Books, visuals and visionsa

Quite a number of teleplay series have been created all over the world, based on popular as well as critically acclaimed novels. The process has proceeded up to the point, where tele production has become an industry that distributes the various types of teleplays as syndicate material.

Two British tele series come to my mind. They are ‘Forsyth Saga’ based on the series of novels by John Galsworthy and ‘Middlemarch’ by George Eliot. Some of these works have been dubbed into other languages where the teleplays are enjoyed by different types of cultures, with vast differences.

About two decades ago, the situation changed as Japanese and Korean teleplays took over - or rather dominated - the telescene by a type of alternative creations, depicting the themes where courageous living and the struggle to exist mattered above other trivialities like mere family sagas and girl-meets-boy type.

Sujatha Diyani

The Japanese production titled as ‘Oshin’ was one such example where our own local audience behavior was made to detour from the normal direction. The acceptance heavily on the part of the local feminine audience created areas of interest.

Mega tele series

One example is the introduction of the type popularly called ‘mega tele series’. Most popular ones happened to be ‘Paba’ and ‘Olu’. Today at the moment of writing this column, quite a number of changes have taken place. Most locally produced mega teleplays failed to create an impact on the audience. It is at this juncture of the culmination that two Korean teleplays entered the telescene, as voice-dubbed series.

They were sponsored and in a sense recreated by the dubbing unit of Sri Lanka Rupavahini Corporation, spearheaded by Athula Ransirilal (a versatile recreative artiste of the experienced in the field of animation and cartoons). Following closely the footpath of his predecessor Titus Totawatta, Ransirilal excels in dubbing and animation process which has become quite popular.

The two Korean teleseries, titled in Sinhala as ‘Sujatha Diyani’ and ‘Abheetha Diyaniya’ respectively, have created an enormous impact among various scattered tele audience in Sri Lanka.

As an observer of audience behaviour and a spectator of the two teleplays, I have several comments to make. Perhaps initially the impact of the two teleplays presumably is the creative force behind the Korean novels that paved the way. Though I have not had the chance to read the novels titled ‘Jewel in the Palace’ and ‘Jewel in the Crown’ I had the chance of knowing intimately the humane experiences that lay within the pages. The themes look more historic and investigative.

Common folk

In the ultimate creation, the character portrayal of kings, queens, palace officers, common folk, and all those old into the work are depicted as transcending the narrow boundaries of history and culture of a particular country. They are shown as living entities who move around us down the centuries. The ingredients that had gone into the episodes are drawn from politics, history, communication, administration, family bonds, love and romance etc. They are eternal factors that matter as aesthetic expression.

Oshin

Abheetha Diyaniya

The clarity of speech mannerisms, as transferred from language to another is one of the most sensitive factors in both series, for which the above cited unit of execution has to be commended. Verbal expressions fused into visuals matter gravely in the process. The training of speech communication has gone a long way. Some of the skilled radio artistes have been selected to interpret the verbal message to its fullest sense. Thus regardless of the ‘alienation’ in a culture the central human experience has been transferred perceiving the strength of visuals and the vision behind them.

Needless to say, watching these two teleplay series may pave the way to gain a new interest in some creative nuances of the indigenous roots and rediscover for the betterment of the creative communication via a gigantic media like television. Our own teleplay serial creators ought to learn lessons from others in order to see a wider horizon as against the narrow domestication they delve in today.

I am not going to belittle our own teleplays such as Bogala Saundiris, Gamperaliya, Kaluvara Gedara, Amba Yaluwo and Amarapura. All I emphasize is the need to rethink what the strength of the mini screen means to us today.

The creative influence may be good if achieved on eth critical viewing, which should be taught from projecting a widely accepted good works.

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