Sunday, July 6, 2014

History of Cinema in Sri Lanka

1901 marked the introduction of film to Sri Lanka (then called Ceylon) when a film was shown for the first time in the country at a private screening for the British governor West Ridgeway and prisoners of the Second Boer War. It was a short film that documented the British victory in the Boer War, the burial of Queen Victoria and the coronation of Edward VII. More English screenings followed and attracted British settlers and Anglicized Sinhalese.

Cinema in Sri Lanka became a public affair due to the efforts of Warwick Major, an Englishman who developed "bioscope" showings. These were films screened out in open areas and makeshift tents. The first permanent theaters were built by Madan Theaters in 1903. The company showed Indian films and achieved success, prompting the development of theaters by the rival Olympia.

In 1925 Rajakeeya Wickremaya (Royal Adventure) became the first film to be made in Sri Lanka. Dr. N.M. Perera played the lead in the film which was shown in India and Singapore. However this film reels got burnt before they were shown in Sri Lanka. In 1933 the film Paliganeema was screened in Colombo.

During the 1920s and 1930s films with American stars like Charlie Chaplin, Greta Garbo, John Barrymore, Rudolph Valentino, and Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. were popular in Sri Lanka. The Shiek and The Thief of Bagdad were especially popular. in 1932, the first sound film to be screened was shown at the Regal Cinema, titled "The Dream." By the 1930s Indian films started to surpass English films in popularity. Bilwa Mangal set an early record for Sri Lankan box office earning.

The beginnings of cinemas spread was seen when the Indian Madan circuit established Elphinstone cinema in Colombo as a part of his extensive cinema chain in Asia. Empire cinema, which became the longest functioning cinema in Sri Lanka was established in 1915 and continued to function till 2003 when it was demolished to make way for a commercial building in Colombo

Inauguration (1947)

South Indian producer S. M. Nayagam played an important role in the development of the first Sri Lankan film. In 1945, Nayagam founded a company named Chitrakala Movietone and constructed a studio in Madurai, India for the purpose of making a Sinhala film. After considering several options, he decided to build the film around the historical love story of Saliya and Asokamala and held a contest to find a suitable screenplay; the winner was budding artist Shanthi Kumar. Due to disagreements however this project fell through and Nayagam broke a deal with dramatist B. A. W. Jayamanne to film his popular play Kadawunu Poronduwa.


Shanthi Kumar determined to film his script left Nayagam's company and convinced the Ceylon Theaters group to fund his film. Faced with a more daunting task of putting together the film from scratch, the Ashokamala project began filming in Coimbatore about two months after the production of Kadawunu Poronduwa had initiated. Naygam's film would win out screening at the Mylan Theater on January 21, 1947. Ashokamala was screened three months later in April 1947 at the Elphinstone Theater. Both films were popular with audiences but derided by critics who found them to be derivative of South Indian cinema.

Primitive stage (1947–1955)

Following the success of Kadawunu Poronduwa, B. A. W. Jayamanne produced a string of popular movies based on his plays. These were Kapati Arakshakaya, Weradunu Kurumanama (1948), Hadisi Vinischaya (1950, first film directed by Jayamanne; he handled the post on all his subsequent films), Sangavunu Pilithura (1951), Umathu Wishwasaya (1952), Kele Handa (1953), Iranganie (1954), Mathabedaya (1954), Daiva Wipakaya (1956), Wanaliya (1958), Hadisi Vivahaya (1959), Kawata Andare (1960), Jeewithe Pujawa (1961), Mangalika (1963) and Magul Poruwa (1967; completed after his death by another director). Jayamanne mostly adhered to a formula derived from South Indian cinema and didn't contribute to the development of artistic film. Most of his films featured the couple Rukmani Devi and Eddie Jayamanne (though never as lovers on screen) which allowed them to become the first stars of Sri Lankan cinema.

