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LANDMARK SINHALA FILM SHOWN IN LONDON AND
GLASGOW
Report by Tissa Madawela
One of the best Sinhala films to be produced in recent years is to
get its long awaited screening in London and the Scottish city Glasgow.
Sudu Kaluwara (Intruders) directed by a young and talented filmmaker
Sudath Rohana is to be screened on the 1st of February at Boleyn Cinema
Upton Park and a special screening is also organised in Glasgow. Sudu
Kaluwara became an instant hit when it was released in Sri Lanka last
year and many who saw the movie said it was 'a Cinematic Spring of Patriotism'
and 'A New Experience in the Sinhala Cinema.'
The story revolves around certain incidents that took place in the
1930s in Sri Lanka. It focuses on the colonial intruders and the domination
of the village and village folk by the foreigners by their deceitful
ways including the promulgation of the Waste Lands Ordinance in mid-nineteenth
century, a ruse adopted to deprive the people of their traditional lands.
This theme binds the viewer with the film in the most sympathetic manner,
creating almost a feeling of love and pity for the country and the nation.
It begs answers for many issues. Like the so called development that
came in with the conversion of fertile fields into coconut and tea plantations
owed by a handful of foreigners and a few locals who benefited from
their colonial masters. The shared common wealth like the villages'
natural forest, mukalana soon came under the ownership of European Masters
who paved the way for a similar class in postcolonial Sri Lanka. The
village has certainly been intruded upon.
" The intrusive presence of the Portuguese, Dutch and the British
has made this society one lacking an identity. Today we have only a
confused idea and hence the lack of nationalistic thinking. I wanted
to discuss how an independent nation became such slaves to a sub culture
thrust upon us," says the director Sudath Rohana, who is attending
both screenings in England.
Also, the film seeks to mark the evolution of the rural economy. The
transition of a self-sufficient agricultural society into that of a
consumer culture where money is the deciding factor and the conferrer
of status is aptly demonstrated in Sudu Kaluwara.
The film is based on N. T. Karunatilake's novel 'Ulu Gedara Arachchila'
The colourful cast includes Sanath Gunathilake, Jayalath Manoratne,
Somalatha Subasinghe, W. Jayasiri and Palitha Silva.
Depicting the beauty of old Ceylon, the film was shot in some of the
eye-catching locations around Kalawana, Thambu-ththegama and Kaltota.
This is a unique film that would prove a beneficial cinematic experience
to the vast majority and urge the viewer to think and take a pensive
look at what has been lost to him. It also can be considered as a landmark
in the Sinhala Cinema. This film has given a new experience to the audience.
Sudath Rohana has been successful in producing a film with outstanding
cinematic value. It is certainly is a film not to be missed.
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