• "Bahu Bhariya" cleared for adults
• Music is my first love, marriage can wait-Ranjan
• Raising a family
• Ponvila has its great moments
• Dilemma of a husband who goes astray

"Bahu Bhariya" cleared for adults

The next film marked to be released in the Fifth Circuit after 'Pauru Walalu' is Udayakantha Warnasuriya's 'Bahu Bhariya' presented by Ureka Films.

Although there are many films certificated by the Public Performance Board (PPB) producers are not ready to release them for reasons only known to them. Exhibitors protest that National Film Corporation (NFC) is incapable of supplying films to them but a film produced by an exhibiting company due to be the next release after 'Pauru Walalu' is not releasing it, NFC sources said.

After the success of 'Gini Avi saha Gini Keli' director Udayakantha wrote the script and made the controversial movie 'Bahu Bhariya' which has been allowed by PPB under the adults only tag.

Sangeetha Weeraratna (Theja) is not at all happy with some semi nude shots of hers exposed in the film." I saw the married print of the film. It's true that I exposed my body but not to the extent shown in the film.It was nothing but a case of compromising. I am quite confident that a double has been used and her shots have been edited to match.I requested the director to pull out those shots and he consented to do it,"she said.

"I did not use a double as there was no necessity. Both Sangeetha and Vasanthi read the script before the contracts were signed. They agreed to act in the film because they liked the story.Without sex scenes justice cannot be done to the script. But there is no crude sex in this film."director Warnasuriya said.According to him even the scene numbers are mentioned in the contracts.

Commenting on Sangeetha's role (Theja) he said it was a challenging one where this woman,Theja, had to play many characters,a village woman coming to town,getting to know Kapila,an executive in a business concern and carrying on with him,conceiving and the child been taken away by Kapila to be adopted by his wife Navoda (Vasanthi Chaturani),who is a barren woman, according to the story.

Theja along with her husband, a thug with underworld links starts extorting money from Kapila,and in this process Navoda comes to know that the child's father is no other person than her husband.

Theja becomes furious after the child is taken away and given to Navoda She has performed marvellously in the entire film."This problem arose after Sangeetha's elders saw a preview,"he added.

However Sangeetha is confident that a double has been used for some of these sex scenes.

Jayanath Gunawardena (cinematography),Stanley de Alwis (editing),Donald Jayantha (assistant director),Asoka Ariyaratna (production management ), Dulip Gabada Mudali (music direction) are the other credit titles of this film which is produced by Ranjith Jayasuriya.

Music is my first love, marriage can wait-Ranjan

By Kumaradasa Wagista

Last Thursday was a red letter day for film actor and singer Ranjan Ramanayake.The occasion was the release of his fourth song album 'Ranjan with Sunflowers' where he has sung and penned the lyrics of one of the songs. Malini Bulathsinghala has sung a duet with him.

Ranjan, the most eligible bachelor amongst film stars says he has not yet thought of marriage. "There's more time for all that. I must work more before I can think of marriage" he says.

Ranjan is a fortunate man because his debut film was Professor Sunil Ariyaratna's 'Christu Charitaya' where his maternal uncle Vijeya Kumaratunga played the main role. Ranjan considers it a great event even though his playing lasted only a minute or so in the main film.

He had appeared as one of His followers. "My uncle was in the habit of visiting our homes for birthdays and other occasions. He used to entertain us with lively jokes and even sing which gave me the first inspiration to follow in his footsteps" he said. Upto now Ranjan has acted in about 55 feature films and in most of these films his female co-star had been Sangeetha Weeraratna.

"It's a pleasure to work with her as she is very intelligent, helpful to the co-star. I highly appreciate the cooperation she gives in various ways to her co star before the cameras"

Ranjan visited Los Angles in 1996 and was there for about two years. He was dealing in garments and following a course in film technique at Glendle City College where he studied acting techniques and film direction. Although he was successful at a few auditions for acting assignments in films and teleserials, he couldn't act in any of them because he had no work permit, an essential document to work in films.

"One should be a member of the Cine Actors' Guild to obtain a work permit to act in films or teleserials' he said. However during his short stay there he had met some Sri Lankans employed there in various fields.

