|
|
 |
 |
 |
| Wednesday, 4 February 2004 |
 |
|
 |
Artscope | |
| News Business Features Editorial Security Politics World Letters Sports Obituaries
|
Dialogues with a ring of truth E. M. G. Edirisinghe talks to Tissa Abeysekera who wrote the screenplay for Sakman Maluwa Question: You wrote dialogues for Gamperaliya in 1963. After 40 years you wrote dialogues for Sakman Maluwa. Do you feel a change in your approach due to the accumulation of experience over the years? Answer: Immediately after Gam Peraliya I wrote dialogues for Delovak Athara. It established me as a dialogue or a screen writer. Most of the critics at the time remarked that Delovak Athara marked a new phase in dialogue writing. In Gamperaliya I had only to restructure the original text of the script. Dialogue on a text is for the reader, but on screen it is for the play. In Gam Peraliya, I rephrased and added new dialogues. A story is located in a particular social milieu. In Delovak Athara, I created an artificial idiom for the characters. Also, in Gam Peraliya, I was associated with the process of screenplay. In Sakman Maluwa I was given a completely written screenplay. Experience I have gathered over the years had made my task easier.
Q: How do you find writing dialogues for a film based on a novel where there are plenty of dialogues, and one based on a short story which is virtually with no dialogues? A: A novel provides a lot of room to invent the speech of characters. In a short story, what one finds is only the suggestions, feelings and a thought process; all that has to be transformed into dialogues. Each character is a separate voice. A short story is closer to an old fable or an allegory. The film is a performing act. We have to give a separate voice to each character which has to be recounted within one voice. The structure of a film is for a performer. Q: Dialogue forms an integral part of a screenplay of a film. How do you meet the challenge of writing dialogues for a script written by another person? A: Dialogue is not the predominant element in a screenplay: It is one element in the wider arsenal of a film. It is a devise used to tell a story. Dialogue should be really constructive with the overall rhythm of the screenplay. Each screenplay demands a different rhythm. Velikatara is an action film and, Viragaya is much more introspective and the feelings are revealed unobtrusively. The period, characters and the social milieu is important for overall articulation. It must be consistent with the overall structure. Role Q: The first 30 years of cinema is its silent era. Dialogue is essential for drama. How do you assess the role of dialogues in cinema today? A: Film is essentially a visual medium. I don't agree with the view that with coming of the sound the film lost the art in it. During the silent period they were silent because of the inadequacy of technology to record it. Today, you can't do a film without sound. Sound is life. It brings cinema closer to real life. John Houston once said that people articulate their feelings through speech. If you stop them talking there will be a gap. You can't take one single important dialogue out. Q: In Gam Peraliya Nanda says "Amma kemathi nam math kemathiy." (What the mother's wish is, my wish too). In Sakman Maluwa Prema says "Ayyay akkay kemathi nam math kemathiy". (What the brother's and sisters's wish is, my wish too). Was it a coincidence or the circumstances necessitated it? A: It was my homage to Gam Peraliya the film and Gam Peraliya the original novel. Q: Conversation is one of the key factors for the cinematic success of Sakman Maluwa. Its economy of the language is gripping. How did you master the art of economical use of words in dialogues? A: Writing dialogues for performance is different from what is written in the text. I imagine to hear the sound of the words spoken by the character as he is expected to be performed. Before I wrote the dialogues I want to hear the words and turn them into sound. Then I create a kind of rhythm to create a phonetic balance. Each line has to have a balance leading to the next line. Each line is connected to the next with each triggering off a spring-board for the next until the end of the scene. Otherwise we are superfluous and most of the time we would be groping for words. We should not let people just ramble. Real life A minimum number of words must be used. That is the only way to get them hear. You have got to craft the lines. Unlike in drama, film is closer to real life. Therefore the dialogue should give the illusion of real life. It should not denote. It should reveal itself to a whole of what is unsaved. Dialogue should not be explanatory. It should have the ring of truth and flavour of real life with the maximum use of the connotational value of the words. Q: The effect of the words "Naya inne oyage papuwe" (the snake is in your heart) is devastating. What made you to make a statement like that in the very last scene? A: What had happened has to be recapitulated with the minimum of fuss and the maximum of stress. It not only sums up what happened before but also gives a clue for something more for the viewer to recapitulate the whole thing and look back. It should not lead him to a dead end. Q: Once Prema told Ranjan "Oya kavadavath kasada bandinna epa" (you should never get married). Has it got any hidden meaning? A: Ranjan is totally a Lester's creation. Certainly, there is an attraction to him. So Prema's advice to him was with a comment on his character as well as a colourful attraction. It is similar to the attraction of Maname princess to the Vedda king. I noticed the subterranean in the text and gave life to it without overdoing his role. Q: The short story leads to a separation and the film leads to a reconciliation. Any comment? A: It is not a conventional happy ending. It was not healed but only submerged. It suggested no total end. Q: Did Aravinda of Viragaya ever cross your mind when you were writing dialogues for Tissa? A: No. Q: In the short story Prema half-affectionately called Tissa pig and buffalo (ura and mee haraka). But in the film, I find she is abusive when she called him so. What difference does it make? A: This is best answered by the director of the film. There is no fixed meaning given to a line. It can mean many things. Mee haraka and ura could mean affection, displeasure or hatred. Meaning is intrinsic to the line within its dramatic property. Q: Ranjan is a character not found in the original story. I see it as a disturbing element through which the subconscious of both Tissa and Prema was revealed. Do you agree? A: Without Ranjan there is no catalyst. His character gives drive to the film. Q: What is your reaction to the audience response for the Sakman Maluwa? A: I am tremendously happy that there is a very good audience for good cinema in the country. Sakman Maluwa is subterranean, subtle and restrained. Sumithra had been able to communicate with the audience. It is great on both parties, the director as well as the audience. Q: Lastly, what is your assessment of the Artscope? A: Beautiful layout. The pictures are illuminating. Certainly a useful pullout. **** Back **** |
|
News | Business | Features
| Editorial | Security
Produced by Lake House |
