Alien invasion!
Chamara Peiris' Ayal set to take flight on the mini
screen:
Ruwini JAYAWARDANA
Former Deputy Chief Administrative Officer of ANCL, son of seasoned
journalist Janadasa Peiris and the current Head of Photo and Graphics
Department, Chamara Janaraj Mihirendra Peiris turned a new page in his
life when he took to directing a tele creation. Titled Ayal, the
25-episode teledrama became the first local production to encompass the
latest HD video technology combined with steady cam facility.
Work in the teledrama is now complete and is all set to take off on
the mini screen. A special preview of the creation took shape last week
where Peiris gave a glimpse
|
Scenes from Ayal |
of what will be unfolding. It looked promising indeed as the tale
flowed on a different pace and will no doubt be a new experience to
television viewers who had been used to monotonous stories based on
youth romance and set in family backdrops.
Peiris' teledrama plays upon a mystery and manages to evoke the
curiosity of the viewers. Though the story deals with alien beings, its
uniqueness is derived from the absence of the 'alien' mentality which
accompanies flying saucers and unusual beings with supernatural powers.
A stranger appears to watch a dance rehearsal at the university and
soon forms a friendship with a young dancer. Noting that he is new to
the area, she soon takes him under her wing and introduces him to her
friends. However it does not take her long to realize that he is someone
out of the ordinary. He possesses strange ideas and habits which not
only intrigues her but also manages to arouse her interest. What starts
off as a friendship forms into a strong bondage of devotion and trust.
Though she stumbles upon many strange facts, her love for him forces her
to turn a blind eye and a deaf ear on them. However not everybody is
able to ignore Ayal's strange habits and soon his good intentions catch
the limelight and puts him in a situation which could lead him to great
danger.
Interestingly the cast comprises of nearly 150 characters. Pradeep
Dharmadasa and Himali Siriwardena take on the lead roles backed by
Hemasiri Liyanage, Grace Ariya Wimal, Miyuri Samarasinghe, Yureni
Noshika, Manohari Wimalathunge, Ferny Roshini, Dr Lakshman Fernando,
Sudharshana Bandara, Dhanushke Nilaweera, Chinthake Vaas, Inoka Perera,
Vishwa Sankalpa, Sandani Sulakna and others. Ayal was shot in 44
locations in the countries including areas like Anuradhapura, Mathale,
Colombo and Colombo suburbs.
"I have used the knowledge I obtained from the research I carried out
in my thesis of MSc in Landscape Design at the University of Moratuwa,
'Landscaping of Ancient Anuradhapura. Is there any Alien Influence?'
Data taken from various publications revolving around extraterrestrial
experience also came in handy when designing the plot," Chamara opined
on his maiden teledrama. He also penned the dialogs and script of the
creation.
The past pupil of Royal College had take up science for his Advanced
Level examination but had always shown an interest towards supernatural
forces. Though he was chosen to pursue Bio Science, the security of the
country during the late 1980s turned his course of life towards another
stream. He flew to Russia on a scholarship for further studies in the
field of architecture while teaming up with ANCL and SLBC as the Moscow
correspondent for the two media networks.
Pradeep Bulathsihghala is the cameramen, Kumara Pannilage is the
assistant director, Aruna Thilakarathne is the second assistant director
and Mangala Fernando is the art director. The editor is Lakruwan de
Serem. Raja Ranasinghe is the production manager of the project while
Ravihans Watakepotha of the HansRock Music Group, handled the music
scores.
Jayantha Karunasekara choreographed the dance items and Nadini
Premadasa rendered her voice for the background vocals to the lyrics
penned by Thushani Bulumulla. Ayal is produced by Chandraratne Kaldera
and C. Michael on behalf of Pix & Words (Pvt) Ltd.
It will begin telecasting on ITN on Saturdays and Sundays from
November 15. |
