No Budget Blues

andra starts her Friday Cry with the recent film Rani. Parroting what her friends said on seeing the film, Cass in her Cry just prior to this wrote: “It has been reviewed as outstanding; raved over by many; and already grossed the highest amount in SL cinema history – Rs 100 million from date of release January 30 to February 14. This last: testimony to its popular appeal and acceptance as an outstanding cinema achievement.

Veteran film critic Cassandra Fernando, in her latest ‘Coin’, reflects on the recent film ‘Rani’, which has garnered both critical acclaim and commercial success.

While acknowledging the film's impressive box office performance, grossing over Rs 100 million in a short span of time, Fernando confesses that she has yet to see the film. However, she reveals that her reluctance to join the cinema crowds stems from a growing distaste after viewing short previews on YouTube.

Fernando expresses her concern that director Asoka Handagama may have sensationalised certain aspects of the tragedy, particularly Swarna Mallawarachchi's portrayal of Manorani, who is frequently depicted drinking alcohol and smoking cigarettes. She suggests that this may have been done to cater to the crowd's preferences.

She observes that Sri Lankans are generally expressive in their grief, often engaging in writhing, moaning, and appeals to the deceased. However, she finds this behaviour to be excessive and amusing, imagining the chaos that would ensue if the dead were to actually respond to these requests.

Fernando highlights the preference for fictionalised retellings of events over documentaries, which is evident in Handagama's styling of the film as fictionalised history. Despite this, she feels that the director is guilty of sensationalism, which is a sentiment that has been echoed in a recent Face Book criticism shared with her by a nephew.

The message, titled "Misconceived, Misinterpreted, Miscast and a Big Mistake," succinctly encapsulates the critique. However, Fernando chooses not to reveal the critic's name due to the prevalence of truth, lies, and hidden agendas on social media.

The critic expresses their opinion about two people that many knew, loved, and respected, and goes on to point out mistakes and exaggerations. They state that Manorani was never even bordering on alcoholism and hardly ever smoked. And when she did, socially or to dim her sorrow, she did it elegantly.

A Man Friday commented that they should have taught Swarna how to hold a cigarette and smoke it as it should be smoked. Hence my contention, every coin, even a box office success, has two sides to it, two diverse criticisms and in-betweens.

Each morn

I phoned a US living friend who was recovering from a harsh winter’s gift to her – severe flu. She said the flu was leaving her but depression and distraught-ness about hers and the US’s future were threatening to drown her in emotional turmoil much worse than the worst cough ‘n cold.

I knew the reason – Trump’s trumpets of new opinions, threats, enactments et al. She dreaded getting up each morning wondering what new calamity was to descend on the American people and by influence, spreading to the world. Her son has forbidden TV news watching and reading the newspapers which she says are so opposed to media treatment of the Prez.

I could very well sympathise with her. We in Sri Lanka suffered bouts of such threatened discomfort, nay calamitous warnings and sheer dread. My remembering mind went to Shakespeare in his tragic play Macbeth. Macduff’s description of Scotland under the reign of Macbeth to Malcolm, son and heir of murdered Duncan now sheltered in England, goes thus: “Each new morn/ New widows howl, new orphans cry/ new sorrows strike heaven on the face that it resounds.”

I don’t know about you but dread lurked in my heart and mind when the JVP 1989 insurrection took place – for my teenage son. The LTTE and suicide bombs caused utter destruction of life, limb and infrastructure. Families who had travelled together now travelled to schools and workplaces separately since no bus or train was safe. Nor were the privately owned cars.

Then came two tyrant Presidents with sudden deaths of prominent persons and media personnel like Richard and Lasantha and many others. Blatant robbing of our money had us gasping helplessly. Riff raff rose in power and lorded, one such tying a man to a stake for not attending a meeting.

Then rode to power on popular vote another brother in the newly created powerful dynasty. Word of mouth minus stroke of pen had orders given out to be promptly executed. White vans which plied the streets were reduced but worse happened.

One order and the rice fields had no grain, fruits dried on trees, forex earning luscious two leaves and a bud withered and could not be plucked. Bankruptcy resulted. But we had a ‘shipless’ harbour which had to be mortgaged for a song to the Chinese; a plane-less airport sounding death to elephants and peafowl; and a gaudy tower to gaze on or commit suicide from. A gathering of people on Galle Face Green righted things.

Then came into power a party that had two men and a woman in Parliament which yielded a true Sri Lankan with country first and last in mind, as President. Followed a sharp victory for the coalition of parties led by the hopefully reformed JVP so that three seats became almost two thirds of all seats in Parliament and