Gamani, a reminiscence of a past, forgotten by people - President

Suraj A Bandara

The film Gamani is a reminiscence of the past which is forgotten by people, President Mahinda Rajapaksa said.

The President made this remark after launching the website of the Gamani film www.gamani.lk at a ceremony at Temple Trees on Thursday.

Rear Admiral Sarath Weerasekara directed Gamani, a film revolving around the development of the Civil Defence Force (CDF) and the manner in which the newly recruited security officers defended their villages tactfully against organized attacks by the LTTE.

The film is based on a true incident, where 57 civilians were massacred in Gonagala, a village in Ampara by the LTTE in 1999.

The film unfolds how the villagers defended their villages from terrorist attacks and what strategies they followed to protect their birth places located at high risk areas subjected to constant LTTE attacks.

The President applauding the maiden effort of Sarath Weerasekara, said this film depicts how the LTTE carried out their barbaric missions on innocent villagers and the grievances of innocent villagers with the intense pressure of being attacked by a group of blood thirsty terrorists.

"This really displays the common difficulties and challenges faced by the government servants who worked in those threatened villages," he said.

President Rajapaksa pointed out that films of this caliber should be produced more and more as the themes are abundantly available from the 30 year war. He said that this film should be viewed by all the citizens of the country.

"After the dawn of peace in the country, there seem to be an improvement in the film industry with more entertainers visiting theaters, film halls and stages. This is a fine answer to Channel 4 that telecast false allegations about the country to the outside world," he added.

Screenplay writer and director Rear Admiral Sarath Weerasekara, producer Upali Rajapaksa, cinematographer Ashoka Lal Sigera, W. Jayasiri, Dilhani Ekanayake, Bimal Jayakody, Geetha Kanthi Jayakody, Sujani Menaka, Kumara Thirimadura and Hemanthi Weerasekara were present on the occasion.