'According to Mathew' in cinemas from today

‘According to Matthew’ in English and just ‘Matthew’ in Sinhala will be in local cinemas on November 23 (Friday) and well-known film-maker Chandran Rutnam is a contented man. The movie will go across the seas to America, to be released there on December 14, while already there is a major buzz in India about it with various trailers originating from there on YouTube.

Two and a half long years Mr. Rutnam has waited to see this day dawn and he gives us a glimpse of what happened ‘behind-the-scenes’ not when shooting the movie but linked to the real-life characters of the movie – even vociferous calls from the clergy to those in high places “to ban it”.

“We had interference by the families using influence and creating issues behind-the-scenes, with the clergy also raising objections,” he says, reliving those difficult times when they made it hard to find locations, when no church was available.

However, veteran Rutnam is adamant that no one can stop a film-maker. If there are hurdles here, a film-maker will go somewhere else. “For me, when making a movie, objections and hurdles don’t matter. Making films is our job.”

The major delays hit him post-production, but “we overcame them and we are not unhappy”, he says, pointing out that he didn’t change any part of the film.

The film’s plot revolves around the romance between Anglican priest Fr. Mathew Peiris (played by singer Alston Koch) and Delrene Ingram (as Daphne played by stunning former Miss Sri Lanka and Bollywood actress Jacqueline Fernandez), both married to others and a double-murder most foul, with exorcism rituals and hints of sexual abuse thrown in. The beautiful Church of St. Paul the Apostle, down Kynsey Road in Colombo 8 was the backdrop for these heinous affairs.

The English title ‘According to Matthew’ puns on Christian symbolism and adds a twist to the ‘Gospel by Matthew’ (one of four canonical gospels) written by a disciple of Jesus Christ.

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