Was Jagath Chamila that good?
Capt Elmo Jayawardena
Jagath Chamila was
internationally acclaimed for his unique portrayal as 'Sami' in 'Samige
Kathava', a film by Priyankara Vittanachchi. The film is based on the
award-winning novel, 'Sam's Story' authored by Captain Elmo Jayawardene
who created the protagonist out of a real-life character. Captain
Jayawardene explains how he feels about Chamila's performance.
The New York Film Festival is over; the best actor award is securely
placed in a little hamlet in Moratuwa and everyone has now come to know
Jagath Chamila. Great feat and nothing should take away the luminosity
he enjoys today as he richly deserves the accolade for the role he
played as Sam in Sameege Kathawa. My lines are to praise him and state
my humble or 'not so humble' opinion on an event that started on the
banks of Bolgoda and crept its way to the silver screen in the Big
Apple.
I saw the movie more than six times, from the first print that
Director/Producer Priyankara Vithanachchi made. Let the movie speak for
itself. A book and a movie are not easy to compare. Authors have space,
and for them it is only a matter of spinning a story by minting words
and expressions to arouse the interest of a reader.
They have a wide canvas to beautify with colourful descriptions and
well-constructed lines to fill their books. Film makers have a much
harder task. They struggle in turbid tangles and battle multiple fronts.
First with budgets, (do not forget this is Priyankara and not
Spielberg.) They have to use so much creativity and do a balancing act
in order to come out with the best possible combination to create a
winning movie.
There too the probabilities linger, to slip on the last step when
victory is within reach. Priyankara made Sameege Kathawa with varying
winds that blew mostly from negative directions. This was his first real
film. How good is it? That you will see and decide for yourself, yes, it
is in the eyes of the beholder. I only hope that Sameege Kathawa will
hit the cinema halls fast as it is a people's movie and they now have a
national hero to watch.
Jagath won the award and he is a celebrity, a real one amidst the
'card board Sandos' we are forced to worship. I am waiting to see how
the cookie crumbles. Will the masses get a chance to see Jagath playing
Sammy, ASAP?
Many aspects
Let me now change the navigation and head towards this fabulous young
man who has 'Done It.' If anyone knows the character of Sam that carried
the movie, I think it would be me, simply because I created Sam and
wrote the book. Every time I saw the movie, I was amazed by many aspects
of the screen version. There were some scenes I felt could have been
done better, but the totality thrilled me immensely. Producer Priyankara
gets all the credit and without any hesitation I say, it was Jagath as
Sam who carried the show. He was simply fantastic. What I put into Sam,
he acted and came out with the exact replica of what I created. He did
not over act and he did not go below the bench mark. He really was Sam.
Yes Dustin Hoffman played Rain Man and Tom Hanks was Forrest Gump. Both
Hanks and Hoffman came from the 'hit-parade' of Hollywood with great
past reputations and had head starts in any acting evaluation.
Jagath was from Janasiri Mawatha, Moratumulla, a far cry from the
boulevards of California and yet was good enough for New York.
Jagath was a total stranger to the judges. They had not sat at
cutlery-glittering candlelit dinners with the actor from Moratuwa.
Jagath was just an 'also ran' for everybody, a mere 'ping pong'
player at Wimbledon. That was the playing field, clearly stacked against
smaller than small people like us amidst the champagne campaigners.
In New York there was only a small supporting team, Jagath, movie
maker Priyankara, Wimal Deshapriya the associate producer and Athula
Sulthanagoda the costume designer who had crossed the Atlantic to attend
the great festival. They were almost insignificant pilgrims on a
glittering stage, crab-crawling amidst the sultans of the international
celluloid world. They did have some NY Sri Lankans for side support,
'Boston News' couple Chitral and Vyomi and maybe a few more I do not
know.
"And the winner for the best actor award goes to Jagath Chamila" so
said the man with the mike, shooting the Moratumulla Cambrian to instant
celebrity status and giving Sri Lanka and all Sri Lankans a genuine
reason to celebrate.
I have no words to describe what I felt when I saw Jagath standing up
and squeezing past Priyankara to make his walk of fame. That was a sight
for me, to last a life time.
Was Jagath that good? Yes he was. There are some scenes in the movie
that totally captivated me. I saw Sam in the book and Jagath in the
movie merged together in the portrayal of a difficult role acted to a
mercurial best.
'Waiting for the postman, sitting with his mother and watching her
weep when they buried his brother Jaya, the hospital scene and the
telephone scene,' they were classic.
Amorous advances
The walk, the grin, the uncertainties of Sam's little mind grappling
with the world, they were streaks of brilliance that flashed as the
movie rolled on. Sopi Akka's amorous advances and Sam's reactions were
saucily class. No wonder New York decided he was the best, of that there
was no question. Jagath certainly did not win by sending Christmas Cards
to the Judges or carrying Dilmah Tea packets as gifts for the movie
Mandarins of the festival.
Supporting cast
Where does it all go now? Yes Jagath Chamila is a celebrity and he
richly deserves to be one. Of course as the saying goes, victory has a
hundred fathers. There will be those now who will parachute from the sky
to steal the limelight and borrow credit.
That is to be expected. But there are the true stakeholders too;
Priyankara leads the victory parade and his entire filming crew richly
deserve total credit for what they created. And the supporting cast,
Nilmini Buweneka gives a stunning performance as Sam's mother. There was
Kade Mudalali and the estate kankani (I do not know the names) they were
great too and of course the veterans Sanath Gunatilaka and Manik
Kurukulasooriya added the extra flavour. The cast deserves their share
of the victory and I for one applaud them all.
One more name needs to be mentioned. I met Jagath a month ago, before
his NY skyrocket to fame.
This was a pure Moratuwa scene, I had gone to run at the Lunawa
Lagoon track and Jagath and his wife Madhu were there teaching their
children to ride bicycles. We spoke of this and that and in conversation
I asked where he learnt to act. "In school Captain, we had a drama
master, Tissa Gunawardena; he was the one who taught me to act.
Controlling powers
He was a great teacher and he taught us how to look into people's
lives when we acted them."
I do not know where you are Mr. Gunawardena but you sure laid the
foundation and gave Jagath firm ground to leap to the world and shout "I
won this award for my country." And for the record Mr Drama Sir, you are
no parachutist, but a Grand Master who created a Great Actor.
Congratulations!
Let us all hope that the powers that control the screening of movies
in Sri Lanka would take into consideration that "Sameege Kathawa" is
special. Let Priyankara Vithanachchi be able to show his movie before
time corrodes the excitement. People need to see how Jagath became the
best actor in New York.
The country owes him that, simply because his was a class act.
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