Let's entice the lost audience - Prasanna Jayakody

By Anuradha KODAGODA

What is the ultimate salvation for a woman? Knowing that her days are numbered, what kind of hope can keep her alive to believe in life any further? Is it going to be the long waiting prince charming's arrival with everlasting love or can it be a hope she carried in her womb?

Prasanna Jayakody

Karma, the latest cinematic venture of the internationally acclaimed film director Prasanna Jayakody, is now screened in the Ceylon Entertainments Ltd (CEL) theatres islandwide.

Prasanna Jayakody has proved his cleverness in taking his pick again by introducing the charming Michelle Herft and one of the legends of Sri Lankan music Nadeeka Guruge to the silver screen. Jagath Manuwarna, a recognised young talent on the theatre as well as in short film making, once again could mark his imprints on the silver screen by his outstanding performance as Piyal.

Amanda (Michelle Herft), Piyal's (Jagath Manuwarna) neighbour feeds his fantasies. Through their brief encounters, Piyal begins to see Amanda as the woman who will fill the void that existed within him.

Amanda is diagnosed with breast cancer as soon as she learns of her pregnancy. She never lets the hope of being a mother fade. Even as Amanda's external beauty depreciates, she realises that Piyal's fascination in her is sexual. She seduces him in the hope of releasing him from this.

Piyal realises then that she suffers from breast cancer and is soon filled with remorse- he perceives this action as seemingly having intercourse with his mother.

Piyal is convinced that it was his most vile act and dedicates himself to look after Amanda till her death. Finally, Piyal abandons all myths associated with the relationship between man and woman and finally accepts the reality of his mother's death.

The project of Karma cost a huge sum, spent by Ceylon Theatre (Pvt) Ltd, Sky Entertainment (Pvt) Ltd and Magic Lantern (Pvt) Ltd.

Excerpts of the interview with Prasanna Jayakody:

Q: What inspired the plot of Karma?

A: Karma does not have a linear storyline. Though I was initially influenced by Karma I never wanted to reproduce it as it was but wanted to drown deep with the concept that it generated.

The initial thought for Karma is based on the death of my mother who suffered from breast cancer. Her departure was a chip on my shoulder for quite a long time. In her last days she wanted me to take her to the house where she spent her childhood. The house, on a hill top had been abandoned for some time.

I took her there with much difficulty due to her bad health condition. Her behaviour enlightened me to realise human ability to transform to accept death. In other words my mother could transform her nostalgia, to believe and live in a dream knowing that her journey was going to end soon.

Therefore, through Karma it was important for me to reveal the interconnectivity of our feelings, emotions, politics and philosophies with the existing environment.

Q: What was the most challenging aspect in executing the Karma script into a visual form?

A: Film directors are not necessarily good writers. However, it is every director's nightmare to execute the script accurately in the visual media. Unlike penning a script, the visual media has its own limitations where it restricts the viewer's and the director's ability of imagination.

A scene from the film

Therefore, it was a tough task to visualise what was in my mind. Since Karma doesn't have a linear storyline, the character emotions cannot be seen frame by frame but developed gradually as a whole. I had to make many alterations in the script at the outset.

The three actors gave their best to Karma. Other than Jagath Manuwarna (Piyal), Nadeeka Guruge (Nadee) and Michelle Herft (Amanda) were new to the film industry. Though Karma was their debut feature, they were not amateurs in their performances.

However, being artistes in the South Asian region, it's impossible to be completely wild in the artistic approach due to many cultural and moral barriers. It was applicable to me as a director and for the all three actors even though they were willing to commit themselves 100 percent for its production.

For example, the film itself has a scene in which Amanda shows her breasts to Piyal, because until that point the audience is kept in suspense about her breast cancer.

However, we had to digitally visualise that scene; to avoid intimidations for her social survival. As a society we are still not matured enough to draw the line between professionalism and personal status.

Q: Don't you think you could conquer these social and cultural barriers through a professional acting crew?

A: I doubt it. There can be many professional actresses who could execute 100 percent performance, but the outer appearance is important. Michelle Herft was the exact match for the character which I imagined and so were Nadeeka and Jagath. When selecting Nadeeka, I did not bother about his acting talent but wanted somebody who can really play the guitar and who lives with music.

Also I wanted to show the clear contrast between the two characters Nadee and Amanda physically as well as socially. I never wanted any of the characters to act but wanted them to live with their characters and conform to its environment.

Q: Does the theme of Karma fall with the concept of Oedipus?

A: Most of the time we get into a project unconsciously. I did not pen the tale intentionally to fall with the concept of Oedipus. I don't think any of the writers do so. They can give interpretations according to their viewpoints. However any artistic work obviously falls into any of the basic criterion. Being in a society where the mother and child bond is strong and precious, I may be influenced by it.

Q: Why did you select a discontinuity narrative style for Karma?

A: I critically wanted to alienate the audience from the characters. If I let the story to flow by explaining the characters one by one, the audience may ceased with them. In my films I always create a space for the audience to think rather than melt with the characters.

Q: The inter-connectivity of the three characters is not quite visible. Why?

A: I consciously developed only a basic idea for each character and did not give a specific intro for any of them. This is also a part of the discontinuity narrative style by which I used to alienate the audience from the characters. Many details were deleted at the editing process, which I felt may provide space for the audience to chase behind the characters and melt down with the character's tragedy.

Q: What is your idea about Sri Lankan audience?

A: A gap generated since the '80s due to the flop of Sri Lankan cinema. Even though the new generation could have access to international cinema and be influenced by the international cinema, there's a huge gap between the audience and the new generation who step into the cinema.

Therefore, most of the time internationally acclaimed films may not be digested among the local audience. It is not easy to fill this gap overnight. However, as the new generation film- makers it is essential to look into this matter in a novel perspective to entice the lost audience.