Asai Mang Piyabanna - a film for the youth
Dr. Senarath Tennakoon
 Udayakantha Warnasuriya's Asai Mang Piyambanna adorns the Sinhala
silver screen with its refined digital technology, offering novel and
fresh opportunities of the contemporary lifestyle that sway between
tradition and modernity. The theme is the interplay between tradition
and modernity intermingled with love, ambition and creativity.
The story revolves around a rural beauty (Ranmali) who is talented in
fine arts (mainly dancing). She meets her first love quite accidentally.
The lover happens to be quite rich, but unusually honest and faithful;
although his kith and kin were Argus-eyed over this love affair.
As expected, misunderstandings spring up and Ranmali falls into the
hands of an urban based propagandist of global popular culture. He (Sapumal)
exploits the skills and talents of Ranmali to the fullest. At the same
time, he proposes her to marry him. But in the end, the first love caps
the globe. The plot describes how and why the first love held the
trumps.
Right from the commencement until halfway, the first love begins to
deepen its roots in the unpolluted natural rural environment. Songs and
dances couple with congenial speech events and conversations between the
first lovers.
The sweeping landscapes studded with bluish hilly ranges and
wriggling rivulets in a lushly fertile background, keep the audience as
if being mesmerised in a serine and pristine Utopian world.
The enthralling shots and scenes of photography, the musical
accompaniments, the songs and dances entwine the moods of the audience
into a rapture. After the intermission, there is an abrupt and dramatic
change in the tempo and rhythm of this film. Life becomes competitive
and fast moving; and indeed noisy too.
 The gripping nature of cross-cultural artistic performances
mercilessly discard the cultural and traditional splendour of music,
song and dance. The audience begins to feel the effects of globalisation.
Everything is open ended and stylish in expression.
The costumes, the speech and human dealings appear to be brightly
painted with fast colours. Ranmali becomes Maleesha and her popular
culture trainer exploits her talents beyond rock and pop. The audience
could identify icons and images of popular culture.
Sapumal, the propagandist with his overenthusiastic lifestyle, rapid
communication approach and indeed his queer attire is an icon as well as
an image of modernity or post-modernism.
Sanath Gunatilleke as Sapumal dominates the entire film after the
intermission and the audience could identify a popular image of
masculinity (Rambo type) - an ultra-machismo. The fast moving music and
dance (rock/pop and beyond) are heterogeneous with many genres and
several performances.
Puja Umashanker excels and shines in her dancing performances
throughout the film, in particular, after the intermission. The brisk
and rhythmic body movements and facial gestures of Puja are quite
illuminating and innovative.
Roshan Ranawana, though handsome indeed, plays a very limited role as
the lover of Ranmali. Udayakantha has focused his concern more on Sanath
than on Roshan.
The audience would not identify Roshan as a supporter of popular
culture. Rohana Weerasingha, Bhathiya Santhush, Navaratna Gamage, Mahesh
Dehipitiya in music and Uresha Ravihari and Amila Perera in vocal
expression add imagery and metaphor to Udayakantha's creation.
The vivid and various exotic costumes for the dancing performances of
Puja and others plus the art direction and production management have
been the supporting levers for the success of this film.
Finally, one would question of the reality of this film. Does it fall
within the confines of myth and/or fantasy? Sapumal who is about to
marry Maleesha, drops the idea at the last moment and hands her to her
first love! What a surprise! This is perhaps the weakest point in the
text of this film. But this unusual act paves way for a sweet and happy
ending.
From a psychological approach, can the audience identify anyone of
them represented in this cinematic creation?
Cinematic experience consists of many identifications. Perhaps some
adolescents and young folk would find their mirror images of themselves
in Udayakantha's cinematic creation.
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