Sikuru Hathe - a trail-blazer in comedy films
E. WEERAPPERUMA
Giriraj Kaushalya's maiden film "Sikuru Hathe" completed 50 days of
screening on October 6. The producer, the director and artists along
with the actors and actresses joined a function held at the Ja-Ela
Cine-Max cinema to mark the occasion. It was indeed an achievement to a
budding director who entered the cinema as a script writer.
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A scene from Sikuru Hathe |
Commenting on the film Prof. Sunil Ariyarathne said the two recent
films "Uppalawanna" directed by him and "Sikuru Hathe" directed by
Giriraj Kaushalya have contributed heavily to explode the myth that the
television was the cause of the downfall of the cinema. The introduction
of television is no threat to the Sinhala film industry. There is always
an audience to see good films, he said.
He said, "there were people in hiding waiting for good films. Like
the snakes that come running to the sound of the flute, they come from
everywhere. It is proved beyond any doubt that cinema does not suffer
due to the popularity of television. We say the local film industry is
ruined, without making any efforts to make good and marketable films."
The film "Sikuru Hathe" was a very serious comedy. It would be the
model for future films of this sort. We must congratulate and promote
Giriraj Kaushalya for he had given a very good comedy. He should receive
our applause and encouragement.
What we had seen so far as comedy are very far from the real comedy
and they were poor in many aspects. The ability to make others laugh
without the actors laughing over things they do, is real comedy.
The success of the two films sends a clear message of the
availability of audience for good films. If another good film comes
along within the current period that will also have sufficient audience.
"Television is a threat to the cinema industry is a myth," he said.
"Some think that making a commercial film is easy. This is wrong. It
is the most difficult one. Look at the Tamil and Hindi commercial films
spend about Rs. three million for songs, music and dance to make it
perfect. Udayakantha Warnakulasuriya is one director who takes the
trouble to give us a good commercial film. |
