Since the first Sinhala film Kadawunu Poronduwa (The broken promise) was screened, Sri Lankan cinema has taken giant strides in its quest for creating a distinct signature in cinema. The early stage of Sri Lankan cinema saw the production of Sinhalese version of prototype North Indian Tamil movies primarily shot inside studios.

Though they were called films or bioscopes at the time, they were more or less, similar in character to stage plays with artificial dialogues being enacted in studios and converted into cinema.

They were marked for their typical triangular plots with a hero, heroine and a villain and with monotonous stereotype dialogues. It was Dr. Lester James Peries who salvaged Sri Lankan cinema from this predicament with his trailblazing Rekhawa (The line of destiny) being entirely shot, for the first time, outside studios.

The precedence of artistic film was thus set, has been continuing from generation to generation despite many obstacles and challenges the film industry is currently confronting from multiple frontiers.

Heyday of film industry

It was in the eighties before the advent of television, computer, VCD and DVD, that Sri Lankan films flourished. Larger than life cut outs of popular film icons such as Vijaya Kumaranatunga, Gamini Fonseka adored the city of Colombo particularly from Gamini Hall to Maradana. These bill boards and cut outs depicting scenes from commercial movies bear testimony, inter alia, to the vibrant commercial film industry of the time.

Arguably the sustenance of film industry is, by and large, dependent on successful commercial films. It is the commercial films that finance the industry which in turn helped production of artistic films. Since the production of films was a profitable, if not lucrative, venture, the volume of investments in the industry was much higher than that of today. On weekends, it was a common sight that a large number of families had lined up before leading cinemas in the city awaiting their turn to purchase their tickets.

Although Sri Lanka does not have a strong film culture such as Hollywood or Bollywood, watching a family movie, at least on weekends, has been a part of the cultural life of middle class families which constitute a major share of filmgoers. Having a snack during the interval and dining out, after the movie, made up the composite experience of watching a movie. At the time, it was well within the income of a family. Since there were buses even into the late night, transport for those who used public transport, had not been a major issue.

However, this favourable atmosphere for the steady growth of Sri Lankan film industry was hampered by the advent of television as a major electronic mass media. With it came the video cassettes followed by CDs, VCDs and DVDs.

Although the introduction of television in developed countries had an impact on the growth and substance of the film industries in those countries, the well-developed and technologically advanced industries could withstand the pressure brought about by television. But it has a domino effect on Sri Lankan film industry.

In addition to the pressure brought about by television and new media of movie distribution such as CDs, VCDs and DVDs, the industry had to struggle with its substandard infrastructure such as poor quality projectors and inferior quality cinemas. Although handful of cinemas replaced the old technology with state-of-art projectors and digital sound systems, majority of cinemas in the country still remain in the same state.

This worse scenario was further aggravated by high rate of inflation which resulted in the increase in the cost of production. This unfavourable economic climate compelled the cinema-owners to raise the ticket fee, in a desperate attempt, to cover the losses. However, it has a negative impact on the turnout of filmgoers as watching movies become no longer economically viable for the majority of filmgoers against the rising cost of living.

Deterioration of quality of productions

The cost of production alone cannot be cited as the major factor in deteriorating aesthetic quality of films and highly compromising standards.

Even in the commercial films, quality and standards have been deteriorating primarily due to reproduction of Hindi or Tamil movies in Sinhala. The majority of commercial films seem to be either carbon copies of Hindi or Tamil movies or unconvincing plots concocted in the minds of the film makers.

Culture of healthy criticism on the films which developed along with the evolution of Sri Lankan films has, over the years, been reduced to mere reproduction of the plot together with often undeserved praises heaped upon the film and the director.

When a critic shows defects in a film, it was not the intention of the critic to bring the filmmaker or his creation into disrepute. In a highly politicised culture, critics have been threatened, sometimes, with death or bodily harm.

Depriving the nation of a healthy culture of criticism where critics like Regi Siriwardane, Benedict Dodampegama, Gamini Hathtthotuwegama, and Jayawilal Wilegoda, A.J Gunawardene and Ajith Samaranayake flourished leading to the production of films such as "Gamperaliya" which has been rated second in popularity in France, Mecca of film industry. Unfortunately, that rich culture of criticism does not prevail today. Instead filmmakers and actors have not been creative.

They expect favourable reviews from critics.

In order to create a Sri Lankan cinema with a distinction, it is imperative for the Government to intervene not only to create conducive economic atmosphere for the growth and sustenance of an indigenous film industry but also make films more accessible to the masses.

Since the vibrant local film industry would reflect on the rich cultural legacy of the nation, it should be nurtured by creating an atmosphere which encourages production of films on contemporary socio-cultural issues.

Measures such as tax incentives on the importation of equipment including cameras and films together with mechanisms to provide long term loans to film makers, could reduce the cost of production. This would also help reduce ticket fees.