TV Times

TV Times

‘Gal Pilimaya’:Teledrama with a difference
The Muhurath ceremony for a new teledrama, based on a story by Dr. Gunadasa Amarasekera, was held at Sudharshi in the presence of a distinguished gathering including the Speaker W.J.M.Lokubandara and Deputy Minister Dilan Perera recently.

The tele-drama titled ‘Gal Pilimaya saha Dol Pilimaya’ is based on a popular novel written by Dr. Amarasekera in 1987 and its sequel “Pilima Lovai Piyavi Lovai” in 2001.

The teledrama is produced by Ranjith K. Perera of Winson Films and directed by Christie Shelton Fernando. The teledrama deals with the heroic but fruitless efforts of a simple vil1ager Upali, who is appointed to look after a Gal Pilimaya. His duty is to expose the counterfeit and safeguard the sanctity of the true image.

However it is his son Wimalasena’s generation that is responsible for ultimately destroying to the counterfeit by blasting it. In the process Wimalasena’s friend gets killed. The tragic episode becomes so traumatic as to turn Wimalasena into a psychiatric patient. He is cured when his dead friend appears to him in a hallucinatory dream and reassures him that he is very much alive and that death has neither destroyed his being nor his mission.

The role of Upalis is played by the veteran actor Jayalath Manoratne supported by a cast of talented actors. The genesis of this story is attributed to a visit to Gal Viharaya by Gunadasa Amarasekera in 1986.

When the author visited Gal Viharaya in 1986 he was flabbergasted to see a new statue modelled on the original Gal Pilimaya placed next to it and people worshipping at it.

By that time the canard Dharmista Samajaya ushered in 1977 had lost its tinsel glamour and people were gradually becoming aware of the hoax perpetrated on them. What he saw, the writer felt was symbolic of the age the age of the counterfeit had come to stay.

This was the genesis of this much-acclaimed piece of writing. Reading this allegorical tale today the reader is bound to ask whether in the period after as well as before, Independence whether this Nation has thrived on counterfeits and worshipping of false Gods.

The producer, Ranjith K. Perera said that this production based on a work of Gunadasa Amarasekera would usher in a salutary trend in teledramas, which have now degenerated to the level of mindless middle class juicy gossip.

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