• Yashodha turns song lyric writer
• 'On Stage': And the winner is....
• The end of a golden era
• No politics for me, says Sangeetha
• Awakening of the Lotus brings spirituality on screen
• Lanka-Kerala joint film venture
• "The Trojan Women"
• 'Ulamage Rathriya' reveals the country's past

Yashodha turns song lyric writer

"Thugu Girikulu" is the title of the maiden song penned by Yashoda Wimaladharma, the popular tele actress now turned a song-lyric writer.

The song was sung by Dayan Witharana, popular photographer now turned a singer. The music was composed by veteran music director Rohana Weerasinghe.

Along with this song, Rohana composed music for another three songs for Dayan in which the lyrics were by Sunil Ariyaratne, Bandula Nanayakkarawasam and Yamuna Malini Perera. Two of the songs were duets which were sung by Nirosha Virajini and Deepika Priyadharshini Peiris.

Dayan before becoming a photographer, had studied music under Visharadha Nanda Malini. He was in the chorus of Nanda Malini's "Sathye Geethaya" which was staged in the early 80's.

'On Stage': And the winner is....

The Grand Finale of 'On Stage' was held last week at 'Rock Cafe' and after a tight competition, the rockers 'Independent Square' grabbed the grand prize of Rs. 100,000 worth of sound equipment.

The curtain raiser of the evening was the performance by Angelo Sampath (the only soloist among the lot) followed by Independent Square, Brown Boogie Nation, Dejavu, Vibes and the finally Voyage. The judges definitely had their hands full in choosing one of the most talented. The artistes were judged on originality, showmanship and performance.

Following much discussion the judges finally decided on Independent Square to take home the Grand Prize. Dejavu won an award of appreciation for their synchronized harmonizing of the Beatles song "Yesterday". The electrifying evening ended with an exuberant Independent Square sharing their experience of "On Stage".

Lead singer Anil Balasuriya said, "On Stage" provided us with the exposure, the experience and the sense of competition we longed for.

"On Stage" was conceived by TNL Radio with the sole aim of promoting Sri Lankan musicians aspiring to make it big in the music industry.

The project commenced with a month long campaign, inviting new local bands/artistes to enter the competition by sending in their details and demo tapes. This resulted in a flood of applications. TNL Radio with this great task in hand chose eight finalists which was subsequently cut down to six who vied for the Grand Prize (a 1000W power Amplifier and a pair of speakers from Inter-M, plus a Sennheiser microphone).

The competition proper began with the finalists performing at the Rock Cafe from October 15. Voyage kicked off the preliminary round of "On Stage" on the 15th, followed by Dejavu on the 22nd, Vibes and Angelo Sampath on the 29th, Brown Boogie Nation on November 5 and finally Independent Square on the 12th. Moreover, all these artistes were featured on the Arts Show on TNL Radio every Sunday between 8-9 pm, providing them with more exposure.

The Grand Jam took place on November 19 at the Rock Cafe. Six bands/artistes versus 5 judges, a magnanimous number of supporters, Rs. 100, 000/= worth of sound equipment to walk away with and 20 minutes to prove that you're the best. The judges that delivered the verdict were popular figures in the music industry. Namely Alston Koch, Joe Thambimuttu, Harpo Goonaratne, Dulip Gabadamudalige and Thilan Wijesinghe. 'On Stage ' was sponsored by Swedish Trading Audio Visual (Pvt) Ltd, TV Times, Midweek Mirror, Dynavision and the Rock Cafe and Pepsi.

This photograph was taken a few weeks before Sarath Dasanayake (L) was admitted to hospital in Colombo where he died. The occasion is where Jeevarani Kurakulasuriya was presenting the first cassette in the second batch of her song cassette and CD 'Namal Vasanthaya' to Pundit Amaradeva. Mr Dasanayake was one of the musicians who provided music to the songs. Dr Lankanganie Edirisinghe and Dr Lanka Wijesena are also in the picture. Lyricist Saman Chandranath Weerasinghe is an the extreme (Right)

The end of a golden era

Crowds comprising music lovers, musicians, singers, lyricists film personnel and others with tearful eyes paid their last respects to music director Sarath Dasanayake last week. Mr Dasanayaka a product of the then Heywood school of music provided mellifluous melodies to over 150 films since his entry to the field of film music direction. He died an untimely death at 58 on November 19 after a brief illness.

