Thought provoking teledrama focuses on the dead
Ruwanthi Abeyakoon
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FRIGHT: Scene from the teledrama
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TELEDRAMA:The unseen spirits of the dead comes back to mingle with
the living. They roam about in the world. At times they conspire and
provoke the human beings to do evil. No one can escape their evil
intentions.
The gap that exists in our mind between the world of the dead and the
living is bridged and is brought on to one plateau. No more do the dead
live in a separate world but they are here with us watching us closely.
The thrilling happenings of the spirits and the living will take
place in front of your eyes, in your living room every Saturday at 9.30
p.m on channel Swarnawahini. The teledrama `Sil’, which started last
Saturday, has already captured the audience.
The screenplay and dialogues are written, directed and produced by
the well-loved veteran actor Jayasekara Aponsu with the support of
Rashmi Aponsu as the Assistant Director.
Guru Ravinath dies and he enters the land of the dead as the story
commences. He is greeted warmly by a peculiar stranger who tries to
befriend the Guru with sinister motives.
The Buddhist monk, Maithreechintana who died sometime back enlightens
the Guru of the evil forces that lurk in order to prey on human beings
to shatter the harmony and serenity in them.
Ever since the monk realised the truth he has resolved to wage war
against these evil forces by getting around the intellectuals among the
dead. Guru shocked to see the peculiar strangers associated with human
in society and misleading them join forces with him to eradicate the
activities of evil forces.
“This drama is in a different style. It has a strong theme. The dead
see a different side than the living. There is a spirit who forces
people to do wrong. A monk who was dead a long time ago sees this and
tries to save the living from this,” Aponsu said.
As the drama unfolds the audience comes across the `Sil’ organisation,
set up by Rev Seelaratana Thera, Swami Krishnamurthi of the Hindu Kovil,
a Rev father, a Moulavi and a philanthropist businessman called
Tikiribandara to carry out the good work to uplift the needy.
The evil forces make sinister moves to disrupt this organisation.
With the death of Krishnamurthi Swami’s only daughter, Lakshmi, Sil
organisation is subjected to immense difficulties. The organisation
faces a lot of criticism and ultimately it is disrupted.
Lakshmi meets the monk and the Guru and joins them in their valiant
effort to put an end to the misdeeds of the evil. The episodes that
bring out the conflict between the evil spirits and the good are filled
with thrill, suspense, sarcasm and humour. It will be an incredible and
a novel experience to the audience. Aponsu plays the role of ‘Sira’ who
helps the living.
The actors and actresses Rashmi Aponsu, Anusha Damayanthi, Thilak
Rathnayake, Susila Kottage, Mercy Edirisinghe, Kuma Attanayake, Sarath
Dikkubura, Sarath Kulanga and many others give life to the dynamic
characters in the drama. Daya Wijenayake, Chandrasena Perera and Sarath
Ranaweera has assisted Aponsu with the production.
“Today people concentrate only on comedy. They have distanced
themselves from literature. This is a drama both the young and the old
can enjoy. Even children can enjoy this. They won’t get scared of the
spirits but they will love them. The script is written in a simple
language to suit all audiences. Everybody regardless of his intelligence
will understand this,” Aponsu said.
Directing and producing a teledrama is not an easy task. Aponsu also
had to take a lot of pain in presenting a valuable and thought-provoking
drama to the varied audience.
“It was a huge task. I did not use the same location. We even went to
Nuwara Eliya. Using several locations cost a lot of money and I had to
put in a lot of effort. I wanted to give something worth watching to the
audience. My friends assisted me to achieve this task,” Aponso
explained.
“The drama has already captured the attention of the audience. Now I
am popular as Sil and some address me in that name. I read books and
consulted several monks when writing the screenplay. The ideas that come
through the religions are brought out through this novel drama,” he
said.
He added that he believes there are spirits around us. “Sil is a hint
to reduce demerits such as jealousy, thefts and murders which lead to
greater conflicts in society. Together with the veteran artists students
I train in the academy are also in the drama,” Aponsu said.
“I thank Hema Nalin Karunaratna and the Swarnavahini Directors for
giving a place for a talented and for good productions,” he added.
Aponsu also handles his academy, which he started five years ago and
he continues to delight people with the famous stage drama ‘Thatu’. “I
don’t take everything together. Sil consist of 100 episodes. Until all
the episodes are over I hold the responsibility and the interest that
was there at the beginning,” he said.
Looking back Aponso says that he is happy with what he has done. “I
am satisfied with what I have done. I love the people around me. I want
to do things that they can feel. I hope to enter the cinema in the
future with a mesmerizing production,” Aponsu said.
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