"Even an extra artiste is paid about $ 2000 for playing a tiny role in Hollywood "he said. He is grateful to Film Location Services Chairman Chandran Rutnam for the cooperation extended for the trip to the States.

Ranjan plays the main role in Udayakantha Warnasuriya's 'Bahu Bhariya' opposite Sangeetha Weeraratna and Vasanthi Chaturani. The film was given an 'adults only' tag by the Public Performances Board. "There are sex scenes in this fim but I do not take them as vulgar because of the artistic presentation by the director. "I consider these scenes more as romance than with sex .According to the story I have sex with both my wife and a beautiful sexy village girl whom I fall in love. Later, I find that the village girl is a prostitute"

Ranjan classifies 'Bahu Bhariya' as one of the finest films he had acted in

He has just completed work on the second part of the box office raker 'Daval Migel Re Danieal' directed by Roy de Silva. The hit song 'Madhuri Madhuri' is repeated in a different form also sung by Roy de Silva. He has acted in several international films lensed in Sri Lanka. The latest is 'Son of Sandokan' opposite Kabir Bedi and many local artistes. He is a past pupil of Maris Stella College, Negombo, where the seeds of acting were sown.

Raising a family

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Ponvila has its great moments

A young girl of marriageable age has been ostracized by the villagers for an offence she has not committed. The many proposals she gets, has short shrift. The young beauty is Subbulaxmi. The film is "Ponvila".

Enters he man Napoleon. He understands her position, sympathizes with her. The villagers now turn against him. Still undaunted he helps her in many ways including finding a bridegroom for her.

But Subbulaxmi, Ponni in the film, has already fallen in love with the matchmaker and the man who pours sympathy on her and her family - Napoleon who is Bharathi.

Bharathi on the other hand is uninterested in marriage as he is steeply involved in religion and the Temple.

What happens then is the climax of the film which turns explosive in the last few scenes. What happens to Bharathi and Subbulaxmi when wrath of the villagers are unleashed on them is better seen on the screen as it is the final crunch in this film which has its moments of high drama.

Giving admirable support to the lead stars in"Ponvila" are Ranjith Suvathy, Manivannam, Jeeva, Senthil, Sri Kanth, Baloo Anand and a host of others. Story, screenplay and dialogue by Asokan, music by Deva and lyrics by Kasthuri Rajah and S. Asokan.

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Dilemma of a husband who goes astray

"Ada Sihinaya" is scheduled to be telecast on Swarnavahini on Tuesday's at 8.30 p.m. It is a family drama.

Sisil and Karunaseeli's eldest son Charitha marries Sama. The new couple settle down in the main house with husband's parents. On the day of their home coming Gunapala an undesiarble character in the village along with his sister Nirmala and an illegitimate son enter the garden of the house and create a commotion.

In this argument the newly wedded bride comes to know that Charitha had molested Nirmala resulting in the birth of the child. She refuses to sleep with Charitha in the same room and instead sleeps with her sister -in -law in her room.

Her mother- in- law Karunaseeli finds fault with Sama and abuses her. As Sama could not any longer bear her mother- in -law's ill treatment, requests Charitha to send her back to her parents. After Sama leaves the house Charitha has to answer his friends and neighbours on why Sama went back to her parents. Unable to tolerate any longer the arguments put forward by Charitha's friends, Charitha goes and persuades Sama to return home.

Sama agrees to come back on one condition, that Charitha adequately provides substantial financial assistance to Nirmala to bring up her son and to find a suitable partner for Nirmala. Karunaseeli is annoyed on hearing her daughter- in- law's terms and conditions to come back but observes silence as she is helpless.

Then enters Anil on the scene who wishes to marry Nirmala. The teleserial reaches its climax with this scene but one has to see how it ends.

Roger Seneviratna and Nadeeka Gunasekera play the main roles. Nilanthie Wijesinghe, Gnanga Gunawardena, Swarnamali Rana-singhe, Ravindra Yasas Kuma-ranayake, and Anil Gamage are the others in the cast. Behind the camera are Navaratna Gamage (mu-sic),Palitha Perera (photography) and Dayawansa Seneviratna (producer). 'Ada Sihinaya'is written and directed by Chandraratna Mapitigama.

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