Remembering Gamini

The 72nd birth anniversary of the film legend falls on March 21:

Ruwini Jayawardana

The 72nd birth anniversary of the late veteran film actor, director and lyricist, Gamini Fonseka, falls on Friday. He was the undisputed hero of the wide screen during the golden era of Sinhala cinema and had breathed life into many memorable roles.

Born Sembuge Gamini Shelton Fonseka in 1936 he schooled at S. Thomas’ College, Mount Lavinia. He made his entrance to cinema as a technical assistant in Dr. Lester James Peries’ Rekhawa in 1955. It did not take long for the spotlight to fall on this enthusiastic youth.

He faced the camera for the first time in David Lean’s Oscar winning creation “The Bridge on the River Kwai” and then went on to act in S.K. Oja’s Daiva Yogaya.

However it was his third film that carved his destiny. His portrayal of the second lead in Dr. Lester James Peries’ Sandeshaya took him to unimaginable heights.

A star was born and with many offers flooding his path the legend rolled on. He ruled the 1960s and 70s playing many lead roles in box office hits and starred in the first Sinhala colour film Ranmuthuduwa. Fonseka clinched the inaugural Sarasaviya Best actor award for his performance as Jinadasa in Lester’s Gamperaliya and bagged several awards for best actor and most popular actor.

His first film direction was Parasathumal in 1966 and then he followed it up with creations like Sagarayak Mada, Uthumaneni, Sakwithi Suwaya, Koti Waligaya and Mayurige Kathawa.

The award-winning star then turned to politics, contested for the Matara electorate on the UNP ticket in 1989 and acquired around 19,618 preferential votes, the highest in the district.

He was appointed as deputy speaker and later in 1995 he became Governor of the North Eastern province under the PA Government.

Fonseka had also contributed to stage plays like “Julius Caesar”, “My Fair Lady”, Sudo Sudu and teledramas like D.B. Nihalsinghe’s Sudu Saha Kalu. Gamini penned some popular lyrics like Ahimi Unath Numba Lande and Bambarindu Bambarindu. His last film Anthima Reya was also his last direction.

More than three years had passed since the demise of Gamini Fonseka but his contributions are still fresh in the minds of moviegoers, making him the true “Emperor of Sinhalese cinema” till date.

Aadara Meena debuts at Ritz

Aadara Meena, the film directed and scripted by Keerthi Bandara is screening at Ritz cinema, Borella, and other theatres of the National Film Corporation’s Ritma circuit.

The film portrays a tale stressing the importance of ethnic harmony between Sinhala and Tamil parties in the island. These issues are projected through a love story bridged between a Tamil lass (Meena) and a Sinhala boy (Roshan).

Nilanthi Dias and Roshan Pilapitiya play the two lead roles. Shriyani Amarasena, Cletus Mendis, Baptist Fernando, Douglas Ranasinghe, Geetha Kanthi Jayakody, Keerthi Bandara, Nilanthi Heendeniya, Ananda Weerasinghe, Sarath de Silva, K.D. Chandraratne, Kamalsiri Perera, Ruwan Amarasekara, Kumudu Palitha Jayaweera, Madu Niroshani, Renuka Damayanthi, Asha Udayangani, Hemaka Bandara, Suranga Nilushiya, Prasadi de Mel, Sandya Subashini, Prasadi Apsara Jayani and others have also taken part.

The cameraman is Yapa Bandara Kularatne while Tilakaratne Liyanage is the assistant director.

Asela Indralal is the music director, Hemasiri Halpita, Malar Ranban and Asela Indralal had penned the lyrics and Damitha Abeyratne and Kalawathi had contributed in vocals. Sarath de Silva was the fight director, Tharaka Adikari was the make up artist, Donald Mapalagama was the art director, Sham Navas and Nilanthi Dias had been in charge of the choreography.

Kamalasiri Perera had been in charge of the still photographs. Ranil Hapuarachchi was the editor while Ruwan Amarasekara is the production executive for Aadara Meena.

The movie is the maiden production of Saddatissa Kaldera. – RJ

La Ceremonie

A well-constructed French film:

K.S. SIVAKUMARAN

La Ceremonie (The Ceremony), a remarkable film ideally constructed in terms of the grammar of cinema by a Frenchman, Claude Chabrol, some 14 years ago, typifying the trends of film making in that period, was one of the films included in Bonjour Cinema 2008 held at the BMICH. I liked the film because the director had presented the story in an intelligible and entertaining way despite including serious statements.

The film appealed to me in several ways as it is intimated in a structured manner unfolding its several layers. I shall briefly list them for your enjoyment in a moment.

The film features some outstanding actors in the international cinema: Isabelle Huppert, Sandrine Bonnaire, Jaqueline Bisset, Virginnie Ledoyen and Jean- Pierre Cassel. In fact the film involves four women each with a different personality.

One is an eccentric postal worker whose child had died due to an accident and while another is a maid who had also lost her child due to a fire. Both are middle-aged women from the proletariat. There are two others: a model of yore and her stepdaughter, both belonging to the bourgeoisie.

In one sense the film portrays the vendetta of the frustrated and underprivileged women against the upper class family that takes life at ease with its own private affairs and a mindset of dominance.

Most critics in the orient consider the story value, as the primary requirement of a good film but in the west, the form and presentation in cinematic language is essential too.

Giving the director the liberty to present his film in his own point of view or perspective, we can also interpret the film as we read it, but of course taking into consideration the period in which the film was made.

The establishment shot and the immediate subsequent frame foretells the inherent outcome of the story. The conversation between and among the participants in this drama is both refined and colloquial. Silence at some places in the film contributes to the accentuation movement of the images in the film.

Apart from the visual images deliberately and functionally constructed (since this is a column of short length I may not give examples in detail and then explain), the strength of the film lies in the characterisation of the protagonists and the antagonists.

The ironies and paradoxes that come over in the film within the confines of space in it and the subtle message translated in implicit transference make the viewer to think about the film even after its natural end.

La Ceremonie begins ordinarily (for an uninitiated film buff) and climaxes with unexpected divine justice as if to give a spiritual interpretation of the whole design of the film’s structure.

The film is a conglomeration of many concepts such as sociological, cultural, Marxian, hypocritical, satirical, realistic, spiritual, feminist and the like.

In a full-fledged analytical criticism, I could justify perhaps, my contention and understanding of this film giving examples of the striking images in the film for the viewer’s understanding of good cinema.

Readers of my two columns in this newspaper must have read my short notes on another outstanding film included in the festival “4 Months, 3 Weeks, and 2 Days”.

Jean Philippe Tesse who writes for the French highbrow film journal Cahiers du Cinema was very helpful to film personalities and us journalists during the four days preceding Bonjour Cinema. Dr. Tissa Abeysekera, Sanath Gunathilake and other notable cineastes were among the participants at the workshop.

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‘Robot’ back on track

The pooja of the mega movie ‘Robot’ bringing together Shankar and Rajnikanth will be held around April 14 and the movie will go to the floors by May.

Though the unexpected demise of writer Sujatha, who was working with ‘Robot’ team, had shocked the entire team, the film will soon be kick started. Since Sujatha is one of the few Tamil writers, who are well versed in scientific matters, it would be a challenging task for the director to find a suitable person to write the dialogues for the science fiction movie. It is expected that Rajini would finish his portions in Kuselan before taking on ‘Robot’.

Cine Directory 2008

The 2008 version of annual Cine Directory presented by the National Film Corporation is available at its premises. The directory provides information required for any individuals or organisations involved in the fields of film and media.