Experienced teledrama director Sumith Rohana Tittawella’s maiden film is set around the last victorious phase of the war and brings to life the cruelty and the agony that are fresh in our memory.
‘Sthuthi Newatha Enna’ (Thank you, come again), scripted, screenplay written and directed by Tittawella, the film tells the story of a father and his two sons who are two service personnel-one a trooper the other airman.
The Muhurath for the film was held recently at the National Film Corporation with the participation of film artistes and NFC Chairman.
Influenced by some true and personal experiences, the film highlights how war can affect people differently. “Though the war is over we can never forget the agonies families of soldiers underwent and are still undergoing. This is the base for my film,” director Tittawella said.
The story revolves around Keerthirathna, a soldier who gets injured in the battle front and returns to the village. His mother had died when he was young and his father is a famer unable to cultivate his fields due to a severe draught. Keerthirathna’s elder brother is in the Airforce and he has a son who is schooling.
When Keerthirathna gets cured of his injuries, he finds that Vidane, the father has had been taken seriously ill. The young solodier has no alternative but to look after the sick father. Yet the father who hear the valiant acts of soldiers is worried that his own son is not going back to battlefront and become a part of the victorious troops.
“My teacher in cinema was the late Dr. Tissa Abeysekera and I was greatly influenced by him to do this film,” Tittawella said while mentioning that it was Mrs. Abeysekara who inaugurated the Muhurath ceremony for the film.
“The film is a tribute to all the war heroes and we have already decided to contribute 10% of the film’s earning to ‘Api Wenuwen Api’ fund,” the director said.
“I also should specially mention that I have been glad to have a producer like Mr. Mangala Madugalla, who encouraged me and agreed to join this film,” Tittawella said with gratitude.
Scheduled for 20 days of filming, the direction is now being shot at locations around Thanthirimale.
The producer of ‘Sthuthi Newatha Enna’, Mangala Madugalla is a lecturer in Modern Language attached the University of Kelaniya and had been in Russia for last 10 years.
“During my stay in Russia I decided to contribute to a work of art in Sri Lanka. My first attempt was to do a teledrama with Dr. Tissa Abeysekera. But this was failed and it was then I met Tittawella.”
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