Sinhala Chitrapata Geethavaliya (1957 - 1961)
(Lyrics of the Sinhala Cinema):
Senior Prof. Sunil Ariyaratne - Ph. D. (Sri Jayawardenapura) Sangit
Visharad (Lucknow), Certificate in Tamil (Madras) Publishers: S.Godage
and Brothers, P.de S.Kularatne Mawatha, Colombo 10 Printers: Piyasiri
Printing Systems, No 21, Sri Soratha Mawatha, Gangodawila, Nugegoda
Pages 476 Price Rs.650
Senior Prof. Sunil Ariyaratne's latest publication. SINHALA
CHITRAPATA GEETHAVALIYA (1957 -1961) (Lyrics of the Sinhala Cinema)
calls for our serious attention as it is perhaps the maiden effort made
by anyone in respect of lineage of Sinhala film songs after 60 years of
the first Sinhala film "Kadawunu Poronduwa".
It is the second volume of the SINHALA CHITRAPATA GEETHAVALIYA. While
this volume contains 450 songs of 53 films screened and songs of
another, which was not screened within the five years period under
review, the first volume contained 427 songs in respect of films
screened during the ten-year period of 1947 to 1956.
The second edition of the first volume was also released on January
21, this year at the launch of the second volume, which covered lyrics
of the Sinhala films screened during that period.
The lyrics found in this book include lyrics written for 39 Sinhala
films, 11 foreign films dubbed in Sinhala, three feature (vurthantha)
films and Jeevithaya, a film produced during the said period but not
screened.
Films
They are in respect of 39 films from "Sirakaruwa" in 1957 to "Wedi
Bima". The foreign films numbering 11 dubbed in Sinhala beginning from
the film "Pathiwatha" to "Mage Putha". "Lay Kandulu", "Wanagatha Kolla"
and "Samajaya" are the three feature films.
The book also contains the songs of the film "Jeevithaya" not
screened during the said period under review. It also give details of
the production, composers of music and lyrics, vocalists artistes and
every other detail, a person keen in knowing in relation to a particular
film, he/she is interested.
Prof. Ariyaratne to my mind is the best person to have undertaken a
task of this nature as he himself claimed to be a sort of addict to
films from his teen years. An added factor to state was the fact that
his family at the time lived very close two cinema-halls `Metro' and
``Queenland'.
In one of his interviews he has admitted that he was led to collect
film songs of the past as he had chosen this area in Sinhala literature
as the theme of his thesis for his doctorate at Sri Jayawardenepura
University.
This collection of songs of the Sinhala films is a gigantic task
taken upon the shoulders of the Prof. Ariyarathne, an area hither to
ignored by many who could have taken the initiative along with the
screening of the very first Sinhala film "Kadawunu Poronduwa" in our
Cinema halls. Songs had and have a great bearing in our life and
culture.
Song and dance is part and parcel of Sri Lanka culture and polity.
This fact was very evident and publishers and printers prone to business
in any field found publishing songs of the films screened a lucrative
business.
The people were drawn to the cinema hall because of the song dance
and music. It was because of the music that accompanied the words led
people to go for a show in their own town or neighbouring town.
They enjoyed the songs more than the films and songs became very
popular as enjoying music and dance is in our blood. Thus there was a
new type of literature developing but not taken note of by anyone was
there until Prof. Ariyarathne laid his hand to unearth and give serious
thought to a research on those which has immensely contributed to
enhance our literature.
He is the most suitable person as he himself is a director of films,
a producer, a lyricist and a scriptwriter who has received national
recognition. He said that from 1970 onwards he began collecting booklets
containing songs as part of his postgraduate studies.
" We are a nation which took no interest in preserving. Anything.
Dr.Lester James Peries requested the governments to take steps to
preserve our films. We do not have a place to preserve negatives and
positives of our films, camera and other equipments, records of songs,
utility items found within studios.
I took interest in this field because it became part of my studies
and I am modest in my pride when I say, I have been able to contribute
something in this respect. But the future will be much more difficult as
we do not see this sort of booklets with songs are sold now being sold.
Anyone willing to step into this area would have to start collecting
songs right now".