Although his first appointment was as a music teacher, he provided music to stage dramas, when filmmaker Sarathchandra Herath assigned Sarath Dasanayake to direct music for 'Sithijaya' (Horizon). This film was released in 1972 making the debut film of both Sarathchandra Herath and Sarath Dasanayake.

However Sarath Dasanayake came into limelight for his songs in 'Sadahatama Oba Mage' and 'Kasturi Suwanda'. The former was directed by Milton Jayawardena and produced by Sena Samarasinghe while the latter was directed by Sena himself.

This was a time when Hindi film melodies were openly copied by most of Sinhala film music directors. Sarath Dasanayake created catchy tuneful melodies to compete with the Hindi songs. His theory worked to a great extent as most of these songs are hit numbers among listeners of all age groups even today.

'Amarapem Latawe', "Pata Podak Thilakela', 'Pem Pem Pem Nada 'Kenden Yannan Ran Mal Mala,' Bodhiyea Viharaye', ' Unmada Sithuwam', 'Bonda Meedum' etc.

He also composed hundreds of non- film songs to be recorded by popular singers. '

Although he was not a vishardha he possessed the 'Midas Touch' of creating melodies which appealed to all classes and groups of music lovers. He was a Director in the Western Provincal Aesthetic Education College and a humanitarian. He lived a simple life and was loved by all those who associated with him.

Although Milton Mallawara-chchi had rendered his voice to films it was in Sena Samarasinghe's 'Nilla Soya' that gave him a break as a playback singer. Sarath Dasanayake created a set of beautiful melodies which were rendered by Milton Mallawarachchi. Gamini Fonseka was the main actor in this film and Milton's voice matched the hero's screen image and screen voice.

Sarath Dasanayake'swife Preethi is also a music teacher. They are blessed with three children, Ranga the eldest following the footsteps of them is involved in the music trade.

No politics for me, says Sangeetha

By Kumaradasa Wagista

"I want to be free from politics. A few politicians from a couple of political parties came to woo me to join them and speak in their platforms. But I rejected them as I do not like this subject" Sangeetha Weeraratne said.

She feels joining a political party or getting labelled into a political party is not good for a film artiste. "It's because my fan mail is full of filmgoers who may share different shades of political ideas and ideologies. I should not hurt their feelings " she said. The idea of entering the political arena had been injected to her since the recently concluded Provincial Council elections. Even till the last day to hold election meetings many had spread rumours about Sangeetha joining this or that party..

Sangeetha is found either on a film set or seated beside a table attending to accounts or correspondence in her office at Panadura.

With all comforts and publicity this fluent English speaking multi - talented artiste Sangeetha Weeraratne has not yet thought of entering family life. 'Yes marriage is an essential factor in life but I have not yet come across the Mr. Right." she said. " How can I devote time to do politics when I have not yet even met him?" She is not aware where this person is, but is confident that he is not in the film industry up to now. Although we often hear of tinsel world marriages Sangeetha is not interested in such an affair.

She denies any involvement with any one so far. No malicious stories so far.have been spread about me by anybody. " This Mr Right should be honest, straightforward, and highly appreciative of artistic values and above all he should not be a coward" she added.

Sangeetha Weeraratne was seen making arrangements to visit Abu Dabhi It's for a special screening of Prasanna Vithanage's 'Pauru Walalu' in several cities in the Emirates. She plays a main role opposite Roger Seneviratne in this film where Nita Fernando won the best actress award at the Singapore International film festival '98. "I am accompanied by Prasanna Vithanage on this trip." She will be there for about a week or so. On her return she will be working with Vasantha Obeysekere to complete scenes of ' Salalu Warama'.

She has recently returned from a short holiday in London. "When I visited Denmark and Sweden to grace the screenings of Vasantha Obeysekere's ' Dorakoda Marawa' I thought of visiting London also". she said.

