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A better cinema for the future
Sinhala cinema marks 62nd anniversary on Wednesday:
Ruwini JAYAWARDANA
Sixty-two years in Sinhala cinema is a paramount achievement. The
first Sinhala talkie Kadawunu Poronduwa was screened on a day like
today, dating back to the early twenties.
As the years swept by an uncountable number of individuals
contributed to nurture the industry and develop its path. Many memorable
creations were added to the list of highly appreciated works of art.
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Consultant of the National Film Corporation T.M. Sangadasa |
It is their enthusiasm, commitment and dedication which had
contributed to the survival of the industry and brought it on a long
journey of 62 years. Taking this aspect to note the Daily News spoke to
the consultant of the National Film Corporation, T.M. Sangadasa, on the
corporation’s upcoming plans for 2009.
“We have plans to establish DTS cinema halls and 20 mini cinema halls
island-wide. We have noted that people tend to visit well furbished
theatres and we hope to upgrade the facilities of the present halls so
that people are lured to come to see movies.
If the halls are well equipped, crowd will pour in. We also hope to
open a cinema hall at the first floor of a building at the main bus
station in Pettah,” he said adding that he and NFC chairman Jayantha
Dharmadasa have attended around 30 film muhurath ceremonies the past
year.
“That is a good sign that the film industry is picking up again. The
President has given his full support in developing the industry by
giving a lot of assistance and encouragement. The NFC too assists
filmmakers to cooperate with the media and in technical matters like
getting studio assistance and loans. A special panel chooses the movies
that we hope to back up after going through the scripts and speaking
with the filmmakers,” he stated.
According to Sangadasa the one of the main aims of NFC is to protect
the producers who are enthusiastic about churning out good creations.
They have also organised a series of programs for school children to
take an interest in cinema. The student will attend a series of
workshops and will be presented with a valuable certificate.
“A large number of producers, cinema owners, film distributors and
directors have flocked around the NFC today because they have faith in
the chairman’s service to the industry. He is dedicated and well versed
in the sector and knows how to deals with issues that arise in the
field,” he related speaking about NFC chairman Jayantha Dharmadasa’s
service.
Speaking on their plans for the 62nd anniversary of Sinhale cinema,
Sangadasa said that a special screening of one and a half hour program
focused on the milestones in the history of Sinhala cinema, compiled by
Tissa Nagodawithana will be held at the NFC cinema on January 21 at 5
p.m.
The event promises to be an evening filled with glamour and
reminisces as all those who had contributed to the upheaval of the
industry are invited to take part in this function. “In addition we also
assist filmmakers to bring their creations to the global market.”
Ran Kevita 2 nearing completion
Ruwini JAYAWARDANA
Shooting of the second chapter of Udayakantha Warnasuriya’s highly
successful children’s film, Ran Kevita, is nearing completion. The film
shot in different locations in Colombo is produced on behalf of
Millennium Entertainment by Ranjith Jayasuriya, Dilman Jayaratne,
Janitha Marasinghe and and Udayakantha Warnasuriya. The movie is shot by
using one of the latest technologies - a digital red camera.
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Director Udayakantha with Nishan and Harith |
Warnasuriya who had won accolades for successful hits like Gini Avi
Saha Gini Keli, Mahamera Usata, Rajya Sevaya Pinisai, Yakada Pihatu,
Bahu Barya and 2007’s box-office movie Aasai Mang Piyabanna, says that
with Ran Kevita 2 many surprises are in store for the audience.
Suran and Janith, the two friends engaged in an exciting adventure to
rob the golden cane from the Gopalu Yakka, the devil possessed cattle in
Ran Kevita, return with a whole new venture in the second part of the
series.
On their latest adventure, the boys along with a new friend named
Gopalu who turns out to be quite a mystery character. A secret formula
applied on one’s eyes reveals that he is actually a devil in disguise of
a human. A chain of incidents follows each other when this secret is
uncovered.
