Saradiel re-lived

by Ranga Chandraratne

The squad was moving camera and lighting paraphernalia from one tip to another, while an airliner was hovering to detain the fine moments of the feat unfolding on a plain of rocks. Kaltota, a far-flung settlement in Thanamalwila in Monaragala District was the chosen location for Saradiel, a rebel against the British.

Uthuwankanda in Mawanella, Devanagala, Kundasale, Kitulgala were other locations for the teledrama Saradiel produced by Independent Television Network (ITN).

At the time we visited Kaltota, the Teledrama was being shoot for more than eighty days with a huge cast and an equivalent crew. Saradiel will, certainly, be a thriller, predominantly, for children who have heard and read about this historical figure in history books. Kaltota is an ideal locale as it is teeming with pristine forest, rocky landscape, bushy undergrowth and meadows. Crystal clear streams are perceptibley ubiquitous.

Mother Nature has freshened up her blessings with a temperate climate and ample sunbeams. Though the stone plain heats up by midday, the team headed by gifted director Sudath Rohana carried out the Herculean task in spite of the scorching heat.

Industrious K. A. Dharmasena, the mastermind of Camera for the teledrama with a roguish smile, related the mishaps during the shooting including the clogging up of the engine of the helicopter used for the shooting at the summit of Uthuwankanda and the near falling down of the crane, with the camera at the edge of the waterfall when they were shooting the scene 'Duvili Ella'.

"We had to shoot a scene where Roshan Ravindra shoots with a shot gun. For such shootings, we used 'Dummy' bullets. In this instance, the bullet happened to be of inferior quality and as Ravindra riggers the gun, the bullet flew, hitting the camera and grazing my hand," said Dharmasena reminding us that he would have been hospitalized if the bullet perforated his skin. Dharmasena recalled that if not for the collective effort by Tennakoon, Gamini, Wickreme, Ajith, the teledrama would not see the light of the day.

Sudath Rohana, the Director of the teledrama should be commended for shouldering this task in the midst of a dense jungle infected with venomous creatures and facing many dangers.

The Director was somewhat distraught by some erroneous reports in the media relating to the temporary removal of iron bars embedded in the rock. Though this was done with the official consent obtained prior to the shooting in Uthuwankanda and re-fixed after the shooting, this was grossly misrepresented.

It is obvious that those days, there were no iron bars in and around Uthuwankanda and because of this, it had to be removed temporarily during the shooting. Another incident was the unfortunate death of a crocodile used for shooting. "There was a scene where Saradiel rescued a girl from a crocodile.

For this scene, we brought a crocodile from the zoo and handed it over to the zoo after shooting. However, the crocodile died three days after it it was handed over to the zoo. But the media reported that it was kept for three days at Utuwankanda and it died during the shoot," said Dharmasena with reference to adverse media report on the incident.

Jayalath Manoratne, Champa Shriyani, Roshan Ravindra, Tissa Abeysekara, Sathischandra Edirisinghe, Jagath Benaragama, Janak Premalal, W. Jayasiri, Indika Upamali, Indrajith Navinna, Richard Weerakkody, Ajith Lokuge, Shirantha Premawardana, Rukmal Nirosh, Edward Gunawardena, Susil Gunaratne, Umayangana Wickremesinghe, Lionel Wickreme are among the cast.

Co-director Prasanna Ithathepana, music director Nawaratne Gamage, Chanaka Silva, Art Director Hemasiri Fernando, Costume designer Mani Mendis are also contributed to make the teledrama a success.