Sangeetha Weeraratne is highly impressed by the keen interest shown by members of Sri Lanka Associations in foreign countries. She had observed that these expatriates always welcomed high quality Sinhala films. Even non Sri Lankans appreciate them. This was so in both countries. "All of them were very kind to us and we highly appreciate the hospitality they accorded us" she added.

Awakening of the Lotus brings spirituality on screen

Work on the English/American feature film 'Awakening of the Lotus' is due to begin in Sri Lanka with the dawn of the Year 2000.

The story is centered around a young American woman.named Henna, who in her search for Asian spirituality finds the Sri Lankan way of life inspiring and is attracted to the Buddhist and Sinhala culture through the assistance of Piyasiri. Henna had the rare privilege of associating with Piyasiri a young business tycoon which leads to a lasting friendship. It is based on an original story written by Amarnath Jayatilaka and the screenplay is written by Michael Subasinghe and Amarnath Jayatilaka in association with an American writer Chrys Thorsen who is brought up as a Buddhist by her mother Ven. Dr Karuna Dharma, the first ever white American to become a Buddhist nun in the Vietnamese tradition in California.

Amarnath Jayatilaka who is also the director of the film said. "The pre production work of this film has taken seven long years. It's the first major English/American movie to be produced for the world's largest film market" he added.

Amarnath Jayatileka is confident of getting a worldwide release by an American distribution company.

Speaking on budgeting he said the cost of production of the film will be in Sri Lankan currency while its entire earnings will be in US dollars.

Apart from its profitability it will provide a major opening to enter the world market for future films produced in Sri Lanka in the English language. "It looks like a Travelogue which will give enormous publicity to Sri Lanka as an important tourist attraction in Asia." he added.

The well known Sri Lankan singer - novelist who is now living in California Bhadraji Mahinda Jayatileka has already penned the English lyrics of the theme song for this film and is also contributing as a consultant on the production's visual design.

" During my stay in America recently I have signed the American actress Tiffany Shepis to play the main female role of Henna and Christopher Heltai to play the supporting role of an American. A Sri Lankan actor will be selected to play the main role opposite Henna." he said..

Cinematographer Donald Karunaratne who migrated to US about eight years ago will work as Director of photography for this film. "He is now in the process of designing a novel method of lighting for the film" he said. Post production work of the film will be done at Prasad Film Laboratory in India.

Lanka-Kerala joint film venture

Work in an Indo-Sri Lanka feature film, a co production with Kerala titled 'Mukhavaadam' is scheduled to commence work here shortly.

The story connected to the media and media personnel, freedom of expression versus the mafia and the underworld woven into a tight suspense-thriller, will be filmed entirely in Sri Lanka., project co ordinator D. B. Warnasiri revealed. 'Sathyagrahanaya' a feature film written and made by him in the eighties conveyed a theme on media suppression and was well received by our film goers.

Sanath Gunatilaka is being picked to play a leading role in this film. Several local and Indian film artistes will also play.

Sri Lanka and Kerala share geo-climatic vegetation as well as turbulent political back drops. Both nations have been rocked by violent insurgencies and incidents where mediamen who dared to question having to run for their lives or be treated hashly for being independents..

Kerala cinema fearlessly portrays the foibles of the politicians and the attendant social injustice nutured by such personalities. Critically acclaimed works like 'Mukhha-Mukham' and 'Piravi' are familiar to our filmgoers.

Renowned Kerala cinematographer Sunny Joseph has already been assigned as director of photography.

A leading finance company in Kerala has agreed to finance the project.

"The Trojan Women"

Versatile film and drama producer Dharmasiri Bandaranayake is now busy rehearsing his major drama adoption so far ' Euripides's 'The Trojan Women'. This world famed drama carries the slogan that 'Troy has fallen, but its message has an enduring stage-life.

Trikone Art Centre presents 'The Trojan Women' at Lionel Wendt Theatre on December 10, 11, and 12.

"I have chosen this play, 'The Trojan Women', as my contribution to the efforts to end the civil war raging in our land and bring lasting peace to our country."

Even after 25 years after creation 'The Trojan Women', remains the most powerful and foremost anti-war play produced in World Theatre. It has been the most powerful weapon in the hands .of artistes using the arena of theatre in the struggle against war and barbarism." says Dharmasiri Bandaranayake in a message given by him.

