Yashoda Wimaladharma and Thumindu Dodanthenna in a scene from the film
Sumithra Peries’ latest film ‘Vaishnavi’ opens Sinhala cinema to the influence of magical realism which may be little confusing to our cinema audience who grew up watching linear-narrative realistic entertainment.
The film is a parting gift of three legends of Sinhala cinema. Maestro Lester James Peries who passed away this year at 99, conceived the story while actor Tony Ranasinghe wrote the script, in addition to playing a cameo. Nimal Mendis, whose contribution to Sinhala cinema was not that regular but everything he touched turned into gold, composed music with a theme song reminiscent of his inimitable magic.
‘Vaishnavi’ is a revered goddess in Hindu mythology and in Sumithra Peries-directed film the term refers to a tree goddess. The film has a charm of a fairy tale meandering through a mix of myth and reality employing magical realism, a genre no Sinhala director has used so effectively in any Sinhala film earlier.
The movie reminds me of ‘Pam’s Labyrinth’ but ‘Vaishnavi’ lacks the Mexican classic’s wider political spectrum and artistic range. At the core of Sumithra’s eleventh film is man’s perennial war with nature. Tree is at the centre of our religion and culture. The Buddha spent weeks meditating, looking at the Bo tree that sheltered him to succeed in his mission to find the truth.
Trees and the forests figure prominently in many ‘sutthas’ and discourses preached by the Buddha. In the little village I grew up in Sri Lanka people have told me that they have seen balls of fire flying into dense foliage of giant trees in the night which I did not openly dismiss as figment of their imagination. Trees, the villagers believed, were abodes of gods and goddesses. People’s supernatural beliefs emanate from their awe and fear of nature and even when they cut a tree those days they did it apologetically, appreciating the nature’s power to create and destroy. Many place names in Sri Lanka come from trees. When a giant tree falls without any reason people consider it as a bad omen for a village. The increase of natural calamities like floods, large scale landslides and similar catastrophes are the direct results of unrestrained felling of trees.
Sumithra quite imaginatively weaves fantasy and reality into ‘Vaishnavi’ and its central theme is how the nature strikes back. Osanda, a small time young village artiste during the early part of the last century cuts down trees to fashion life-like puppets to continue his family tradition of puppeteering, one of the most popular modes of entertainments before cinema. He lives among wooden characters, talks to them and conducts puppet shows with his uncle and family members.
He visits a family who is willing to give their beautiful daughter in marriage to him but things sour when the girl refuses to marry the impoverished ‘puppet guy’ opting to elope with the manager of the family-owned shop. All this while and even after the failed marriage, Osanda is unaware of his pretty cousin Ruchira’s amourous advances.
Dejected, Osanda carves a naked puppet in the likeness of the girl from the wood hacked from a felled tree which happened to be an abode of a goddess. All hell breaks loose when he went to see a woman soothsayer to consult the direction of his future. The woman (Veena Jayakody) ties a talisman around his neck while being in a fearsome trance. One night the puppet comes to life and falls in love with Osanda beginning the sad fairy tale.
‘Vaishnavi’ is visually stunning and veteran Donald Karunaranthne is behind the camera and the cast is composed of the best of two generations. Iranganie Serasinghe, Jayalath Manorathne, Mahendra Perera, Vasanthi Chathurani are at their best. Yashoda Wimaladharma is stunningly beautiful, radiating with unearthly charm to suit her other worldly character as the goddess while Thumindu Dodanthenna, as unrequited lover Osanda, is in a better character portrayal than in ‘DS Father of the Nation’. Samadhi Arunachaya, Shehara Hewadewa who reminds me of young Ramani Bartholomeusz, Roshan Pilapitiya and Thesara Jayawardane too shine in their characters.
The film premiered in Sri Lanka on April 5 of this year which happened to be the birthday of filmmaker Dr. Lester James Peries, Sumithra’s husband, in an apt tribute to the departed maestro who brought Sinhala cinema to the attention of the international audience. – newstrails.com
