Eranga celebrates silver jubilee in silver screen
View(s):‘Gentleman’s Love’
By Susitha Fernando
Veteran cinema director Eranga Senaratne’s 8th film venture ‘Pirimi Adarayak’ or ‘Gentleman’s Love’ will be release in the NFC Rithma Circuit cinemas from November 22. Starting in 1999, Eranga was famed for his earlier directions like ‘Gini Gath Madu Samaya’, ‘Sweet Angel’, ‘Rosa Patikki’, ‘Sinasuna Adaren`, ‘Mona Lisa’ and ‘Aa’ a platform movie made in 2022. Celebrating 25 years in cinema, Eranga said he was lucky to remain in the industry for more than two and half decades and make films and teledramas continuously despite various obstacles and setbacks.
Director Eranga Senaratne
‘I actually started audio-visual medium in television in 1994 and I have done 38 teledramas, which were aired in almost all the television channels in Sri Lanka. I have been working on both these industries at the same time’ Eranga said.
“The challenges we are facing right now in cinema are lack of cinema halls and the chaos in the film distribution system. With regard to lack of cinema, traditional theatres have been closed down or converted to supermarket or other businesses. There are many cities without cinema halls now. For example there are no theatres in Panadura, which was bustling city for movie lovers for decades. Even though there are some small theatres coming up they are based in main cities’ he explained.
With regard to the issue of film distribution, he says currently there is a mafia system in the film distribution, which needs to be rectified soon.
Eranga says due to these problem he made his last film ‘Aa’ for online platform, which he claimed as the first Sri Lankan film made for the online platform. However there are also limitations as most Sri Lanka online film viewers opt for internationally famed platforms like Netflix and etc.
‘These platforms have variety of genres whether it be crime, action, fantasy, horror or whatever it is’ he added.
However Eranga thinks as artistes, he and others too have responsibility to promote platforms and other alternative film releasing and viewing options. He also believes that with the new political changes in the country there would be some hope for cinema.
Dinali Roshanthi Senaratne
‘Pirimi Adarayak’ revolves around a beautiful young girl named Ashavi who loses her newly married husband due to a tragic accident. But she believes he lives with her protecting her from all dangers. She starts a habit of talking to a photograph of her late husband and narrates every incidents that takes place on each day.
Another young man who runs a YouTube channel gets interested in Ashavi and starts following her. But he realises a mystery where another man too is following her. One day when he was following her on road, the girl too met with an accident and there is a suspicion as to who was responsible for the accident. The investigators start hunting on two possible criminals. Who could they be? ‘Gentlman’s Love’ will unravel it.
Screenplay and dialogue written by Dinali Roshanthi Senaratne, the film stars Menaka Rajapaksa, Hiruni Ranasinghe, Ruwan Perera, Susanga Kahandawaarachchi, Nethani Nanayakkara, Saneti Dikkumbura, Meththa Nandavithana, Sarath Kumara and Ajith Fernando in the main cast.
Behind the camera, makeup by Lahiru Nishan Danushka, art direction P. Suranga Pradeep, cinematography Upul Priyan, editor Dasun Ranasinghe, producer Suren Perera and the story concept and direction by Eranga Senaratne.
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