‘Thushara’ revived!
by Ruwini Jayawardana
History is on its way to repeat
itself. The dazzling spectacle of yesteryear star Vijaya Kumaratunga
romancing Malani Fonseka will be recreated with a new stance when young
actors Saliya Sathyajith and Shalika Edirisinghe takes to the screen and
dances to the evergreen tunes sung by H.R. Jothipala.
 Yasapalitha Nanayakkara’s hit film ‘Thushara’ remoulded by actor and
producer turned director Sahan Wijesinghe boasts of the glamour of the
past and more. The remake of the 1973 hit will begin screening at the
LFD, MPI and NFC’s Rithma circuit cinemas islandwide from October 9.
Significantly the day also marks the 64th birth anniversary of Vijaya
Kumaratunga.
“Though we are advanced in technology I have always felt that the
present movies lack the beauty of past hits. Movies made in the 1960s
and 70s made use of the cream of the industry, from the stars in the
lead roles to the music and plot. I have watched Nanayakkara’s
‘Thushara’ 26 times and I had the hope of doing a remake. There is a
global interest towards making remakes. Some of our own movies like
‘Kadavunu Poronduwa’, ‘Sujatha’ and ‘Hathara Dennama Soorayo’ had also
been revived with new faces and some of them have proven to be a
success,” Wijesinghe noted the reasons for remaking the movie. He also
said that movie-making is an extremely risky task today.
“There is lack of resources like good script writers, lyricists and
vocalists. These three ingredients play key roles in a movie’s success.
I had a choice between making an entirely new production and a remake.
As the latter is less tricky, I chose to take it up,” he added.
Besides producing and directing the remake he had also taken up the
role of the villain, originally acted by Baptist Fernando. He said that
if the remake had been done 10 or 15 years ago he would have taken on
the role of the hero.He noted, “I searched for actors to suit the
characters for over a year and finally came upon Saliya. He possessed
the charisma I was searching for and I believe Shalika is quite suited
to the role.
Countries like India have a separate set of artistes for the mini
screen and an entirely different cast for movies. I chose faces which do
not appear often on television and during that stage. Saliya had only
acted in one teledrama and Shalika, Pumi Purashinghe and Buddhika
Rambukwella too were literally new faces to the audience. Now most of
these artistes have joined teledramas. That is a drawback for my movie.
They are professional actors and it is hard for them to survive entirely
on films.”
 The remake will retain the film’s eight original hit numbers
‘Jeewanaye Meewanaye’, ‘Meedum Gala Kande’, ‘Kalak Thisse’, ‘Epa Wunoth
Heta One Wei, Rantharu Se (Hoi Hoi), Kavdo Ave, Mahada Obe Dayavi’, ‘Ho
Ho Thushara’ and ‘Kalak Thisse’(duet) by H.R. Jothipala and Angeline
Gunathilaka.
Robin Fernando, Rex Koddipilli, Chathura Perera, Chitra Wakishta,
Anju Bandara, Lasantha de Alwis, Sonia Disa, Remenzi Fernando, Sarath de
Silva, Rizwan Fa and others too play significant roles in the story.
Sarath de Alwis is the music director while K. D. Dayananda is the
cameraman. “I had problems finding the money but NFC chairman Jayantha
Dharmadasa and Sunil T. Fernando helped me out in a lot of matters. I
have several movies in mind to remake before engaging on a production of
my own but it all depends on how well ‘Thushara’ rolls. If I get back
the sum I spent on the movie I would certainly focus on another one,” he
admitted with a smile.
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