| TV
Times
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| Story
of ordinary people & life's challenges
By Susitha
R. Fernando
'Ira
Madiyama' set in the mid 1990s centers on three main narratives,
which evolve simultaneously. The individuals in this story are all
caught up in the quest of looking for what they have lost. They
risk everything to achieve what they think is happiness. Here lies
the never-ending search for love, dignity and identity. Responding
to questions about the production Prasanna Vithanage said, "I
wanted the film to be authentic and as such a massive cast of nearly
900 had to be employed". The director
says that most of the players in 'Ira Madiyama' are those with little
or no previous experience in acting. For example the two characters
of Hassan and Arfath, were refugees from Kalpitiya who were chased
away from Mannar due to the war and are enacting their own plight.
"Initially
they were reluctant to go down memory lane to the harrowing experience
that took place ten years ago," said Prasanna who had the task
of making a cast with real life experience. "However
they later agreed to tell their story to the whole world by joining
in this film", he added. The making
of the film involved doing a workshop in Anuradhapura and in Colombo
spread over a number of months for the amateurs who were the majority
of the cast.
Among
the multi-national cast of professionals and amateurs were Peter
D' Almeida, Nimmi Harasgama, Namal Jayasinghe, Mohamed Rahfiulla,
Nadi Kammalaweera, A. A. Mansoor, Maheshwari Ratnam, Gayani Gishanthika
and Rajeena Begum. Making a bilingual
film was a bit hazardous due to the language problems. This was
overcome with the help he received from all quarters. Prasanna has
employed musician Lakshman Joshep de Saram more popular in the western
classical circle to direct the score. Filming was
done by M. D. Mahindapala on "Arri III", a camera specially
hired from Prasad Laboratories in Chennai. Sreekar Prasad
of "Ashoka" fame edited "Ira Madiyama" and the
executive producer is Asanka Edirisinghe. To get the
maximum benefit and sound effects the film has to be screened in
cinemas like Savoy and Majestic Cinema, which possess the six track,
Digital Surround Sound facility. The film was
processed at Prasad Studio in India. The locale
for the film was Colombo, Anuradhapura, Talaimannar and Kalpitiya
to depict the three main narratives which evolved simultaneously. Prasanna has
plans for an international release of "Ira Madiyama" for
he hopes to promote his film in America and Europe where South Asian
films are highly appreciated for their cultural exposure. Along with the film a web site title 'www.iramadiyama.com' was launched and this tracks the progress made by the film from the very first day of shooting right through the postproduction, the release and its performance and thereafter. Sriyani's one episode film for New Year "Keera
Kotuwe Gedara" directed by Sriyani Amerasena is one episodic
mini-film scheduled to be telecast on April 13 the Sinhala New Year
at 4.30 pm on the Swarnavahini channel.
The
story of this shortfilm revolves around a few children who are struggling
to buy a gift for their poor mother for the New Year and a husband
caught up between his generous attitude and a spendthrift wife.
Anuradha Wickremasinghe
is a Divisional Secretary by profession and a sociable man. He loves
the village life and makes it a point to go for fresh vegetables
whenever he could. He is a regular client of some vegetable selling
children whose father is dead. One day Anuradha
overhears that these children were collecting money for a cause;
that is to buy some clothes for their mother for the New Year but
are short of funds. Generous Anuradha
comes forward to help the children but they refuse as they do not
want to get money for nothing. Meanwhile Anuradha's
wife, 'Uma' is involved in an annual charity work of donating gifts
to children in an orphanage for the New Year. She has joined a social
club and this time they have got a huge sponsorship from some rich
locals living abroad. The best organizer is to win a foreign visit
and Uma has a plan to get it. Anuradha approaches
his wife for help but she refuses to help the children. Determined
to help the poor children, Anuradha visits the children's poor hut.
He comes to know that the children too were good in their studies
even though they have no financial support to pursue their education
and they grow vegetables for their living. Anuradha starts
a new project to raise money to build a house for the poor family
and buy goods for the New Year. He also tries to convince Uma and
get her assistance for his good work instead of her interest in
popularity and dreams of the foreign trip. Will Anuradha
be able to win over his wife? What will happen to Uma's dream of
a foreign trip? The minifilm stars Sriyani Amerasena, Sandun Wijesiri, Wimal Alahakoon,Vindaya Madushankani Rajaguru, Ranmini Lorensuhewa, Chamith De Alwis and Dayana Samanmali. 'Dancing at The Iguana' at Rio With the new
management and improvement of the theatre, 'Rio cinema' in Colombo
is to offer more artistic films for the audience in the near future. As the first
step "Dancing At the Iguana" a film by Michael Radford,
the director of Academy Award nominated film "Il Postino"
is now being screened at the Rio cinema. Speaking to
the management of the theatre 'TV Times' learnt that there are plans
to refurbish the cinema with new sound systems and other facilities.
"Dancing At the Iguana" offers a rare glimpse into the oft-misunderstood world of the strip club, which is much more than the sum of its voyeuristic offerings. The Blue Iguana,
in the heart of Los Angeles' San Fernando Valley, is a club where
the glamour is tinged with decay, a crossroads where lives intersect
and persona are donned and shed with equal abandon. Dancing at
Blue Iguana explores the stories of five dancers and those around
them whose destinies converge over the course of one week. In this
brief interval, one of the dancers, Angel, attempts to qualify as
a foster mother; another Jasmine, is a clandestine poet, and finds
love at a coffee house poetry reading; the least likely of the dancers,
Jo, faces an unplanned pregnancy; another, Stormy finds her bewildering
past looming before her in a familiar car parked outside the club;
and Jesse, the newcomer, attempts to negotiate her survival without
losing sight of her dreams. For Eddy, who
runs the Blue Iguana, an anonymous, plaintive phone message of a
woman crying propels him for a moment outside his unexamined life.
Meanwhile a Russian hit man checks into the motel next door and
fortuitously finds himself staying over a bit longer-long enough
to construct a fantasy about Angel, whom he observes from his motel
window. Yet despite the cataclysm of events and the prospects for change…not only for the dancers, but for men who work in the club as well… one has the sense that the dance continues. Behind the scenes, we are able to glimpse the tears and laughter that make up the dance: at times darkly absurd, at times heart-breaking, forever human. |
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