The cast is led by child actors Nisham Samsudeen and Harith
Samarasinghe along with key players like Ananda Wickramage, Susantha
Candramali and Bennet Ratnayake. Saman Hemaratne, Sangeetha Basnayake,
Damitha Saluwadana, Asela Jayakody, Don Guy and Janesh Silva also
contribute to the movie which is scripted by Udayakantha Warnasuriya.
The camera and editing are by Praveen Jayaratne, music by Mahesh
Denipitiya, the lyrics are by Nandana Wickramage, art direction by
Manjula Ayagama and the assistant director is Donald Jayantha.
The costumes are by Shantha Warnasuriya while Asoka Ariyaratne is the
production executive, The 3D dimention is by Thilanga Perera. Ran Kevita
2 is expected to be released towards May.
Picture by Malan Karunaratne
2009 Golden Globe Winners
The winners of the 66th Annual Golden Globe Awards, the precursor to
the Oscars, were announced an extravagant ceremony held at The Beverly
Hilton hotel in Beverly Hills recently. ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ took the
top prize as Best Drama as well as clinched awards for Best Director,
Best Screenplay, and Best Original Score. The following are a list of
those which top scored at the gala ceremony.
Slumdog Millionaire
Mickey Rourke - The Wrestler
Kate Winslet - Revolutionary Road
Vicky Cristina Barcelona
(musical or comedy)
Colin Farrell - In Bruges
(musical or comedy)
Sally Hawkins - Happy-Go-Lucky
Waltz with Bashir
Wall-E
Heath Ledger - The Dark Knight
Kate Winslet - The Reader
Danny Boyle - Slumdog Millionaire
Simon Beaufoy - Slumdog Millionaire
A.R. Rahman - Slumdog Millionaire
‘The Wrestler’
by Bruce Springsteen - The Wrestler
Are these results an indication of what’s going to happen at the
Oscars in February? Last year they really had no impact on the Academy’s
choices, so it’s doubtful if it’ll be any different this year.
India’s A. R. Rahman wins Golden
Globe
India’s talented musician A. R. Rahman has taken a giant stride
forward as he won the prestigious Golden Globe award in the Best
Original Background Score category for the film ‘Slumdog Millionaire’.
It was a moment to cherish for A. R. Rahman and all his fans when the
hosts at the 66th Golden Globe Awards announced his name as the winner.
A moment that told the world that Indian talent was well on its way in
making its presence felt globally.
The man Time magazine called ‘Mozart of Madras’ shook hands with many
as he went on to the stage to collect the award.
The first word that came out of Rahman was ‘Unbelievable’ followed by
a chuckle. He pulled out a piece of paper from his pocket as he said he
had a long list although he though he wouldn’t win.
Rahman thanked Almighty God for the award. His thank you list also
had Danny Boyle, Fox Pictures and all his musicians in Chennai and
Mumbai. Rahman thanked the billion people from India who were looking
forward to his winning the award.
Warner makes Bollywood debut with kung fu
British director Danny Boyle’s Indian foray paid off with the
award-winning film “Slumdog Millionaire” and now Warner Bros. Pictures
hopes its debut Bollywood film will reap some U.S. box office success.
 Billed
as the first ever Bollywood kung fu comedy, “Chandni Chowk to China”
opens on Friday in India and on more than 125 screens in the United
States and Canada — the largest Bollywood release in North America, says
Time Warner Inc’s Warner Bros.
“Chandni Chowk to China,” starring veteran Bollywood star Akshay
Kumar who has made more than 120 films, tells the tale of a poor cook
who travels to China to become a kung fu hero. The film, whose title
refers to the bustling Chandni Chowk market of Delhi, is the studio’s
first Indian production.
“There have been lots of Bollywood films in the past which had have
the potential of crossing over, but could not cross over mainly because
they did not have a studio backing it with a strong distribution
network,” said director Nikhil Advani.
“If this one succeeds, even if it marginally succeeds ... I think
there will be a wave of more Bollywood films,” he told Reuters in a
recent interview.
