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Random Muse:
Karuvala Gedara and the critic
Sachitra Mahendra
Sahurda Sanhinda Association had their maiden literary convention
recently. They focused their first assembly on the televised version of
Martin Wickramasinghe’s Karuvala Gedara, which recently completed their
air time.
I was listening to Prof. Kusuma Karunaratne commenting that the
direction came out well, though the novel is lesser known and not a
masterpiece in the least. Its director Sudath Rohana said he was quite
fascinated by the plot which is primarily woven around polygamy.
The term I have used here should not be taken in the modern context,
as it was a traditional custom. I went back to a certain review, which
lambasted the teledrama. Then I remembered a conversation taking place
between two senior filmmakers on that particular review.
I do not mention the names of the filmmakers and the reviewer on
ethical grounds. One of the directors however had a soft corner for the
reviewer saying that he should have levelled his review on what he was
shown.
“Do you think, you can review a film just by watching its trailer? In
my case, I would not dare to do so.” “The teledrama director should have
shown the best clips from the whole teledrama to give an idea of the
teledrama.”
Besides, the other filmmakers made it a point saying that the film
was not a masterpiece of Martin Wickramasinghe, with which the other
agreed as well. What he meant was that Karuvala Gedara has plot
materials that need further development. When it comes to reviews, it
often happens.
This is why films always have a press show in advance of the public
screening to have pre-publicity. This pre-publicity is meant to have a
good image. If the film or teledrama is not up to the standard, then the
critic or the reviewer should have the ethical or sympathetic
responsibility not to expose his personal feelings.
We have to think about the creation first and let the spectator view
it for a while, and then come out with our ideas - only if the work is
not good.
As a famous critic said, the critic is just like the fly on the
horse. They need to keep on biting the back of the artiste. Critics,
though they are not supposed to do so, are always fond of wreaking havoc
in artiste’s lives.
I have read other reviews by the particular critic and found some of
them interesting. When it comes to Karuvala Gedara, I think, the critic
should have been decent and patient enough to keep quiet for a while.
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