A scene from the film
A caravan bull, the only source of income for a family living in an inaccessible mountainous village in rural Sri Lanka, goes missing triggering a series of intriguing events. An adventurous boy who hitches a ride on a vegetable van in pursuit of cattle thieves, lands in Colombo among a hostile bunch of street kids. He strikes up a friendship with a compassionate orphan girl who raises money to save the bull, Suddha, from the abattoir, whipping up an island-wide campaign against cattle slaughter.
The main star in Sulanga Api Ragena Yawi (Wind Beneath Us) is a caravan bull, the epicentre of the action, even whipping up a passionate island-wide campaign against animal slaughter.
A family of five including a grandmother depends on Suddha (the beast named on account of its spotless white colour) and the main source of income of the family living in an inaccessible mountain terrain in breathtakingly beautiful Hunnasgiriya range.
Nature’s beauty matters little to the family of five living at its core, eeking out a living from what Suddha earns by hauling out meagre produces of the villagers to a city market. The land with perilous slopes is not ideal for agriculture.
Their only connection to the outside world is a crumbling road that has no use to the village. The partly inundated road only serves the thieves who steal cattle to feed the Colombo abattoirs.
Things become sour when the bull tries to mate with a cow ruining a tobacco cultivation of a neighbour. The owner (Priyankara Rathnayake) decides to castrate the animal against vehement opposition from his mother (Iranganie Serasinghe) who treats Suddha with sacred reverence.
The two boys, Viranga (Praveen Katukithule) and Kasun (Sudam Katukithule) collect money in a jar hidden at the root of a tree to buy cow bells for the bull to track down its movements easily. Before they buy the bells, the cattle disappears.
The two boys see the thieves load Suddha into a truck and fleeing the village and the youngest, Kasun, hitches a ride in a vegetable truck in pursuit of their beloved pet and benefactor, and lands in Colombo among street children surviving by salvaging scraps among the city garbage mountains.
The street children in Sri Lanka are a bigger issue and a British charity, Christian Aid, estimates that over 10,000 children aged 6-14 are enslaved in brothels, and 10,000 to 12,000 children are trafficked and prostituted by organized crime groups. Some in major cities like Colombo, Kandy and Kurunegala turn to begging, rummaging through rubbish bins while some turn to other vices, according to Sunday Times.
The film does not dig into to their life. When Kasun is harassed by the street boys a teenage girl called Nihansa (Semini Hennayake) comes to his rescue and finds Rs. 6000 through donations of the Pettah traders and passers-by, needed to free Suddha from the butchers.
When the news of missing Kasun and the theft of village cattle hits the headlines there are mass protests calling for a ban on slaughter of cattle.
The adorable, simple children film has been directed by Nuwan Jayathillake who hails from Lellopitiya in Rathnapura, the native village of late film actor Joe Abeyewickrema, where there can still be caravans in rural mountain villages.
The film has been produced by Maya Nawagaththegama, who has dedicated the film to her father, late literary icon Simon Nawagaththegama. The news reaching us is that there are plans to make a biopic of the late celebrated playwright and writer. That will be something worth waiting for!
Striner Adams’ excellent camera captures the magical beauty of Hunnasgiriya mountain range and the travails of its anonymous inhabitants. The music of Chitral Somapala dominated by a flute immerses the spectacular mountains in an Andean charm. The theme song by child star Himanshu Manupriya needs special mention.
Wind Beneath the Wind reminds of two other popular children films Ho Gana Pokuna and Thaala, and the difference in Nuwan Jayathillake’s film is he does not rely on songs and comedy for entertainment. It is harsh reality of life trapped within the beauty of nature, with little possibility of fun. (newstrails.com)