Following the dawn of independence, Sri Lanka instituted restrictions on travel to and from India causing Nayagam to move his business into the island to cut costs. He purchased land outside of Kandana and built the Sri Murugan Navakala studios (later known as the S. P. M. studios) which would for a time be the most developed studio in the country. His first production was Banda Nagarayata Pamine (1952) which was successful among local audiences. It was the first locally produced Sinhalese film though in technique it still remained South Indian. Nayagam followed the film with Prema Tharangaya (1953) and Ahankara Sthree (1954). Due to the low quality of the studio (Nayagam resisted buying high tech equipment), these films failed to match the standards of Bollywood imports. They were also highly formulaic based extensively on South Indian cinema (the technicians were all from India) featuring a combination of exaggerated melodrama, lowbrow comedy, scuffles and dance numbers.

Of the few filmmakers interested in pursuing a truly indigenous art form in these early years, Sirisena Wimalaweera was the most prominent. In his work, Wimalaweera consulted Sri Lankan history for his themes basing movies around historical characters like King Asoka, who oversaw the introduction of Buddhism to the island and Saradiel, a Robin Hood-like character.

K. Gunaratnam was another major producer in this period breaking into the scene with the technically skilled Sujatha made at the state of the art Modern Theaters studio in Salem, India. It was highly successful and influenced popular cinema over the following decade. It was revolutionary in its high production values and incorporation of North Indian cinema into the accepted South Indian model. Still it failed to capture the true nature of Sinhalese life or create anything uniquely Sri Lankan.

The Change - Rekava (1956)

In 1956 documentary filmmaker Lester James Peries and his fellow film technicians William Blake and Titus Thotawatte broke away from the Government Film Unit to produce what they hoped would be a truly Sinhalese film that would revolutionize Sri Lankan cinema. In all facets of the creation of Rekava, the trio strayed from tradition shooting completely outside of the studio, creating an original story with no basis in literary or historical material and utilizing a mostly inexperienced cast (with a few exceptions i.e. D. R. Nanayakkara).

The story paid great attention to Sinhalese village life giving equal time to marriage traditions, village customs and folk beliefs in a non obstructive documentary-esque manner. The main plot revolved around a young boy named Sena who becomes touted as a miracle worker after he is said to cure the blindness of his friend Anula. Though some viewed the plot as a bit naive due to the filmmakers being from the city and the attribution of superstition belief in an exaggerated manner to village folk, it was a critical success and was shown at the Cannes International Film Festival drawing praise from foreign critics. It is widely considered in Sri Lanka to be the birth of true Sinhala cinema. Audiences at the time were unresponsive however and the film was a box office failure. They were unaccustomed to the documentary like nature of the film and its avoidance of common melodramatic features common in cinema of the time. The lack of a major romantic plot for example was a grievance to some.

Following  the Change (1957–1963)

Popular film continued in the Indian mould. There was great interest in the cinema. The Sinhala daily, "Lankadipa' launched the first Film Festival where "Deepasika" awards were given out.

Though Rekava failed to influence popular cinema which continued to imitate Indian cinema, it did draw out the efforts of some small independent filmmakers who coalesced into units. The most important group in this period, Kurulu Rana, was led by screenwriter P. K. D. Seneviratne, producer John Amaratunga and actress Punya Heendeniya.

Amaratunga in his pursuit to follow up Rekava came across Seneviratne's radio drama Kurulubedde and enlisted him to adapt it into a film. Though it maintained certain formulaic elements, the film was free of overt Indian influence and contained various elements of Sinhalese culture. Actress Punya Heendeniya broke ground in her role portraying a truly Sinhalese character in contrast with the female roles of popular films modeled after Indian actresses. It was a critical success within Sri Lanka and was praised for its realistic portrayal of Sinhala village life. The group followed up with the thematically similar Sikuru Tharuwa in 1963.
At this time, the Government Film Unit productions were making their mark, particularly, Pragnasoma Hettiarchi's "Makers, Material and Motiffs" which won the Gold Medal at Venice International Film Festival in 1952. Hettiarchi was to repeat this feat again in 1972 with "Centenary of Ceylon Tea".

