Yal Devi to reunite the North and South
Yal Devi, a timely production reflecting the positive current
situation in Sri Lanka, is the first Sri Lankan movie made in USA and
made available for public screening.
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Yal Devi (the ‘Queen of Jaffna’) |
The movie was shot in Los Angeles, covering Malibu beach, Hollywood,
Ventura and San Diego area.
With two original songs, one in Sinhala and the other a Tamil duet,
along with Sunil Edirisinghe’s Aney Yal Devi track, the 150 minute movie
stars a mixture of professionals and novices, Sinhala and Tamil along
with two Americans.
Yal Devi is an attempt to give a balance view on the ethnic conflict
in the country while bringing out activities of the LTTE in a
significant manner.
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‘Yal Devi (the
‘Queen of Jaffna’), that used to connect the Northern and
Southern cities of Sri Lanka is to run her full journey after
becoming a victim of a bomb blast carried out by the LTTE’
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Conscription of child soldiers, fund raising activities within Tamil
diaspora, and manipulation of Westerners to their benefit run along with
the plot. The story also touches upon the aspect of how a temple can be
a saviour to the expatriate community in USA.
The story in short:
The train, Yal Devi (the ‘Queen of Jaffna’), that used to connect the
Northern and Southern cities of Sri Lanka is to run her full journey
after becoming a victim of a bomb blast carried out by the LTTE (one of
the most ruthless terrorist groups in the world fighting for an
independent Tamil Homeland within Sri Lanka).
The origin of the ethnic conflict had spilled over to those settled
in Los Angeles. Manoj, a Sinhala youth fell in love with a Tamil girl
named Savithri.
Savithri’s family had settled in the US after escaping from the
Sinhala-Tamil riots which had disastrous effects on the community in Sri
Lanka in July 1983.
The initial sympathy extended towards the LTTE by Savithri’s father,
Yoga, eventually became an economic drain for the family. However Yoga,
who still holds a grudge against the Sinhalese tries to manipulate the
local LTTE supporters to break the relationship between Manoj and
Savithri.
Most importantly, taking the story as a metaphor for the overall
peace in Sri Lanka, will there be an opportunity for Yal Devi to speed
along the rocky mountains and valley to reunite the North and the South
again?
- PR |