Support
In his endeavour in collecting the songs of films screened in the
years gone by, he has had the support of late Jayavilal Wilegoda, one of
best known Sinhala film critic of the time.
Gamini Gunatileke, Siri Abeysekera, L.H. Somadasa Silva and several
others enriched his collection of "Sinhala Chitrapata Gee" and today he
is perhaps the only person who could claim to have such a vast
collection.
There is one other factor that has gone unnoticed and that is that
there were Sinhala film songs lovers who had collected them merely
because they loved to possess them.
Such individual collections in turn have made an impressive and much
valued contribution in strengthening the hands of the Prof. Ariyarathne
in his gigantic work. They too deserve out tribute and appreciation.
It is a pity to note that there were no visionary publishers,
printers of these little booklets to preserve them and it is tragedy to
learn that even the National Archives has no collection of these
booklets.
Although not led with the idea of preserving for the future but to
earn an extra income, the publishers like M.K. Ponnaiapillai published
those little booklets and they should receive our thanks for publishing
them whatever had been their motive. If not for them the present work
would have been more tedious.
We must also be conscious of several film related publications,
periodicals came into open market during the said period which gave
stories in summary form along with lyrics driving the public to go for
such films.
Recognition
We also should give due recognition to the makers of the gramophone
records during that period of time which enabled the public in general
to taste Sinhala film songs at leisure, even if they had not seen the
films. A word of recognition should go to Pradeep Wickremesinghe who had
provided the facility to Prof. Ariyarathne to use his studio of old
records.
Prof. Ariyarathne's work will be a welcome to those who love the
Sinhala film songs of the past.he present generation or those counting
from the second generation might not have seen the films but they would
be able to enjoy the songs of those film they had not seen.
Now that Prof. Ariyarathne has taken the initiative and the efforts
he had put in making his dream of making available a SINHALA CHITRAPATA
GEETHAVALIYA a reality, we must pay him our glowing tribute for making
it an easy task for those coming after him to have an access to any song
or details of ant film shot during the period he has covered in the two
volumes.
The book also gives the reader to evaluate the language used in
composing the songs most of the time to fit into the music and very
specially to suit the movement of the lips of actors and actresses in
the respective foreign films screened here after dubbing in Sinhala.
Most of the films screened during the said period were stories based on
other foreign films and developing them to suit the minds of our
audience here.
Interviews
Prof.Ariyarathne also has explained in details in his interviews the
difficulties he faced collecting, correcting and trying to understand
content of the song sung and came in book form.
It is also a thankless job to go in search of the source as once
printed there could be allegations, complaints and claims on the
authenticity, authorship, copy right or who was the real and actual
creative artist of the song and music. Prof. Ariyarathne has been very
careful and he has strictly followed the admonition given to scribes
"when in doubt leave it out".
Prof. Ariyarathne said that Sinhala language and Sinhala literature
is enriched with songs coming down from the times of stage plays known
as "nurthi", "nadagam" and the theatre. In his book "Gramophone Gee
Yugaya, he says that gramophones records were in a way paved the way for
many vocalists to come to the limelight and adds saying that even our
own National Anthem was a result of that effort.
He was privileged to listen to many songs because they had a
gramophone in their house thanks to his father William Kuruwitabandara
and his elder brother's Tilakarathne Kuruwitabandara's (former Silumina
/Maubima Editor) habit of copying the songs in exercise books and
singing them loud had a great impact on his future life. The question
here is who will preserve the records of the songs of the day, for the
future use, with all the modern and sophisticated technology at hand?
By way of suggestion it would be very appropriate to state here that
our Universities take a clue from this work and include this area in the
university Curriculum as part of the studies of Sinhala, Sinhala Culture
and Sinhala Literature.
The students be encouraged to do research and critically study with
an analytical mind in the respective fields giving preference to Sinhala
poetry, songs, and film songs stressing on the fact that how the lyrics
and poems have enriched our language, its impact on our attitudes and
thinking patterns and their influence to out day to day living.
If our universities fail some foreign university might undertake or
send their students to do research and we can keep on criticizing them
and their work as we used to do in respect other fields.
Wiruma
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