Gamperaliya (1963)

In 1963, Lester James Peries with the help of producer Anton Wickremasinghe made and released Gamperaliya based on a novel by critically acclaimed writer Martin Wickramasinghe. Starring Punya Heendeniya, Henry Jayasena and Gamini Fonseka. It was a turning point in Sri Lankan cinema doing away with all formulaic elements (songs, dance, comic relief and fights) present in popular cinema and achieving commercial success. It proved the viability of artistic cinema in the country and gave Sri Lankan cinema a before absent sense of prestige when Producer Anton Wicremasinghe was awarded the Golden Peacock Award and the Critics' Prize at the Third International Film Festival held in New Delhi and the Golden Head of Palanque at the Eighth World Review of Film Festivals held in Acapulco, Mexico.

Commercial- Popular Cinema  (1964–1970)

The success of Gamperaliya changed the course of Sri Lankan cinema significantly. Following its release, many films attempted to adapt the realistic style of the film and took up location shooting previously shunned.
Seneviratne again emerged in this period with a script about village life titled Parasathu Mal. This time he had the support of the wealthy producer Chitra Balasooriya who would not fall prey to financial difficulties encountered by Amaratunga. Balasooriya was deeply interested in creating an artistic film in the vein of Gamperaliya and enlisted Lester's wife Sumithra Peries as technical director and gave the budding actor Gamini Fonseka a chance to direct. Fonseka had served in a similar capacity on Rekawa. Also among the crew was cameraman Sumitta Amarsinghe who had trained with the Government Film Unit (GFU) and was adapt at outdoor shooting. The film would be a critical and popular success.

Serendib Productions responded to the artistic mood in the air in 1965 with Saravita starring a comedic actor, Joe Abeywickrema, for the first time in Sri Lankan cinema. It dealt with slum life and the criminal element within it and was awarded most of the national awards that year for film. Titus Thotawatte who had broken away from Lester James Peries after Sandesaya directed Chandiya the same year avoiding overt crudities prevalent in the action genre made within the country.

G. D. L. Perera with his Kala Pela Society headed in a radically different way in this period dealing with rural life with his first film "Sama"

Siri Gunasinghe's Sath Samudura released in 1966 was the biggest critical success in the wake of Gamperaliya. The film was praised for its realistic portrayal of a fishing community and acting from a cast that included Denawaka Hamine, Edmund Wijesinghe and Cyril Wickremage. Also drawing acclaim were Gunasinghe's novel film techniques such as his extensive use of close-ups. Working close with Gunasinghe on the script and the direction was Vasantha Obeysekera. The editing and photography was handled by D. B. Nihalsinghe. Both would go on to be major filmmakers on their own.

GDL Perera's "Sama" was followed by a film on contemporary city settings in Dahasak Sithuvili. GDL joined up with the D.B. Nihalsingha's famously fluid hand-held camera work of the "Sath Samudura" fame, utilizing subjective camera and a sepiatone filter for the first time in Sri Lankan cinema. Perera and his group had first came to fame with Saama, a stylized but faithful observance of village life.

Other major films of this period include the debut directorial efforts of Obeysekera (Vesgatho) and Nihalsinghe lanadmark film, (Welikathara).

"Welikathara" was Tissa Abeysekara's first screenplay- he was billed as "Additional Dialolgue Writer" up to that time. Nihalsingha's recognition of Tissa Abeysekara's superlative writings skills launched him on a career as the foremost screenplay writer in Sri Lanka. "Welikathara" was to become one of the 10 top films of Sri Lankan cinema. Nihalsingha's refershingly fluid camera work was noted by this time. He combined the facets of Direction, Cinematography and Editing in "Welikathara" to create an epic in CinemaScope for the first time in Sri Lanka."Welikatara" was to become one of the "10 Best" films of Sri Lanka.


An independent student production overseen by Ranjith Lal (Nim Wallala), songwriter Mahagama Sekera's autobiographical effort (Tun Man Handiya), the maiden production of Piyasiri Gunaratne (Mokade Une) and Sugathapala Senerath Yapa's Hanthane Kathawa which introduced the to be matinee idol Vijaya Kumaratunga

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