Artistic Films, critiques; into the vistas of the new millennium

by Ranga Chandrarathne

Dr. Lester James Peries Tissa Abeysekara Guiding the nation towards a genuine application to culture

After fifty years of producing artistic films, Sri Lankan cinema has, now, arrived at a critical juncture where it faces an identity crisis. Although Lester James Peris' Rekhava (Line of Destiny) is the first artistic film and considered as a part of a wider cultural renaissance with change of regime in 1956, it has been the culmination of the process of intellectual discourse spearheaded by intellectuals such as Prof. Ediriweera Sarachandra.

The 1956 cultural renaissance led to the turning of a new leaf not only in cinema but also in other forms of art such as literature, performing art and visual art. It was during this period that Martin Wickremasinghe wrote Gamperaliya, the first of his trilogy, maestro Chithra Sena produced Karadiya, Sinhalese ballet and Goerge Keyt drew his now famous avant-garde paintings.

However, this process which commenced in the 1940's which reached its zenith in 1956, should not be mistaken as the culminating effect of changes in the sphere of the political scene on art and culture. It was also not a process in search of national identity or a renaissance based on race but it was an intellectual process in the sphere of art and culture.

The reforms brought about by the new regime in education and the prominent status given to Sinhala language and the Sinhala only policy had also contributed to the renaissance.

Renuka Balasuriya and Somaratne Dissanayake- Serious audience awaits another film of easthetic quality such as Saroja

Prasanna Jayakody- Willing to respond to controversy and criticism sprang from Sankara(Introspection)

Asoka Handagama-Changing the cause of conventional cinema to explore the intimate ties

Tracing back to the origin of Sinhala cinema, the vital role played by the Tamil business community in Sri Lanka who invested their money in the Sinhala cinema, can not be undermined as they were responsible for the setting up of basic infrastructure for cinema in Sri Lanka.

In order to minimize the cost of production, Tamil businessmen set up film studios in Sri Lanka such as the Ceylon Studio, SPM Studio and the Wijaya Studio. Primarily their objectives were commercial and what they wanted was to establish Sri Lankan cinema as an industry. It was this community who established theatres in predominantly Sinhalese speaking areas.

Therefore, it is clear that the private sector was the pioneer in establishing necessary infrastructure for a vibrant film industry in Sri Lanka. Then private sector largely made up of Tamil businessmen, invested in the production of Sinhala films.

In fact, they even invested in films made by Dr. Lester James Peries; his second film Sandeshaya was produced by K. Gunaratnam. During the 1940's the cinema was a 'magic realism' for the audience which was used to watch dramas on stage.

One of the significant contributions that Rekhava made to the entire filmdom was that it not only set the stage for an intellectual cinema but also drew a boundary across the audience in determining the conventional and classical cinema.

Another major development in Sri Lankan cinema was the birth of the Sri Lanka Film Corporation with unprecedented power to shape the industry. It was the Film Corporation which drew the second line across the audience, in categorizing films produced in Sri Lanka, in terms of circuits, into classical films which are to be shown in the prestigious Fifth Circuit and commercial films.

Peradeniya School which shaped the contours of diverse art forms such as literature, drama, had also had an abiding influence on Sinhala cinema. From Sirigunasingha who produced his seminal work Satsamudura, D.B Nihalsinghe to Dharmasena Pathiraja, Wasantha Obeysekara represented and propagated the Peradeniya School.

Themes on the idealistic village, love in a village, customs dominated the early stage of Sinhala cinema; Kurulubedda, Kelahanda. Films by M. Mastan, Somasekaran and later by Robin Thampo were successful commercial films.

However, the genesis of the crisis in Sri Lankan cinema started with the establishment of National Film Corporation (NFC) which wielded unprecedented power regulating the entire process of production, the import and the distribution of films in Sri Lanka.

One could argue that the anti-private sentiments spearheaded by the NFC would have had a direct impact on subsequent burning of theatres and even studios during the 1983 black July.

The NFC's influence over the industry was pervasive and adversely affected the natural growth of the industry which was gradually gaining ground with building up of infrastructure for a vibrant film industry in Sri Lanka. However, after the second generation of film makers such as Lester James Peiris, Tissa Abeysekara, the third generation challenged the NFC's monopoly in film regulation.

