Nildiya Yahana
Social issues deep rooted in still waters :
Reviewed by Sachitra Mahendra and Ruwini Jayawardana
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Saranga and Chathurika in a scene from the movie
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Dayaratne Ratagedara’s maiden movie Nildiya Yahana is aptly called
‘The Deep Blue Sleep’ for its modern touch on the local Romeo-Juliet
legend.
The talented young Saranga Dissasekara, who had made an impact on
teledrama viewers, enters the reel along side the energetic Chathurika
Peries who had transformed her role of the outspoken girl into the
modest, yet charming character of Shehara. Her real life beau, Roshan
Pilapitiya, has taken up the backseat role of her villainous brother
which he portrays to effect.
The film relates the moving love story of two teenagers, Shanuka and
Shehara. It unfolds with a scene where Shanuka sends a text message to
his ladylove. This scene with a modern backdrop brings in fresh emotions
to viewers who are drained of the bygone era of romancing around trees.
The romance is fuelled through correspondence over mobile telephones
and the Internet, a welcome shift from the traditional love story
projected on reel.
As usual, the star-crossed lovers do not have a carefree path to
tread. They come across many hurdles on their route. Shehara is the
daughter of a business magnate, Jayawardana, who is well-armoured with
underworld mafia. Shanuka’s father, Mayadunne, is an outspoken media
personality who risks his life to unmask Jayawardana’s black dealings, a
sufficient basis for both parties to be arch rivals.
The romantic flow of the tale comes to a finale when Shehara’s
brother, Manoj, exposes the Shanuka-Shehara relationship to his father.
Ratagedara and script writer Dileepa Jayakody are fond of following a
detective style in handling the rest of the scenes, especially when
Manoj sneaks into his sister’s intimate affairs and schemes against her
boyfriend.
These incidents take place in a technology background and evoke irony
as well as enchantment as Shakespeare’s Romeo in Baz Luhrmann’s
‘Romeo+Juliet’ portrayed Leonardo DiCaprio handling a pistol.
Surrealism is a technique well loved by many literati as well as
movie legends. The system stirs the mind, triggering their curiosity.
Jerry Zucker uses this mode to effect in his movie ‘Ghost’. Similarly
Ratagedara induces suspension through the scenes in which Shanuka
frequents Shehara’s well guarded bedroom. This baffles her parents as
well as the viewers who have no clue of Shanuka’s fate: whether he was
actually killed or escaped death.
However surrealism should be dealt tactfully maintaining the
coherence of the plot. In this light the script is bang on target in its
detective style surrealism without wandering astray. The closing scenes
of the lovers pedalling a boat on the Kandalama tank remains a mystery
as well as a normalcy leaving something for the viewer to chew upon.
The script explores intimate bonds between parents, colleagues and
the youths of today. Young adults have become more independent and plan
ahead under the tide of social change. Shanuka and Shehara seriously
contemplating a future together spend a good deal of their time trying
to overcome the hurdles.
There are also a few instances when Nildiya Yahana loses its
credibility balance. Shanuka is dragged away from an Internet café and
forced into a vehicle while Shehara’s brother slips into his seat and
picks up his conversation with Shehara.
One can only have doubts whether a real-life café in-charge would
ever let anything of that ilk happen. Shanuka’s father is portrayed as a
brilliant investigative journalist with unsurpassed bravery, who has his
profession before family, but these credentials are more confined to the
words of his fiends and friends.
Following the son’s disappearance, he is plunged into the sunken
spirits. His character should have been developed a little more for it
is rich with materials for the plot’s development.
The combination of young blood and major stars had no doubt paid off
as the movie dishes out a notable amount of drama to the tale. Seasoned
campaigners like Tony Ranasinghe, Sanath Gunatilaka, Chandani
Seneviratne, Damayanthi Fonseka, Menike Attanayake and Daya Alwis along
with Minister Dilan Perera and young actor Manjula Moragaha in
significant roles add depth to the plot.
It would have been more appropriate if the director had teamed his
actors with care as we see glaring age differences between Damayanthi
Fonseka and Saranga and at times between the lead pair.
The newly introduced youth to cinema, Saranga shows a lot of promise
but there are a couple of scenes when he seems ill at ease. Dilan Perera,
on the other hand, performs his character with a natural flair.
Ratagedara manipulates the detective flavour of the concluding scenes
with a local touch. When Shehara’s body is discovered on the bottom of
the Kandalama tank along with Shanuka’s body, the camera skillfully
shifts into close-ups of the girl’s parents. Shehara’s father who seemed
indifferent to Shehera’s friends’ deaths grieves the loss of his own
child.
Tony Ranasinghe’s facial expressions build up pathos in such a
sublime way that we almost forget his previous cruelty and feel some
degree of sympathy for him.
Shot in a number of picturesque locations in the city, Dambulla and
Nuwara Eliya, the film also sets the benchmark for Donald Karunaratne’s
comeback to cinema. Some scenes in the theme songs are especially unique
as they add colour and liveliness to the tale.
Ratagedara should be commended for his maiden effort for shedding
light on a number of social issues which are deep rooted in the society.
These social cankers lie hidden beneath the depths of our social
folds, rooted as deep as the waters of the Kandalama tank: the final
destination which brings a sense of justice to the tale. |
