Sudu Hansi:

Reflecting the ‘image’ of Colombo society

Dulshani GUNAWARDENA

A film is more or less a narrative. A narrative becomes art when it tells a tale. Sudu Hansi is a narrative but where is the tale? I find the raw plot interesting, but the manner it was executed barely touched my heart.

Talking of ‘plots’, this is a steamy one: A Love Quadrangle!

Love triangles are interesting (as long as you are not the victim or the ‘middle-man’), but love quadrangles? Now what could be more lucrative?

Such is the case of Anjana(Arjun Kamalanath), a simple village lad. He is overwhelmed by the love (or rather lust) of not one, nor two, but three women!

Each woman possess a different character and holds different implications for Anjana, weaving with it a love story so tragic, so colourful that it fails to bring any tears.

The Story

Anjana is in seventh heaven when he is offered a job in the city. He is eager to start work as a driver of the wealthy Ransiris. His only regret is to bid farewell to his pretty and charming sweetheart Wathsala (Muthu Tharanga).

The Ransiri household is led by Mrs.Ransiri (Semini Iddamalgoda), a fading yet not-so-old beauty: a strong and independent businesswoman. Mr. Ransiri (Neil Alles) is the much older husband, a heavy drinker, now completely paralyzed. Amisha Kavindi is the daughter, Maleesha, brimming with youth. Then there is Anjana’s mentor, the devoted and seasoned maid Malee (Dilani Nikahetiya).

Mrs. Ransiri, ever the firm businesswoman, undergoes a change of heart in the matter of regarding Anjana as a mere servant. Anjana bears a close resemblance to her former lover, Clifford. In the course of the film it is revealed that Mrs. Ransiri who was cohabiting with Clifford, abandoned him due to the call of her conscience to ‘protect’ her ‘family honour’.

She later discovers that Maleesha is Clifford’s daughter. With her husband confined to bed Mrs. Ransiri lusts for love and is infatuated by Anjana. Slowly, she seduces him, to which he is an unwilling yet helpless ally.

The drama starts when the initially contemptuous Maleesha also falls in love with Anjana. Ever the kindly-yet-spineless hero, Anjana valiantly discourages her yet takes no other action whatsoever to halt her downfall. Maleesha is a sensitive young girl craving for love and understanding.

She adores her father, but his current situation has rendered him to a shadow. All she gets from her boyfriend is a declaration of lust rather than love. Her pursuance of Anjana is passionate, unrelenting and extremely naive. Her circumstances drive her to live in a world of fantasy.

Then there is Wathsala, Anjana’s sweetheart, to whom his heart truly belongs, or so we’re led to believe. She is greatly frustrated and angered by Maleesha’s behaviour with Anjana during a visit to the village. Yet her faith is unwavering.

The bombshell is cast when Mrs. Ransiri discovers that she is pregnant by Anjana. Abortion follows,a decision which shows the soft side of the hardened Mrs. Ransiri as she struggles with her conscience. Somehow, the knowledge of their child creates a strange bond between Anjana and Mrs. Ransiri.

I am not saying the mother-daughter-shared lover theme is a story without value. It may not be an unusual theme. Yet how many great films have been made around such a not-so-unusual plot, without screaming out ‘cliché’? Throughout the film, I was overwhelmed with a sense of deja-vu! The characters are neither black nor white, rather they are a palette of badly mismatched colour.

Such is Maleesha’s case. In my imagination I visualize Maleesha as a neglected, yet sensitive girl craving for love but the filmportrays something entirely different. It gives her no depth of character. It merely portrays her or rather degrades her as a seeni bola (immature) girl.

I believe critics would call Sudu Hansi’ a mirror of the pitiful ‘Colombo’ society with their ‘low moral values’ and the mother and daughter a sex crazed duo. Well, I wouldn’t say so. To me, Mrs. Ransiri’s greatest mistake was not in adultery, but in abandoning the man she loved for ‘family honour’. The adultery is merely the result of a frustrated woman whose husband is paralyzed.

The film unfortunately doesn’t play on such human needs and emotion: it merely plays with lust, action, gore and drama.

I cannot fathom why Mrs. Ransiri, the seasoned woman, knows nothing of ‘protection’, but well, I guess that it is the story.

And the fact that the viewer to remember Mrs. Ransiri, without any first name, really plays down on the character’s impact. She is the central character and the name, they say, tells everything...Yet, our heroine is rendered nameless with just a surname to tag along!

Somehow or other Arjun’s casting as Anjana is not satisfactory. The personality, the overall appearance...something is very much lacking.

I like Semini’s role and acting! Her character fits her beautifully However, on the minus point, more attention should have been paid by makeup and visual artists. Semini’s weight brings her disadvantage in the role of the elegant and sophisticated society lady.

Mutu Tharanga fits her role too. However, her character carries no great impact. Dilani Nikahatiya’s character in wonderfully done! The swish of the long, unending braid of hair, the insolent stare, the love for her ‘baby’ Maleesha...a role perfectly matched and well played. If I have any regrets with her...it would be that she failed to fall in love with Anjana!

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