Bollywood, as the Indian film industry centered in Mumbai is called,
churns out about 1,000 movies a year and is known for its colorful sets,
extravagant costumes and elaborate song-and-dance sequences.
The new film, which Kumar said cost about $8 million, is also being
released in 30 other countries, but Richard Fox, executive vice
president Warner Bros international, said the studio doesn’t have grand
expectations.
“This one, we think, will play broadly, but to the Indian diaspora.
We’re not fooling ourselves,” Fox told Reuters. “Our film is totally in
Hindi, so we’re going in especially in a market like this (in the United
States), in the U.K., in Australia. Our audiences here don’t like
subtitled movies so we’re going in with a handicap right away,” he said.
NO ‘SLUMDOG’ BOOST
Advani and Fox said Fox Searchlight’s Golden Globe Award winning
“Slumdog Millionaire” — the story of a boy searching for love on a quiz
show which pays tribute to Bollywood with a dance number — is not
expected to boost to their film.
“It’s great that they’re both in the marketplace because one is a
pure Bollywood film and the other one is a really brilliant film that
takes place in India, in Mumbai. They complement each other,” Fox said.
Advani, who met Boyle when they were filming their movies on sound
stages next to each other in Mumbai, said that while Bollywood is
attracting more international directors it would be difficult for
foreign directors to make a Bollywood film.
“It’s very important for you to be able to understand the Indian
culture for you to be able to make a Bollywood film,” he said. “People
will be a little shocked when they see the film for the first time ...
by the kind of in-your-face emotions, whether its comedy or heroes
crying. You have to get used to watching a Bollywood film.”
REUTERS
Spotlighting on International Films
K S SIVAKUMARAN
Crossing the Bridge: the Sound of Istanbul (Fatih Akin -
Germany-Turkey)
I love music of all kind - eastern and western. Some of the films I
thoroughly enjoyed had music as their veins. One such film had English,
German and Turkish dialogues and commentary.
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A scene from ‘Dreams of Dust’ |
The film starts with music makers in the capital of Turkey -Istanbul.
This mysterious capital is a bridge between the east and the west.
The Turks are Europeans but their culture eastern at the roots. It’s
difficult for me to describe the music as a music critic would do,
partly because among numerous films I saw one after the other I couldn’t
remember all in full detail particularly when you saw the film only
once. In this film it was the music that fascinated me. What wonderful
treatment of varied music that the instruments could produce.
However the story went something like this:
“Alexander Hacke is a musicologist and a traveller. He records his
experiences and participates in the musical compositions within
Istanbul.
The film is really an aural and visual document to relish. Music
lovers would enjoy the contemporary electronic music - psyche rock,
hip-hop and Arabian music. The repertoire included Persian, Egyptian and
most of all the music of the Kurds.
Dreams of Dust (Laurent Salgues -Burkino Faso-France-Canada).
This is a French speaking film. Moktar is a Nigerian. He lost his
youngest daughter. To forget her memory he goes to Burkano to work in a
gold mine.
But the Gold Rush is no more and yet people are hopeful that they
could get gold.
But it is a wasteland. The people are very poor.
They have nothing to exist. It is the dire living that exposes the
hard life of such people to us who are lucky to live in this part of the
world, especially in Lanka. There is no story although there are three
men and two women and the child of one of them.
But the director and the cinematographer captures the subtle nuances
of the playing in an aesthetic manner Farewell Gulsary (Ardak Amirkulov
-Kazakstan) The story of this film is based on a novel by Chingiz
Aitmatov. Gulsary is the name of the horse of a Shepard and horseman.
The story happens in the 1950s in Soviet Kazakhstan. Stalin’s
collectivisation of agriculture is critically exposed in the film.
There is waste all round: destruction of humans, materials and
psychological upsets.
What I felt in the film was that the main character revolts against
the imposed conditions of the totalitarian system.
I sat through the film to know some aspects of the soviet period in
history.
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