KALA KEERTHI VASANTHA OBEYSEKERA MULTIPLE AWARD WINNING FILM SCRIPT WRITER,DIRECTOR IMMORTALIZED REAL LIFE STORIES ON CIMEMATIC SCREENS – by Sunil Thenabadu
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Kala Keerthi Vasantha Obeysekera born in year 1937 was stared as one of the foremost film fabricators in the 70s decade who graduated from the University of.Peradeniya in the year 1962. He had served on the Editorial Staff of the Associated Newspapers of Ceylon Limited from 1964 to 1970 in the Dinamina newspaper. In addition to his editorial work, Vasantha Obeysekera wrote several short stories during this period. Vasantha had entered the cinematic industry with Sath Samudura in year 1967 which he co-wrote and worked as the assistant director. The film was selected to the Moscow International Film Festival in Moscow at which was awarded a merit certificate in cinematography by the film authorities of Moscow..It was not long after Vasantha wrote the script and directed the film Ves Gaththo ( masked men) in year 1970 and later Walmathuwo ( lost onces in year 1976 subsequently Diyamanthi ( diamonds) and Palagentiyo (grasshoppers) 1979 which won the Presidential award in for best screenplay, best director and the film. In year 1983 Vasantha triumphed with his film Dadayama (the hunt) which also won the Presidential awards for the best screenplay, best director and the best film.After a sojourn of five years in 1989 Vasantha made the film Kedapahaka Chaya (reflections on the mirror) which too was a total triumph in his cinematic journey. In the late 1990’s his films Maruthaya ( storm) in 1995,Dorakada Maruwa (death at the doorstep) in 1998 and thereafter in 1999 directed Theertha Yathra (pilgrimage) which also secured awards like OCIC and Presidential film award ceremonies .Thereafter in the decade of 2000 directed Salelu Warama ( web of love), Agni Warsha ( rains of fire), Aganthukaya (the stranger) and Sewwandi .In the context of the above Vasantha had directed films with overwhelming success..
Vasantha had been always interested in writing, got his initial momentum and opening when he had met Dr. Siri Gunasinghe, the young university lecturer during his time at Peradeniya, who started ‘Sath Samudura’ (1967), the highly acclaimed film. Vasantha was co-script writer with Dr Siri and lent a hand in direction too.Vasantha looked for fresh talent for his films. He preferred to pick talented stage actors. Playing the lead roles in the first film he directed – ‘Ves Gaththo’ in 1970 were Cyril Wickremage, Somasiri Dehipitiya (both who were impressive in ‘Sath Samudura’ and Wimal Kumara de Costa. ‘Ves Gaththo’ highlighted the differences in outlook, priorities, and lifestyles between the upper and lower classes in Sri Lankan humanity. That was the start of his quest for social issues and human conflicts in conveying a message through cinema. Vasantha did endeavour to surface the disappointments and frustrations of rural unemployed youth which was the theme of his second film, ‘Valmathwuvo’ (1976). In the same year, his third effort, ‘Diyamanthi’ was also released. While his films were well received, it was in ‘Palangatiyo’ that he made his mark as a filmmaker to be much reckoned with. Listed number seven among the best Sinhala films produced in the first 50 years of the local film industry, it projected the frustration of youth and was ranked by critics as among his more memorable creations. Continuing his search for better actors from stage for his films, Vasantha got Dharmasiri Bandaranayake to play the lead with Dhammi Fonseka a relatively novice and among others in the cast were Henry Jayasena, Mercy Edirisinghe and Denawaka Hamine all of whom were well-known stage players then. .In his film career of virtually four decades Vasantha had the knack of picking up interesting themes. Most of them were based on true stories. Once he located an incident, often through a newspaper report,book or whatever he would thoroughly investigate it working on research which often took months. After collecting all the facts, he would thread the missing links and sit down to write the screenplay. he then goes into detail shot by shot, frame by frame, to set up an exhaustive document. It takes time but made his job much simpler once shooting commenced.
