Felicitation ceremony to be held in December:

Somalatha Subasinghe: Mother courage of children's plays

DRAMA: When one speaks of children's theatre in Sri Lanka, the name that comes to mind is Somalatha Subasinghe as that name is synonymous with children's arts and drama in the local scene.

Somalatha who entered the field of drama in the 1960s produced several landmark children's plays including "Thoppi Welenda" (Hat Seller), "Hima Kumariya" (Snow White), "Punchi Apata Den Terai", "Ranmali" and "Divya Loketa Giya Gamarala" (Gamarala journeying to Heaven). "Vikurthi"- a youth stage play directed by her became a hit in the country's theatre scene in the 1980s.

Meanwhile, adaptations of Yerma, Mother Courage, Dirty Hands, Colme, Street Car named Desire and Low Debts were few of the many adaptations she contributed through acting and won fame for.

She also portrayed different characters in 15 films including "Madolduwa", "Mahagedera", "Viragaya" and "Vasanthaye Davasak".

"Today's children appear to be missing the true spirit and joys of childhood. This is mainly due to the follies of the elders who try to force their wishes on their children", says this child drama specialist with her own experiences in the theatre for more than 40 years.

"One should carefully nurture child growth from the beginning. But today because of this 'rat race' in schools and the demands by the elders to realise their own dreams and aspirations their children have limited opportunities to enjoy.

For instance today we see schools but no playgrounds. At least a child should enjoy one hour of play during the day and that would help understand their real potential," she said.

"At present, the only thing children do at home after school is writing assignments. The next morning they go to school carrying those "heavily packed bags" on their backs.

As a nation we have become dependent on others. There is no more love, caring, giving and humility in the hearts of the people living today.

"There are no proper plans for children in this country so far and it is good if one can understand the real situation and modify the agendas at a time we are on the threshold of celebrating National Year of Children in this country", Subasinghe pointed out.

"Though I still like to act, now it is difficult. My mind is very active but my body cannot cope. However I am happy to note, the younger generation who passed through my hands are ready to go that extra mile promoting children's theatre in Sri Lanka", she said with a smile.

Iranian Film Week in Colombo

MOVIE: An Iranian Film Week will be held from March 9 to 13 at BMICH Cinema to commemorate the 27th anniversary of the Islamic Revolution of Iran. The Film Week is organised by the Cultural Consulate of the Embassy of Iran in association with the Asian Film Centre.

The screening of March 9 will be only for invitees while the public screenings will commence on March 10. Screenings starts at 5.00 p.m. Admission is free on first come first served basis. Film scheduled for March 9 for the inauguration will be repeated on March 11.

The Lineless Paper directed by Naser Taghavaei will be screened on March 10. This is a story of a woman who dreams of being a successful screenwriter while she is having matriarchal problems in real life. Two films directed by Majid Majidi will be screened on March 11 Saturday.

Children of the Heaven tells a story about Ali and his sister Zohre encounter a rather simple problem which turns into a complicated issue under exceptionally hard circumstances.

Ali and Zohere decide to solve the problem on their own without informing their parents. Baran depicts the travails of Afghan refugees who are illegally employed in Iran.

Saint Mary directed by Shahryar Bahrani will be screened on March 12 Sunday. It tells the story of the People of Jerusalem who impatiently wait for the birth of the son of Emran, the "Messiah" in the year 16th B.C. But instead, a girl is born and her mother names her Mary. Finally she gives birth to Jeasus Christ.

The film scheduled for March 13 is The Girl in the Sneakers directed by Rassul Sadr Ameli. It is a tale about Aideen and Tadai, young couple one rebelling against her parents and harsh structure of the Islamic culture; the other wistful daydreamer. Ameli's remarkably poetic fable neither embraces nor condemns teenage idealism.

The closing film of the film week is Taste of Cheny. It was directed by legendary Iranian filmmaker Abbas Kiarostmy. It won the Palme d'Or at the 1997 Cannes Film Festival. One autumn afternoon, a middle aged man decides to commit suicide.

However, in order to do this he needs someone else's assistance. So he starts talking to ordinary people, without giving any reasons for his intention.

To Sri Lanka with love

PERSONALITY: Bollywood film director Mahesh Bhatt who graced the Samata Sarana Institute in Mutwal on February 28 morning, donated some children's books to the institute's library.

The renowned Bollywood film director, producer and writer was invited to Sri Lanka to promote education for all children and promote social responsibility in the private sector.

Bhatt, addressing the media, insisted on sparing children from agendas of the adults and allowing them to enjoy human rights and privileges.

"I, as a concerned citizen plead for children to be spared and not be used to fulfil the agendas of any adult. Any intelligent person or group should spare children as the human right goals can be achieved only by respecting them and not by stamping on them." he added.

He said that it was pleasing how the private sector has taken up a role upon themselves in educating and preparing the youngsters to face challenges of the real world.

He was welcomed to the institute by a student of the institute, and was entertained by another group of students by a traditional Sri Lankan dance, which he admired very much.

He visited all the classrooms of the institute talking to the students and teachers and admiring their work. A smiling Mahesh Bhatt said that he was really happy to be with children who were so well dressed and well behaved, and jokingly added that he himself had not been dressed so nicely in his young days.

Mahesh Bhatt, the father of the popular Bollywood star Pooja Bhatt, was the director of many Bollywood films including Duplicate, Hum Hain Rahi Pyara ke, Saaranash, Arth and Janam. He was also the director of the first Indian TV series in English, 'The Mouthful of Sky.' - Lakmini

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