No child’s play!

Ruwini JAYAWARDANA

With 54 productions to his name, he holds the title of the film producer who had funded the most number of films in Sri Lanka today. Though he has other and more profitable means of income, his passion for the art keeps him in the field. “I love to reminisce about my past productions because there are many interesting stories which can and cannot be revealed,” seasoned producer and theatre owner Sunil T Fernando noted with a smile. He recently turned his attention to child-oriented movies. ‘Daruwane’ his 52nd production is screening at the EAP circuit these days.

Q: Why did you decide to venture into child-oriented movies?

I made ‘Daruwane’ on behalf of children. It is the second children’s film that I have done, after ‘Chandi Patav’ in 1983. It is mostly based on incidents relating to my son, Ricky Thomson, who passed away in 2010 due to dengue. I was grief stricken and did not engage in movie-making for sometime. During this period the story formed in my mind and I wanted to relate this message to the society. I contacted V Sivadasan who was in Canada then. He agreed to direct the movie. This is the first movie I wrote and produced after Ricky’s demise. I believe that this is a milestone in my life.

Q: You are the producer with the most number of film productions to your name today. Yet movie-making is not lucrative. What keeps you in the field?

I normally make a concrete plan and stick by it before engaging in production. Problems do not arise due to this.

I was still schooling when I produced my first movie. I produced ‘Chandi Patav’ in 1983. Later I did ‘Maddhuma Bandara’, ‘Puthuni Mata Sama Wenna’ and ‘Ko Hathuro’. All four movies were unsuccessful. Normally a person would have thought about quitting the scene but I decided not to give up. I made ‘Jaya Apatai’ with Sonia Disa and continued along my path thereafter.

I have many beautiful memories linked with cinema and have enjoyed life to the fullest. I have met many celebrities. I share a good working experience with all those who have been involved in my productions. I have never cheated them out of money even if some films were failures. Artistes from Gamini Fonseka to upcoming actors and actresses have dealt with me in a very amiable manner. That is why I was able to come so far. Udayakantha Warnasooriya’s ‘Kosthapal Punyasoma’, Nilendra Deshapriya’s ‘Thanha Rathi Ranga’ and Sudesh Wasantha Peiries’ ‘Jeevithe Lassanai’ are some of my upcoming productions. I think these are my best years as a producer.

It’s all about team spirit

Youth romance

Comedy

Respecting your elders

Q: How did you choose the child actors of ‘Daruwane’?

Some of the scenes were shot at my son, Ricky’s, old school St Peter’s College, Bambalipitiy. The lead child actor who portrays Ricky’s role, Shyan Perera, too is from the same school and had acted in a programme called ‘Pan Batta’. He portrays the character well.

However Yohan Perera who portrays the role of Rickey’s nemesis is the one who has features similar to my son. If my son had been alive today, this film might never have happened.

Q: Out of all the productions you have done, what are you most satisfied with?

‘Daruwane’ is closest to my heart probably because of my son and also because of the storyline.

Q: There were certain accusations coming your way during your stint with cinema.

These came mostly because of the English, Tamil and Hindi films I imported for my theatres. I have faced many hardships due to the rules and regulations passed by past governments in importing movies. I was in a very sorry state then but luckily Prof Somaratne Balasuriya who was the Chairman of the Public Performance Board looked into the matter. He allowed me to screen the movies with certain restrictions.

Q: Except for a few productions like ‘Kusa-Paba’ and ‘Sewwandi’, most of your productions are commercial movies. Aren’t you interested in producing art movies?

After so many years in the field I know what kind of movie will become a hit and therefore invest in such productions. That is why I banked my money on ‘Kusa-Paba’. Though it broke revenue records, it did not bring in a large profit because it was very costly to make. It was done mainly for pleasure’s sake.

Producers like Vijaya Ramanayake who have made internationally acclaimed movies like ‘Kaliugaya’ and ‘Yuganthaya’ are not appreciated for their efforts today. I have not seen him taking part in any cinema related function as an invitee. He used to be very wealthy but had spent his time and money making quality productions which did not bring him bucks. I did not want to fall into the same situation.

If I can earn profit from my productions, then I would be able to fund more movies. That is mainly why I wanted Sunil Soma Peiries, the most popular director of that era, to direct my films. He knew the audience’s tastes and all his movies brought in cash. I have done various genres of movies from adult only films to action, comedy and family productions according to the trends in the industry. Nearly all of them proved to be successful.

Q: Tell us about your upcoming production, ‘Doni’.

‘Doni’ is not entirely a children’s movie. It is for both children as well as adults. I also managed to bring Kamal Addarachchi and Sangeetha Weeratne back onto the silver screen together after many years since ‘Saptha Kanya’.