The killing of Adeline Vitharana was one of the most talked-about gruesome murders in that era , there was a lot of excitement when Vasantha made that the theme for his next film, ‘Dadayama’ (1998). Ravindra Randeniya and Swarna Mallawaarachchi which turned out to be two memorable performances which brought the duo the Best Actor & Best Actress awards. Vasantha was adjudged the Best Director at both Presidential and Sarasaviya Awards. The film was number eight among the all time best films. At an interview not so long ago, Ravindra Randeniya recalled how Vasantha gave him the script and warned him that was a character which would make him very unpopular with the fans. After going through the script Ravindra but with much deliberation, was quite happy to do the role having enjoyed working with Vasantha whom Ravindra had added that is a very good teacher was added by Ravindra. Vasantha has succeeded in selecting a true story, and investigating it cinematically so as to map symbolically the curves of male desire and the deeper truths that are hidden behind the masks that civilization wear. The director focussed on the lineaments of a society where human relationships are alternately traversed by forces of creativity and destruction. The crucial insight of the movie serves to underline the need to create a society where men and women are transparent to each other, to pave the way for emotionally and morally fulfilling lives. in Cinema equally sensational was the story of a newly married couple meeting with a fatal accident in Kandy in the wee hours of the day after their honeymoon. The car hit a mara tree and both were killed instantly. Vasantha became very curious to find out exactly what had happened. He wondered:” Was it a plain and simple accident? Was it suicide? Was it homicide? He spent months digging up information about the two people and their backgrounds. He made ‘Dorakada Marava’ (1998) based on this story. His choice made appropriately for the lead roles who were Sanath Gunatilleka and Sangeetha Weeraratne.
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Vasantha in his own inimitable elegance wrote and directed some of the most chatted about films in the Sinhala cinema, bringing to life real life stories that were etched in the collective memory of generations. Most famous among these was Dadayama, which he directed in 1983, bringing to the silver screen the infamous Wilpattu murder case of Adeline Vitharane. The film won Obeyesekere a presidential award for Best Director and propelled Swarna Mallawarachchi to prominence and stardom, winning her a string of awards for her role as the ill-fated murder victim. The film also led to a court case against Vasantha in the District Courts in Colombo ordering a prohibition on his film on the grounds the story was copied from a book written by former Supreme Court Judge A.C. Alles. However, in a ground-breaking verdict, the Court of Appeal in 2002 defended an appeal in favour of the film director.
Vasantha won the award for Best Director at presidential awards conducted by the National Film Corporation for several of his films including Palangatiyo (1979), Dadayama (1983), Dorakada Marawa (1998) and Theertha Yaathra (1999). His other films such as Kedapathaka Chaaya (1990) and Salelu Warama (2003) were also well received. The last film he directed was Aganthukaya (2007). In 2005 Obeyesekere was conferred the national honour of Kala Keerthi for his contribution to cinema.
By calling Vasantha, “a creative experimentalist in cinema”, Gamini Haththotuwegama commented that the first three decades of his filmmaking career marked a steady graduation from innocent endeavour to pregnant achievement. In opinions of many, Vasantha was the most wisely and securely placed among our directors. He seems to be mastering what others are furiously with extreme bother and strain muscling to achieve. His films have made no difficulty in carrying the ‘art’ to mass audiences. In terms of cinematic dramaturgy tuned to social and personal utterance his blending seems right, and even rich on his writings.He died on 8 April 2017 in a private hospital in Colombo at the age of eighty years. Though he has departed Vasantha Obeysekera will be long remembered for the vital role he played towards improving the quality of Sri Lankan cinema.In the above context Vasantha was mainly responsible for much of the changes that swept through the Sinhala cinema in the 1970s. Basically, they helped destroy the distinction that had prevailed until then between an artistic and a commercial cinema. He emphasised on youth unrest, class conflict, women’s rights, the civil war and the insurrection which pioneered a third way in the cinema, tackling these issues while making concessions to popular audiences. This contribution unfortunately,however has not been appreciated enough.
Sunil Thenabadu
email sthenabadu@hotmail.com
WhatsApp 0061444533242
