I was handed the book Subandu Cinema Watha on March 15, at the Satarawa Deepani ceremony at the BMICH.
The launch of Subandu Cinema Watha held to coincide with the event held to grant Pragna Bandu scholarships to selected students from across the country and to pay tribute to senior artists in the field perhaps can be considered as a celebratory gift presented to Dr. Bandula Gunawardena on his 70th birthday.
The role of Bandula Gunawardena, the economics tuition master is one well-known to his students. His political journey since 1989 is also not subject to the book Subandu Cinema Watha.
Instead, the series of articles is solely dedicated to Bandula Gunawardena, the popular and award-winning producer in the Sinhala cinema and his creative works.
Great pains
From the production of Thunweni Yamaya in 1983 to co-producing Saho in 2020 the editors have taken great pains to treat readers to a series of articles on Gunawardena’s creative works such as Suddhilage Kathawa, Siri Medura, Ayoma, The Newspaper and Saho set to take to the screens on April 7, from the eyes of film critics. The book is undoubtedly useful for students studying Sinhala cinema and even fans of films.
Prof Praneeth Abeysundara, Aruna Gunaratne, Dinusha Kudagodage, Bertram Nihal, Nimal Wijesiri Senadheera, A.D Ranjith Kumara and Prasanna Hennayake have contributed to the compilation of the book. The literary works of veteran film critics such as Thusitha Jayasundara, Simon Navagattegama, Gunasiri Silva, (Atta 1983) Gamini Weragama (Irida Divaina 1985) Gamini Sumanasekara and H.A. Seneviratne (Irida Divaina 1985) Prof. Sucharita Gamlath, Eric Ilayapparachchi (Cinesith 1990) Samudra Vettasinghe (Lusion the metaphorical writer of the modern song) Gamini Wijetunga (Gamini Wijethunga Chinthana Sanhita) E.M.G Edirisinghe (An introduction to Film Criticism) Gamini Weragama (Divaina) Anura Dasanayake, Inoka Samarawickrama (Silumina) and Prof. Sunanda Mahendra are featured in the book to give readers a glimpse of Gunawardena’s contribution to the local cinema.
It is common for producers investing in films to expect a profit in return. Such persons often choose commercially viable film scripts and directors known to deliver box office hits. But the role of Bandula Gunawardena has been far different. He produced Dharmasiri Bandaranayake’s film Thunweni Yamaya through a bank loan obtained without any expectation that his investment let alone any profit will be returned.
Journey in cinema
His journey in cinema began with Suddhilage Kathawa created together with Bandaranayake and Simon Navagattegama.
Meanwhile, Gunawardena proved his mettle as a producer who has no commercial intention by producing the film Siri Medura. The articles are also evidence of his brave decisions to invest in films, such as by producing the films of new directors such as Sarath Kotalawala, Kumara Thirimadura and Ariyaratne Athugala. Yet another significance I have noticed about Gunawardena over the years is his fondness to produce films based on literary works bringing cinema and literature together.
Therefore, Subandu Cinema Watha is a compilation of valuable articles that displays Gunawardena’s genuine intention to create classical cinematic art in Sri Lanka.