He further says " that staging this play and taking its unique dramatic message to all corners of the land, I believe, is the most powerful service and contribution that I can make as an artist to the efforts to end war and lay the basis for a society which achieves lasting peace and brings up a generation based on a culture of unity and fraternity."

Dharmasiri Bandaranayake also plays a role in this drama while Rukantha Gunatileka is the music director. Lyrics are penned by Ratna Sri Wijesinghe.

A host of artistes from films and drama Anoja Weerasinghe, Jean Aloysius, Yasodha Wimaladharma, Juanita Beling, Jayasree Chandrajith, Meena Kumari Perera, Sivadharshan Lingeswaran, and Dinesha Ruwanmalee Perera are in the cast.

Choreography is by Jerome De Silva. Set Constructions and lighting is by Nimal Bulathsinghala. Translation is by Ariyawansa Ranaweera.

'Ulamage Rathriya' reveals the country's past

The backdrop for 'Ulamage Rathriya' ( The Night of the Devil Bird) is based on the most sordid chapter of Sri Lanka's history during which most gruesome, and brutal killings took place. It's the killing of Ehelepola Kumarihamy and her children.

This teledrama begins with Nayana (Vasanthi Chaturani) being found unconscious by the Mahaveli Ganga. Nayana reveals that Tilak Liyanage (Roger Seneviratne) after a quarrel at a rest house pushed her into the river.

The Medical Officer (MO) in the ward (Ranjan Ramanayake) develops an attraction towards Nayana. After Nayana is discharged from hospital she lives with Mangalika (Nayana Kumari) who was the sister-in-charge of the ward.

As Nayana has a phobia for water she experiences drowning nightmares. At this juncture Nayana consults a psychiatrist Dr Wimal (Asoka Peiris) who is also a hypnotherapist. With the help of the MO. Dr Wimal hypnotizes her and regresses Nayana to her previous birth.

Then it is revealed that Nayana had been Ehelepola Kumarihamy in her previous birth. The root cause of her phobia for water is the fact that she was drowned on the orders of King Sri Wickrema Rajasinghe. The doctor performs several hypnosis sessions with Nayana and removes the water phobia from her mind.

Meanwhile, Tilak who is an active partner of an underground illicit drug organisation develops a soft corner towards Nayana.

Hamu, the chief of this organisation assumes that Nayana is a spy and orders Tilak to eliminate her. By this time Mangalika's younger brother Varuna too had being a drug addict.

An attachment develops between Ananda and Mangalika. Ananda attempts to save Varuna from drugs and in this exercise he has to confront the underworld thugs. They trap him into a motor car accident and is hospitalised.

The mortuary keeper Kudabanda visits Ananda and Dr Wimal feels that Kudabanda had been an enemy of his in a previous birth. That night Dr Wimal sneaks into the mortuary and hypnotizes Kudabanda. In the regression it is revealed that Kudabanda had been the King and Dr Wimal had been Ehalepola Maha Nilame. He believes that Pilimatalawe is the master of the drug organisation in the present life.Under hypnosis Dr Wimal forces Kudabanda to show the hideout of the master (Hamu). While climbing Udawattatkele, a woodowl flies past them making a dreadful cry, and Kudabanda comes out of hypnosis. From that day onwards Kudabanda behaves like the King every time he hears the cry of the wood owl.

The climax of the teledrama develops taking the story to an unexpected end.

Professor Nimal Senanayake has written the script for this historic fiction drama on a novel written by Badrajee Mahinda Jayathilaka.

The music is directed by Premasiri Khemadasa who has used natural voices other than musical instruments to create the mood of the theme of this teledrama.

Three women have taken the lead in producing 'Ulamage Rathriya' ( The Night of the Devil Bird).

It has been directed by Kavithra Panangala who has a cartload of certificates and accolades, cash awards and several gold medals for her creations in art, camera and teledramas.

It is produced by Lotus Church, a woman who had associated herself with J. Arthur Rank Organisation in 1946. The other woman is assistant director Chandra Kanthi Geethika. The telecast will be on ITN shortly, production sources said.

Return to Mirror Magazine Contents