Movies today are produced locally and consumed globally. Therefore, it is time our producers turned to co-producing and making movies which not only cater to the global film industry but are also infused with local and foreign cultures and traditions.
Award-winning Sri Lankan writer-director Prasanna Vithanageis not alien to this path. His sixth feature film as a director ‘Akasa Kusum’ (Flowers of the Sky) too was a co-production with India. After collaborating with A.Sreekar Prasad in the production, he embarked on the same track once again when he directed his first Indian-language film ‘Paradise’.
Winning the Kim Jiseok award for the best film at the
28th Busan International Film Festival in South Korea
Produced by Newton Cinema and presented by Mani Ratnam’s Madras Talkies, the movie was recently nominated for a handful of awards: the Best Film, Best Director and the Best Screenplay for Vithanage and Anushka Senanayake and the Best Editor for A. Sreekar Prasad at the 17th Asian Film Awards in Hong Kong which concluded last week. ‘Paradise’ previously clinched the Kim Jiseok award at the 28th Busan International Film Festival (BIFF) last year. I also won the Prix du Jury Lycéen award at the Vesoul International Film Festival of Asian Cinema last month.
Screened in Malayalam, Hindi, Tamil and Sinhala languages, the cinematography of the film was handled by Rajeev Ravi who also worked with Vithanage in ‘Gaadi’ (Children of the Sun).
“My first trip to India was in the 90s. I sought the services of Gemini and Prasad laboratories since Sri Lanka lacked a quality colour laboratory. I was able to form a friendship with A Sreekar Prasad during this process and we collaborated in ‘Purahanda Kaluwara’ (Death on a Full Moon Day). He has been the editor of all my films up-to-date,” Vithanage traced the roots of his film-making relationship with India.
Tale of a married couple
‘Paradise’ relates the tale of a married couple, Keshav and Amritha, who have been spending their fifth wedding anniversary vacationing in Sri Lanka. Set in the backdrop of the recently emerged economic crisis in the country, ‘Paradise’ brings the harsh realities of life out in the open while exploring contemporary politics and socio-economic circumstances. The duo faces many moments of difficulty due to the ongoing protests and even suffers from theft. These catastrophes also unveil cracks in their alliance.
“It was engrossing to take up these two aspects: what happened around me during the span Anushka Senanayake and I penned the script and my inner thoughts on a relationship as a husband,” Vithanage pointed out.
The director also links mythology with the present since the couple is engaged in following the Ramayana Trail. This adds an ambiguous element to the tale.
“The tales revolving around the Ramayana are not restricted to Sri Lanka and India alone. Countries like Thailand and Cambodia too have different records related to this historic incident. Indian scholar A. K. Ramanujan has revealed in his essay, ‘Three Hundred Rāmāyanas: Five Examples and Three Thoughts on Translation’, that there are over 300 accounts of the saga. Since we embedded the trail into the storyline, I was able to dismantle it to bring about the film’s dramatic elements,” Vithanage said.
Award-winning filmmaker
Prasanna Vithanage
The lead roles are played by Indian actors Roshan Mathew (Keshav) and Darshana Rajendran (Amritha) and Sri Lankan artistes Shyam Fernando (tour guide Dr. Andrew) and Mahendra Perera (Inspector Sergeant Bandara).
Unfurling his thoughts on the film, Vithanage said that he had always aspired to make an Indian-language movie. Motivated by this determination, he had come up with the storyline. Though the film was shot in Sri Lanka it features many Indian elements like the main characters and the legend of the Ramayana.
A lot of work has gone into developing the multi-lingual film script as it had originally been written in Sinhala with co-writer Anushka. It was translated into English later. Portions of Hindi and Malayalam dialogues had to be included in instances where the couple spoke to each other. This was done on the spot with the actors. There is also an encounter with locals in which there is confusion as each group does not know how to put their messages across to the other. The film addresses the politics of language in this manner in the production.
Choosing actors
Vithanage said that the actors were chosen to do justice to their roles. Since the protagonists were from South India, dwelling in Mumbai, Indian actors had to be roped in to fit the roles.
“Kerala shares many similarities with Sri Lanka, not only in its settings but also in many other lifestyle habits. This made it easy for me to flesh out my characters,” he said.
Vithanage had chosen Mathew for the male lead as he had been enticed by his acting in Geetu Mohandas’ ‘Moothon’. After sharing the script with the actor, Mathew had come to meet Vithanage with a notebook full of his take on the character. Vithanage too had a notebook. They compared the jottings and found them to be similar. The actor’s dedication and commitment towards the project had earned him the role.
“I was impressed with Rajendran’s acting in Mahesh Narayanan’s ‘C U Soon’. She has exceptional talents as an actor. Even her facial expressions speak volumes. She does not have to utter a single word to put her messages across,” he added.
With productions like ‘Purahanda Kaluwara’ in 1997, ‘Aakasa Kusum’ in 2008 and ‘Gaadi’ in 2019, to his name, Vithanage knows the film formula that appeals to movie enthusiasts who not only come to watch a movie to be entertained but to walk away with thought-provoking substance. He is also experienced in determining what the global film critics and veterans expect in the present set-up and adjusts his techniques and storylines to live up to these expectations. At the end of the day, a film for him is a mode of transportation which he uses to search for the ‘truth’ embedded in social matters as well as within himself.
Challenges
Asked about the challenges he faced in making the movie, Vithanage said that the absence of infrastructure in Sri Lanka is a dominant issue since the capital has dried up.
“Sri Lanka is polarised about ethnic and religious matters. People judge others for their viewpoint on the war. My films ‘Purahanda Kaluwara’, ‘Ira Madiyama’ (August Sun) and ‘Oba Nathuwa Oba Ekka’ (With You, Without You) have undergone hostility due to this reason. ‘Purahanda Kaluwara’ was banned by the government and was only released by the Supreme Court after a year-long lawsuit. I have pulled through so far but more obstacles might be in store for me in the future,” he said.
His next projects will be about a Malayali engaged in a worldwide expedition and an adaptation of the brief novel by Russian writer Dostoevsky ‘The Gambler’.
Scenes from ‘Paradise’
