 
by Ruwini Jayawardana
Rear Admiral Sarath Weerasekara
proved that he can take on more than the gun when he decided to embark
on a journey of moviemaking. The former Eastern and Northern Commander
of the Navy who spearheaded many operations to ensure peace in the isle
recently became the highest-ranked serviceman to turn director. His
maiden cinematic venture, ‘Gamani’, deals with a true life incident
which had taken place 10 years ago.
“Fifty-seven civilians were massacred by the LTTE in Gonagala. I
heard the news when I was in the navy and at sea. I was haunted by the
question on why the home guards were unable to protect the citizens from
the attack.
Ironically, a couple of years after the incident, I was put in charge
of the Civil Defense Force (CDF),” Rear Admiral Weerasekara expressed
while shooting some scenes in Karuwalagaswewa in the Puttalam region.He
says that experience helped him in forming the scenes for ‘Gamani’. The
title of the movie derives from the Sinhala term for ‘home guard’ and
revolves around an Army Major and a school teacher. It tells a tale of
how properly trained home guards triumph over terrorism.
“Terrorism is a national issue. Therefore, the people, excluding
those who side for terrorism, should play their part in eradicating
terrorism.
Artists should take measures to make creations promoting the
confidence and mind set of the forces. Unfortunately, what had been
happening so far is the exact opposite. Some film-makers have painted a
very bleak picture of the local forces through their movies and
projecting it in the international arena,” the director said. He further
stressed that the main reason for him to engage in movie-making is to
boost the morale of the CDF.
“‘Gamani’ also sheds light on the army’s attitude towards the Tamil
citizens. For example, it is those in the South who provide food for
some of those who were once LTTE supporters in the Manik Farm camp.
Angampora, our native martial art, is also projected in the movie,” he
added.
 A significant aspect in ‘Gamani’ is that 57 coffins had to be brought
in with 600 citizens for the shots of the funeral procession. A storm
had descended during the event refreshing their memories as a similar
storm had taken over the skies on the day the scene had taken place for
real. The team believes that there is some significance connected to the
incident.
A cast comprising the best of local talent: Bimal Jayakody, Dilhani
Ekanayake, W. Jayasiri, Sanath Gunatileke, Suminda Sirisena, Chandrasoma
Binduhewa, Mahendra Perera, Geetha Kanthi Jayakody, Veena Jayakody,
Damitha Abeyratne, Sarath Kothalawala, Jayani Senanayake, Muthu Tharanga,
Kumara Thirimadura, Anuruddhika Padukkage, Raja Ganeshan, Gihan
Fernando, Dharshan Dharmaraj, Ranjith Rubasinghe, Jagath Chamila, Jagath
Beneragama, Asela Jayakody and many others take part in ‘Gamani’.
The producer is Upali Rajapaksa and the cameraman is Saman Sigera.
Ravindra Guruge is the Editor, Asoka Athaudahetti is the Assistant
Director and Sunil Wijeratne is the Art Director.
Rear Admiral Weerasekara is also well known for his literary
contribution.
Having scripted two books and composing witty verses, the battle
hardened serviceman is ready to make a significant impact in cinema
towards the end of the year.
 
Zoe Saldaa is the beautiful
actress who plays Nyota Uhura in Star Trek 2009. Director Abrams had
liked her work and requested that she play the role. Saldaa never saw
the original series, though she had played a Trekkie in The Terminal
(2004), but agreed to play the role after Abrams had complimented her.
“For an actor, that’s all you need, that’s all you want. To get the
acknowledgment and respect from your peers,” she said. She met Nichelle
Nichols, who explained to her how she had created Uhura’s background,
and also named the character. Saldaa’s mother was a Star Trek fan and
sent her voice mails during filming, giving advice on the part. Saldaa
was born in New Jersey to a Dominican father and Puerto Rican mother and
lived in the Dominican Republic until she was 17.
In an interview, she said that she was of Lebanese, Indian, Irish,
and Jamaican lineage. She was raised in Queens, New York, and her first
languages are English and Spanish. Zoe studied ballet in the Dominican
Republic, then became a dancer, which benefited her later for her role
in Centre Stage. She returned to the US and enrolled in the Faces
Theatre Program, an acting course.
Saldaa’s first screen experience was on Law & Order. Then she acted
in Centre Stage (2000), Crossroads (2002), Drumline (2002) and The
Pirates of the Caribbean:The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003) as Anamaria.
Despite her name not appearing
in the film credits for the hit Hindi flick ‘Love Aaj Kal’, Giselle
Monteiro has mesmerized audiences as her role as a Punjabi kudi called
Harleen Kaur. The 19-year-old Brazilian model (who looks more Indian
than Brazilian) who couldn’t speak Hindi or dance to save her life, at
one point in time was spotted by director Imtiaz Ali who didn’t want to
let out that a Brazilian was playing his Punjabi kudi.
 In the film, she’s the one who is wooed and won by the Sardar Saif.
Even when Harleen became visible in the trailers she remained
inaccessible to the public. Imtiaz says, Why a Brazilian girl to play an
old-fashioned Punjabi girl? Well, I was auditioning girls from all over
the country to play the Punjabi girl opposite the Sikh Saif.
I couldn’t find the right girl to play the 1965 ki gali mein rehne
wali ladki, purane zamane ki. One day Giselle walked into Imtiaz’s
office with designer Anaita Shroff Adajania for another part. “Giselle
came to me to play Jo, Saif’s Caucasian girlfriend in the second-half
but she wasn’t right for Jo. My wife who was there suggested Giselle for
Harleen.
Then only I knew she is Brazil’s Harleen. She didn’t know how to
speak Hindi but she had only two lines to speak, which we dubbed.
Significantly Giselle understood the old-world values of her small-town
character better than an urban Indian actress would have. |
