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Pura Handa Kaluwara

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2001 film by Prasanna Vithanage

Purahanda Kaluwara
පුරහඳ කළුවර
DVD poster
Directed byPrasanna Vithanage'
Written byPrasanna Vithanage
Screenplay byPrasanna Vithanage
Produced byPrasanna Vithanage
Starring
CinematographyM.D Mahipala
Edited byK. Sekar Prasad
Production
company		Gemini Studios
Release date
  • 9 October 2001 (2001-10-09) (Colombo)
Running time72 minutes
CountrySri Lanka
LanguageSinhala

Purahanda Kaluwara (Death on a Full Moon Day) (Sinhala: පුරහඳ කළුවර) is a 2001 Sri Lankan Sinhala drama film directed and produced by Prasanna Vithanage. It stars Joe Abeywickrama and Priyanka Samaraweera in lead roles along with Linton Semage and Mahendra Perera. Music composed by Nadeeka Guruge. The film has received mainly positive reviews. It is the 967th film in Sri Lankan cinema.

Plot

Wannihami, the main character, is a blind old man who is mourning the death of his soldier son. He is an average man and one day his simple life is upturned by the news of his son’s death that pushes him into a very difficult journey that tests his faith and courage.

Wannihami lives in a drought-stricken, mostly barren land marred by ethnic conflict, where the sons of the rural poor are dying in a bitter civil war. Wannihami's village consists of decaying huts and houses, such as his own. His house is a small quiet place, its doors are low, and the rain squeezes in from the roof to wet its mud floor.

On the Buddhist holiday of the full moon, the body of Bandara, Wannihami's soldier son, is brought home in a sealed coffin draped with the flag of Sri Lanka, with all its nationalistic symbolism. Wannihami knows that rain will come soon, and it rains on the day Bandara is buried. To ward off the pressure that comes from outside to accept the death of his son’s death, Wannihami sits on the empty veranda’s floor or the dingy rear of the house. It is to this house that his elder daughter would come to ask for his finger print signature, to claim compensation for her brother’s demise. Despite pressure from his desperate community and his family, Wannihami refuses to sign the papers which entitles the family to government compensation.

He decides to dig up his son's sealed coffin, even though he knows it will invalidate the compensation claim. When the coffin is opened, tree trunks are found inside instead of the son's remains. The coffin is closed up and buried once more. The film concludes with Wannihami near a lake listening to the sounds of children playing in the lake as it begins to rain. Ultimately, his greater purpose is to believe that the war cannot kill his son.

Cast

  • Joe Abeywickrama as Vannihamy
  • Priyanka Samaraweera as Sunanda
  • Linton Semage as Sunanda's husband
  • Mahendra Perera as Village Officer
  • Nayana Hettiarachchi as Yamuna
  • Kumara Karunananda as Pala
  • Uvindu Harshajith Abeysuriya as Vannihamy's Grandson
  • K. A. Milton Perera as Schoolmaster

Production

Crew

Source:

  • Prasanna Vithanage - Director, producer, writer
  • Sota Yamamoto - Executive producer
  • M.D. Mahindapala - Camera (color)
  • A. Sreekar Prasad - Editor
  • K.A. Milton Pereira - Production Designer
  • Jayasudha - Sound

Financing

Vithanage’s Pura Handa Kaluwara was funded by and produced with Japan's national television (NHK). In an interview conducted by Richard Phillips, Prasanna Vithanage commented "Fortunately I had money from outside Sri Lanka—the Japanese Broadcasting Corporation funded the film."

Release

With the Supreme Court ruling that the post of competent authority was illegal, the film was finally allowed to be released on fifth circuit from 28 July. However, the screening was delayed again when minister Sarath Amunugama, made the order under section 6 of the NFCSL Act of 1971 that the exhibition of the film had been deferred.

Box office

The film recorded the highest gate collection at the Colombo Regal cinema and earned Rs. 2,420,284.00 within 61 days to break the previous box office record set by Saroja by Somaratne Dissanayake which earned Rs. 2,414,000.00 after running for 126 days. Within last 50 days, the film earned Rs. 7,621,643.34 showing in thirteen theatres around the country.

Accolades

The main actor, Joe Abeywickrama won Best Actor award at 12th Singapore International Film Festival for his role "Wannihami". In 1991, the film won Grand Prix award, Jury award and NETPAC at 19th Amiens International Film Festival as well as International Film Critic's award at Fribourg International Film Festival in the same year.

References

  1. "'Purahanda Kaluwara' to go on 5th circuit soon". Sunday times. Retrieved 17 November 2017.
  2. "'Kaluwara' finally wins". Sunday Times. Retrieved 27 November 2019.
  3. "Sri Lankan movies". Sarasaviya. Retrieved 24 June 2017.
  4. "How war has shattered the life of a Sri Lankan village". World Socialist Web Site. 29 February 2000. Retrieved 11 March 2017.
  5. ^ Wonder Phil Productions. "Death on a full moon day | Under Construction - UC Films". Archived from the original on 26 March 2011. Retrieved 15 May 2010.
  6. ""Pura Handa Kaluwara" (Death on a Full Moon Day) a film by Prasanna Vithanage". Refugee Watch Online. 30 August 2010. Retrieved 11 March 2017.
  7. "Sri Lanka Cinema History". National Film Corporation of Sri Lanka. Retrieved 3 October 2016.
  8. "'Purahanda Kaluwara' today on Sirasa TV". www.sundaytimes.lk. Retrieved 3 April 2024.
  9. Jianbin, Zhong (13 October 2024). "The Application of Joseph Campbell's Hero's Journey to the Sri Lankan Award-Winning Classic Film 'Purahanda Kaluwara' ('Death on a Full Moon Day')" (PDF). Pakistan Journal of Life and Sciences.
  10. ^ Fonseka, Priyantha (1 July 2022). "Reading the 'Silent' Space: Background Setting of the Post-1990 Sri Lankan Art Cinema as an Expression of Socio-Cultural Silence". Sri Lanka Journal of the Humanities. 43 (1): 48. doi:10.4038/sljh.v43i1.7287. ISSN 0378-486X.
  11. Elley, Derek (30 November 1998). "Death on a Full Moon Day". Variety. Retrieved 5 December 2024.
  12. Hautin, Vilasnee Tampoe (1 June 2024). "Charting the course of Sri Lankan cinema in the context of the Ethnic War and its Aftermath (1983-2010)". Carnets de recherches de l'océan Indien (10). ISSN 2609-5742.
  13. ""The struggle of the common man for self-dignity is very profound"". World Socialist Web Site. 1 March 2000. Retrieved 5 December 2024.
  14. "Prasanna's new film: a test case". Sunday Times. Retrieved 17 November 2017.
  15. "Purahanda Kaluwara kept in the dark". Sunday Times. Retrieved 17 November 2017.
  16. ^ "'Purahanda' earns a record gate". Sunday Times. Retrieved 29 December 2019.

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