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Random Muse:
Long live Sinhala Cinema!
Sachitra MAHENDRA
It was a classic eve for movie buffs on January 21 to look on
National Film Corporation celebrate the local cinema's 62nd birthday.
Tissa Nagodawithana's documentary of old classics ranging from 1947 to
1968 deserves a good word of gratitude.
62 years does not mean a long journey for the local cinema - only if
it gets closer to a century. We must neither lament about what is not
done nor keep on blowing any trumpet on what has been done over the past
six decades or so. For me, the evening in full swing gave a hint of
something missing. For some reason, IMDB came to my head abruptly. IMDB
or Internet Movie DataBase is termed as Earth's biggest movie database.
It's not an exaggeration to say so, since it offers a comprehensive
record on any hollywood movies and many Bollywood and films from other
parts of the world, and a very small number of local movies - well,
let's come to it in a little while.
Have a good data-feed of Sinhala cinema into IMDB is, of course,
easier said than done; IMDB structure is so complicated and outweighs
the printed encyclopedia in keeping abreast of rapidly moving cinema.
Inch by inch, I realized three things:
1. Even the smaller number of Sri Lankan films in IMDB do not have
proper information.
2. Sri Lanka does not have a comprehensive website for information on
any film.
3. Sri Lanka does not have an updated encyclopedia, except for the
single-handed volume compiled by Nuwan Nayanajith published a few years
ago.
What we see in either IMDB or Oxford encyclopedia of Cinema is a
collective effort, which is actually a luxury in Sri Lankan arts scene.
Why do I always see this dearth in our country compared with that of the
British and other foreign countries? What I hate most is spitting
upwards. But for some reason, we cannot have that collective effort path
on which the British and even India tread fearless. Is it an attitudinal
issue, because we have that 'good habit' of scapegoating? When it comes
to cinema, we all pass the bucket to the National Film Corporation, and
then ultimately the Cultural ministry. And these high institutions have
to bear the cross alone. It's good of Nuwan Nayanajith to have compiled
an encyclopedia. But he did it single-handed, hence he cannot keep up
with it. It should rather be a teamwork.
The Cultural ministry and National Film Corporation do what they can
in their capacity. I only wish if someone with authority could raise
this issue in high seats and put it into action. A website with a
comprehensive index of Sinhala films is a good investment for the
posterity. And Cultural Ministry and National Film Corporation will be
inscribed for their pioneering.
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