Back in time

Ishara Jayawardane and Priyanka Kurugala

Ven Olande Ananda thero conducting a mediation session.Pictures by Sulochana Gamage

Palace garden

Interior of the palace

History based movies have their own unique alluring quality which mesmerize cinema enthusiasts. They manage to drag us away to another time and place and teach us about our ancestors and roots. The gigantic sets, grand and ethnic costumes and jewellery and the mystery surrounding the past are pulled back layer by layer by the film-maker and rejuvenated before the audience. Though we had no idea what would be in store for us as we set out to Pelawatte, we were soon transported back in time, 2600 years to the time of Siddhartha Gauthama as soon as we stepped in to the Light of Asia Centre.

Caught in this time vortex we found ourselves in the Palace of the Kingdom of Sakya. We traveled in time to a land of mystique and adventure. The setting of the palace was magnificent, giving one a sense of awe and astonishment.

The Light of Asia Centre was declared open on January 2, with the idea of making a permanent set of the Palace Complex of the Kingdom of Sakya, dating back 2600 years for the epic motion picture, ‘Sri Siddhartha Gauthama’. Having accelerated building of the film sets, filming of the motion picture commenced on March 23, 2012. The filming covering 60 days in several scenic locations in Sri Lanka was completed on June 5 and the film is now in post production. ‘Sri Siddhartha Gauthama’ will be released island wide in Sinhala and Tamil and will be presented by the Light of Asia Foundation, produced by Navin Gooneratne, co produced by Jeff Goonewardene, directed by Saman Weeraman with Chandran Rutnam as Advisor to the production and direction. The clip of the motion picture certainly was thought provoking with the role of Siddhartha Gauthama played by a handsome young man. It was quite dramatic and I personally felt that it had an element of Hollywood in it. Whether it is faithful to the original story of Siddhartha Gauthama is to be seen. The motion picture takes us to his birth and to the point of his enlightenment and it ends there. The evening took a pleasant turn with the arrival of Ven Olande Ananda thero who conducted a meditation session.

“Buddhist film festivals are becoming popular in Holland where I come from. People are now looking at film as a medium to convey teachings of the Buddha,” he said.

Meet the stars!

Ruwini JAYAWARDANA

‘Sihina Seya’, an exhibition of portraits of artistes took over the National Ar t Gallery last week. More than 200 photographs which saw some of the most reputed cinema and teledrama actors and actresses, vocalists, musicians and well known faces in the entertainment scene adorned the walls, frozen in time. The photographs were by ANCL’s ‘Sarasaviya’ cinema magazine’s lead photographer Tennyson Edirisinghe. Many artistes and media personnel’s graced the opening ceremony of the event in which Tenny’s website www.tennyfoto.com was also launched by screen queen Dr Malani Fonseka. Speeches were done by many veterans in diverse fields: Ravindra Randeniya, Dr Malani Fonseka, Jackson Anthony, Dayan Vitharana, Edward Jayakody and ANCL Editorial Director Seelaratne Senarath. Pictures by Saman Sri Wedage

‘Ice Age 4’ sparkles with Indian talent

India has taken a special place of honour with Fox Star Studios’ ‘Ice Age 4: Continental Drift’ as the new chapter in one of the most successful film franchises of all time is screening at Savoy cinema.

Recently the innovative creative team from the film released a most unusual and stunning video in preparation for the release featuring popular character Sid the Sloth with people from all over the world, including those from India.

A Funky Sid rap video which had children dancing away in front of The Gateway of India was just the tip of the iceberg apparently. Parts of this special India connect are two important characters included in the fourth installment of played by actors of Indian origin: Kunal Nayyar and Aziz Ansari. ‘Ice Age 4’ will witness exciting new environments and new and bigger adventures- the high seas, new islands and quite a few new characters that we have not seen before!

Cinema’s most beloved trios - Manny, Diego, and Sid embark upon their greatest adventure and the trio comes across a rogue pirate ship. The Big Bang Theory’s famous ‘Raj’ aka Kunal Nayyar plays a character on the said pirate ship named Gupta (Yes he goes by an Indian name), a prehistoric badger whose back is patterned with a skull and crossbones - the iconic pirate flag, the Jolly Roger.

Speaking about his character Kunal said, “I play a pirate badger. Gupta always wants to fly his white side, and nothing ticks him off more than surrendering.”

Indiaglitz.com

Sri Lankan talent in Japanese movie

Budding young Sri Lankan actress Umali Thilakarathna has starred in a leading role in the Japanese film ‘The Final Judgment’ which is based Guinness World Record holder Master Ryuho Okawa’s novel.

He tries to establish a new political party to gain power to save the country.

The film is produced by a religious organization in Japan. The local screening of the movie is handled by Ultimate Media Solutions (Pvt) Ltd.