is undoubtedly a call for those teledrama viewers who had given up the culture of watching miniplays due to their hackneyed and melodramatic themes or Indian imported long dragging low quality soaps.

This 13-episode teledrama marks the return of controversy ridden film and miniplay director Ashoka Handagama after several years. Woven around a group of tsunami survivors the miniplay is a clear and classic reflection of the problem that our whole society is engulfed in. 'The East is Calling' is nothing but a true reflection of us and the very problem that we have created by dividing ourselves.

'Neganahira Weralen' gets it realistic authenticity due to the ground work and preparation which are both innovative and absorbing. The script was a result of collection of true life experiences of a group of tsunami survivors. Ending an extensive workshop in Colombo they hit upon their idea how the story should be presented to the local audience. The script was a challenge successfully faced by the participants and the facilities. The challenge was to present an experience that brought bereavement and tragedy in its wake. Thus 'Neganahira Weralen Asena' portrays a powerful and high standard of aesthetic value and a thematically strong universal message.

The miniplay opens with a group of young ones from Colombo on a picnic to a beach in Amapara in the Eastern Province. The deadly waves rush in at an unexpected moment leaving only two survivors, a young doctor and DV cam maniac who had come to the town to buy food and drinks on the Poya day. The scene where the decision is made as to who should go to the market and who should be in the beach was we later realized a decision between life and death and is a classic portrayal of uncertainty or the insecurity that we are all faced with. One might call it fate or Karma yet this could have been a story of a survivor and a victim of the deadly waves on that boxing day, 2004 artistically caught by the director.

Director Ashoka Handagama

Displaced from their homes and loved ones, the three ethnic groups Sinhalese, Tamils and Muslims finally come together in a temple, sharing each others tears, grief and losses. But this does not last for long. Uncertainties lead to suspicion which in turn erupts in violence. In such a backdrop can anything positive or constructive be developed, questions the director who hints at the very question that all of us are asking. What then is the outcome of the disaster? The drama thus portrays human nature at its best and its worst.

'Neganahira Weralen Asena' directed by Ashoka Handagama is played by W. Jayasiri, Jagath Chamila, M. Kalaichelvan, P. Shanthi, Lal Kularatne, N. Raheem Shahid, Raja Ganeshan, Malcolm Machado. Mohamed Rauf, Gayani Gishanthika, Sanjaya Senanayake, Rebecca Nirmalee, Rukmal Nirosh, Prageeth Ratnayake and Thesara Jayawardena.

Produced by Young Asia Television Production, 'Neganahira Weralen Asena', starting from November 17 is telecast on every Friday at 9 pm on Derana television.