Cinema
පරසතුමල්
Gamini Fonseka · 1966
Synopsis
Bonny Mahattaya, a rich landowner, lives amid wine and pleasure and moves from one affair to the next. Only one woman resists him: Kamala, who loves Sirisena, a humble labourer employed on Bonny's land. To catch sight of her, the master goes so far as to set fire to a paddy field and to laugh in front of the flames.
Context
The producer, Chithra Balasuriya, had commissioned the screenplay from P. K. D. Seneviratne, sought after for rural subjects. Gamini Fonseka, who plays the lead role, also directed, his first time in that role, at the age of twenty-six; Punya Heendeniya plays Kamala. A great box-office success, the film was shown in 2025 at the Festival des 3 Continents in Nantes, in a 164-minute print.
Who it is for
A feature film in Sinhala, about two and a half hours long depending on the version, to be seen in a subtitled print.
Prizes and reception
Fourth best film at the 1967 Sarasaviya Awards; ranked tenth in 1997 among the best Sri Lankan films of the past half-century.
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