This generation includes film makers who are path definers such as Dharmasiri Bandaranayake, Parakrama Niriella, and Parakrama Silva. One of the salient characteristic of all these film makers was that they attempted to supersede the artificial limitations and subtle manipulations by the NFC.

Dharmasiri Bandaranayke's seminal debut Hansa Vilak (Swan Lake) was produced by a private investor. The brilliant debut which was subsequently classified as classical work by the NFC itself, had won several awards.

As Hansa Vilak is woven around the institution of family, it was initially vehemently castigated by pseudo critics, some, on personal grounds and others who are cultural puritans as they live in a make-believe world fortified by traditions and social norms.

However, what these pseudo critics have failed to understand is that the purpose of a work of art is not to propagate an ideology or a static culture but to explore human nature and its complexities and subtleties of myriad human relationships which are not confined to social norms or traditions. It is a pity that very few artists base their creations on their personal experiences which would otherwise, be lessons of life.

For instance, Prof. Ediriweera Sarachchandra who could have written, beyond doubt, the most authentic novel based on his life and times, had never written such a novel based on his event-studded life.

Cultural Puritanism and cheap fantasies

From the early days, sex, the allied themes and the crisis in the institution of family had been subjects of many a work of art. Even in Buddhist literature, there are many instances where these issues were explored in a spirit of enlightening society and exploring the complexities of human behaviour; even the polygamous sexual relationships.

Sri Lankan writers both in Sinhala and English explored and discussed sexuality as it is an integral part of life. Martin Wickremasinghe, Punyakante Wijenaike, Sita Kulatunga, Gunadasa Amerasekara, Simon Navagattegama, Ameena Hussein, Romesh Gunasekara, Michael Ondatje, Manuka Wijesinghe, Lal Medawattegedara and Shyam Selvadurai have extensively dealt with the issues of human nature.

However, it is incomprehensible, antagonism on the part of a section of society to cinematic creations and classical forms of music and other forms of art when attempted to explore socio-cultural issues.

The new generation of film makers such as Asoka Handagama, Prasanna Withanage, Sathyajit Maitipe, Vimukthi Jayasundera, and Enokaa Sathyangani Keerthinanda have radically changed the application of media in the Sri Lankan context.

One of the salient characteristics of their cinema is that they explore intimate ties in a traditional set up. They have also captured the socio-economic changes brought about by the fast moving life in the city and draw parallels with the village. The dominant themes they explored are of migrant workers and their lives, garment workers in the free trade zone and how the web of social contacts formed and socio-economic repercussions of a protracted conflict.

Another section which constitutes a minority in the field, keep on churning out cheap fantasies whose purpose seems to keep the audience in ‘darkness’ for a period of three hours, in order to achieve their financial ends.

This type of films would be ideal for lovers and should carry on ideally the tag ‘couples only’ not as ‘adult only’ erroneously displayed in posters. Worse than the formula films, the themes such as ideal love with happy endings and marriage dominate these films.

Almost all the films, the ending was unrealistic as the beginnings were and often the film ends with a round table appeasement of parties to the conflict. One actress involved in the production of such films, while enjoying a huge plate of pork insulted a path defining film maker and his children as fanatics who creates equally fanatical films.

The remarks not only indicated the hypocritical nature of the comment and the commentator but also the gross ignorance of the medium. It is ironical that such cheap fantasies are being encouraged and publicized by section of the critics who appreciate cocktails more than providing the society with constructive criticism.

This reminds me of the constraint of literary critics of the caliber of Reggie Siriwardene, Ajith Samaranayake, Benedict Dodampegama, and the left- behinder of this segment Rajpal Abeynayeke who would judge and put the society into the right track where art and culture is concerned.

The need of the hour is a genuine application to art in order to salvage it from the present quandary which was the end result of the counter insurgency strategy adapted by the United National Party Government that left the country a cultural desert.

The collapse of art and culture in the face of brutal crackdown of the insurgency which resulted in several deaths of artists stalled the progress of classical art in 1980s. It is unfortunate that the handful of artists, who tried to change the course of art, have continually been subjected to harassment.

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