Yashoda's Butterfly moment

by Dilshan Boange

Samanala Sandwaniya (The Butterfly Symphony) written and directed by Jayantha Chandrasiri enjoyed remarkable success at the Box Office here. While filmgoers in Sri Lanka embraced it as a work, which touches the hearts of Sri Lankans, it is interesting to know that this film received an overwhelming response in London early this year.

During conversation with actress Yashoda Wimaladharma who plays one of the lead roles in The Butterfly Symphony, I learnt much of how this film touched the pulse of both expatriate Sri Lankans living in London as well as westerners to whom it was a 'foreign film'.

"The show was screened by 'Ape kama' an organisation comprising expatriate Sri Lankans in London and was screened at the Safari Cinema in Harrow," says Yashoda who had been the representative of the director. It was her job to help promote the film in London and be the public face for the event.

The response had taken her quite by surprise and was more than what could have been possibly imagined. "The tickets all sold out and a large number of young Sri Lankans living in London were there.

There were many youngsters who had been born and raised in England who didn't speak much Sinhala but had a great enthusiasm to experience Sinhala cinema on the big screen," she says.

The English subtitles of course ensured that every viewer had the chance to follow the story.

And the packed audience had been spellbound by the story of love and loss and how those themes are intersected and rendered as soulful reflections of our emotional beings. Sitting in the audience Yashoda had attentively kept her senses tuned to pick up viewer reactions.

Mesmerized

And she says she saw faces looking forlorn, mesmerized, and some, quietly moved to tears as well. "After the show the young viewers wanted to have an interactive Q&A with me," says Yashoda who pleasantly surprised by the interest shown by the young viewers. "They asked me whether all Sinhala films were likethis? They really appreciated the experience and it was evident they wanted to experience more of Sinhala cinema."

Apparently there is now a growing audience for Sinhala film shows not just among the first wave of immigrant Sri Lankans but also their progeny, although they are British citizens by birth.

The levels at which The Butterfly Symphony touches the heartstrings give it an appeal that goes beyond national cultures, says Yashoda, adding that her own role in it makes her feel it is by far the best performance she has delivered before the camera.

"I usually try to spot the mistakes I have made in a performance when I watch the film. But surprisingly in this film, I can honestly say after watching it more than ten times I still can't spot any instances that I feel I could have done better or had some shortcoming. I would say therefore that I'm fully satisfied of my performance in The Butterfly Symphony."

While giving grateful credit to her guru Jayantha Chandrasiri as her acting trainer, Yashoda further reflects on her performance thus: "The strange thing was when I first watched the film I couldn't see the role I played as being me! In that sense, the character and I were two completely separate personalities. I felt I had divorced my personal self from the performance and given life to a whole new person.

This was the feeling I had when I watched The Butterfly Symphony. That says something about how deeply I went inwards to find and bring out the soul of the character I was to portray."

The Butterfly Symphony has brought in a whole new level of experience to Yashoda as an artiste of the silver screen. She says it has given her a sense of 'elevation' due to the character she played, as well as how people responded to her after it was released and became a hit.

Crowd response

One particular incident she says she will never forget was the crowd response in Polonnaruwa, when she went there for some promotional work during a screening. After the show was over, an old lady had come up to Yashoda and asked, (in Sinhala), for permission to embrace her.

"She didn't say a word while we held each other.

We simply shared an embrace for about half a minute and she quietly cried. With tears in her eyes, and a loving smile of thankfulness to me, she then left. It was for me a deeply moving moment in my life," says Yashoda, summing up that moment as an experience beyond words.

It is interesting to note that although released in 2013 and the entire film is available to watch free online on YouTube, The Butterfly Symphony has still found packed audiences overseas two years on. Perhaps it is the magic on the big screen and the depth of the emotional elements it touches that gives the movie its continued appreciation from filmgoers.

While The Butterfly Symphony has enjoyed remarkable success in London, the organisation 'Ape kama' was preparing to hold a screening of Jayantha Chandrasiri's Maha Raja Gemunu towards end of May in the Safari Cinema hall in Harrow. Yashoda who plays the role of King Elara's wife Dharathri in that film, expresses how the growth of interest in good quality works of Sinhala cinema is now captivating audiences in places like London and that in time to come, the initiatives being made today will hopefully pave the way for Sri Lankan cinema to get a better screening space in the west as well.

Hopefully, with the productive steps being taken by the likes of Jayantha Chandrasiri to promote Sri Lankan films in foreign lands, the local film industry will in time grow in its reach to newer audiences and find more financial strength for the betterment of our film industry and wider appreciation of Sri Lankan cinema.