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| Sunday, 18 April 2004 |
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Features |  |
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Film Review Diya Yata Gindara A change from the usual commercial fare by Chandana Silva Diya Yata Gindara deviates from the usual story line giving the idea of a detective story. However, the narrative lacks suspense and the capacity to arouse curiosity found in such stories.
A woman makes a complaint to the police that her husband carrying a large sum of money with him has disappeared, statements are recorded. Police commence investigations even without a single clue. They keep following the family members for information. The situation of this man with a large sum of money in his possession going all alone to Polonnaruwa in search of antiques creates a doubt in our minds. With the discovery of a burnt down car in a jungle track, the line of investigation then changes. Forensic evidence reveal that the skeletal remains found inside the vehicle is that of a woman. Viewers learn that the man supposed to have died is hiding somewhere. It is too early to have disclosed this vital fact. In building up suspense nondisclosure of certain facts is always to the film maker's advantage. Aesthetically pleasing The majority of Sinhala films take very little care of making an aesthetically pleasing powerful presentation of whatever theme they select. To derive an impact the images presented should be strong effective and unusual. Having learnt that the man supposed to have died is still living and is in touch with the family, Police starts closing in on the criminals one by one, with ease. Unbelievably they are not handled roughly at all. These suspects are treated kindly and they too confess like little boys confronting the headmaster. It takes only a single telephone call for the detectives to arrest the man who is hiding. The reality of the outside world looks unduly softened. Reality The reality of the outside world captured on film is not just sufficient to make the audience believe certain situations. The film itself has to create authenticity by film form itself. The audience also should be able to participate in what is taking place. Reality is an important fact as the viewers whole experience depends on his believing what is shown on the screen is reality. When all the suspected criminals are detained in a cell, the man who planned the operation scolds his friend (an employee of the mortuary) for sending the remains of a female when he had asked for those of a male. This was the clue that raised suspicion leading to their arrest. In reality how did this man know this? The way the story is presented there was no possibility for the suspects to be aware of such classified information. Pathetic story Every suspect has a pathetic story to tell, revealing the reason that led him to connive in the crime. One of them needs money to cure his only child. Another had to attend to his sister's wedding and two others needed school admission for their children. Furthermore, one detective confirms this by saying to his pal that even he had to pay a large some of money for school admission for his child and the man seated next to him laughed. Swindle The key suspect confesses that he tried to swindle the Insurance Company on his death claim as he was in dire need of funds to save the life of his only child. This is a point that the film maker could have made use of to examine a human problem in depth. Parental anxiety and depression the gravity of the child's condition does not sufficiently come through from the related situations. Even the photographs from the album and footage of an excursion does not carry much information forcefully nor does it fit into the narrative structure. Merry making Towards the end one of the guys who escapes from custody is seen merry making at his sister's wedding celebration. It's night and the celebration is under a huge tree. The bride is seen dressed in a white bridal dress dancing away to the music of a background song. The audience becomes curious and also worried as they see the detectives appearing one by one and taking cover under trees. having seen them the suspect walks towards them and gets involved in a friendly conversation. Moments later liquor is served to these detectives. Later I learnt that some people of the audience were amazed to watch them gulping down the hard stuff without any problem and has no relation to the story. Extended The story does not end there, it is extended by a further six months to allow one of the crime bureau senior officers to meet the key man involved in the case. The one who was supposed to have disappeared. Families are introduced to each other, they exchange news about their families. We learn that unfortunately the child afflicted with a grave illness had died. The point that it happened due to lack of funds is highlighted. Different angle In grim silence now the film maker changes to a different angle. The senior officer is spending a pleasant evening with his children. He tells his children that as much as material things like food and money, one needs love to survive. Under living the fact that he understood the plight of the man who tried to swindle the insurance company. Offences There are a number of offences committed by these suspects, they have burnt a car owned by a rent-a-car company, robbed a corpse from a government morgue, given false statements to the police with misleading information. However, the cops say these offences are not punishable by law. So everything turns out to be one hour and forty minutes of celluloid fun fair. Diya Yata Gindara displays efforts to deviate from the usual Sinhala film shedding certain ugly features used for the sake of box office success, disgraceful comedies, sexually provocative dances and cheap dialogues have been totally omitted. The film makers' attempt to build up a meaningful story is visible he has the potential of making film very different from the usual commercial formula. |
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