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| Sunday, 29 May 2005 |
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Features |  |
| News Business Features Editorial
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Critic's Corner Guerrilla Marketing : High- voltage drama
Guerrilla marketing deals with a series of events that have been cinematically shaped to forge a psychological analysis and social critique. Tisara Dissanayake and Suramya Mahakehelwala are cousins; they are childhood sweethearts. They come from a family that has for many generations excelled in Kandyan dancing. Tisara is now married to Suramya. She is unaware of the many aspects of Tisara's life. One such fact is that Tisara was diagnosed with a form of schizophrenia in his teens. Tisara is exceptionally talented and wastes no time in rising to the top in his chosen profession of commercial advertising. Gregory Mahadikaram spots Tisara's indubitable talents and brings him on board for his presidential campaign. Both of them share an important feature in common - extreme antipathy to tradition and the penchant for hypermodernity and globalisation. Tisara comes up with a new presidential campaign strategy that focuses on the deployment of teams of young men and women for the purpose of unfounded rumours and presenting Mahadikaram in the most positive and appealing light. As he works tirelessly on the campaign strategy, he succumbs to his old illness and becomes a victim of hallucinations in which Mahadikaram figures prominently. The life of Tisara Dissanayake, constitutes the centre of gravity of the film. Guerrilla Marketing is constructed around these events, leading to a critique that seeks to combine psychological probing and social commentary. The story, screenplay and direction are by Jayantha Chandrasiri. The cast includes such well-known actors and actresses as Kamal Addaraarachchi, Yasodha Wimaladharma, Jackson Anthony, Sangeetha Weeraratne and Sriyantha Mendis. Many of these actors and actresses have a natural screen presence and are convincing in their respective portrayals. One interesting feature of this film is the way in which director Chandrasiri converts the mental asylum to which Tisara is confined into a metonym of the society at large. However, it is never overtly moralistic in that the director does not overburden his scenes with calculated purpose. The film contains many interesting sights and sounds and textures associated with contemporary Sri Lankan society. Guerrilla Marketing has the courage to look at the social corruption and moral degradation enveloping society straight in the face. Many of the most interesting passages in the film, that combine visual and auditory imagination in interesting ways, have the strength of this interrogatory conviction. This is a high-voltage drama in which the director is unafraid to deploy visual hyperboles and rhetorical force to communicate his vision. Jayantha Chandrasiri is a talented filmmaker who is interested in making films for the general public, and he sees the importance of cinema as public entertainment. - Professor Wimal Dissanayake
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Jayantha Chandrasiri, with his earlier experience in stage and
television, has displayed this narrative ability convincingly. His earlier
film, Agni Dahaya was well received by local audiences, and there is no
doubt that his new film, Guerrilla Marketing will be greeted with equal
enthusiasm. While the former film was historical in nature, the latter grows
out of the tensions and contradictions of contemporary Sri Lankan society
with clear pointers to modern politics and political figures. 
