Delovak Athara (Sinhala, Between Two Worlds) is a 1966 Sri Lankan drama film directed by Dr. Lester James Peries, with screenplay, dialogue, and script by Dr. Tissa Abeysekara.[1] The film stars Tony Ranasinghe and Suvineetha Weerasinghe in lead roles, along with Jeevarani Kurukulasuriya and Wijeratne Warakagoda.[2]
| දෙලොවක් අතර (Delovak Athara) | |
|---|---|
 Tony Ranasinghe and Suwineetha Weeeasinghe in a sequence from the film | |
| Directed by | Lester James Peries |
| Written by | Lester James Peries Reggie Siriwardene Gamini Gunawardena Tissa Abeysekera |
| Produced by | Anton Wickremasinghe |
| Starring | Tony Ranasinghe Suvineetha Weerasinghe Jeevarani Kurukulasuriya Iranganie Serasinghe |
| Cinematography | William Blake |
| Edited by | Sumitra Gunawardana |
| Music by | W.D. Amaradeva |
| Distributed by | Cinelanka Ltd. |
Release date |
|
Running time | 103 minutes |
| Country | Sri Lanka |
| Language | Sinhala |
| Budget | 200,000 rupees |
Peries developed the movie as a character study, utilizing a single incident to provide insight into the newly rich society of Sri Lanka in the time period. It proved to be his most successful film up to that time, surpassing Gamperaliya in box office earnings. It was also a critical success, winning praise from Sinhala critics like Philip Cooray and making the rounds at European film festivals, including the Valladolid Film Festival in Spain.[3]
The film was re-screened on 21 July 2018 at 4.30 p.m. at the Regal Cinema in Kandy for the Sarasaviya Film Festival.[4]
Plot
editAt the onset of the film, Nissanka (Tony Ranasinghe) is engaged to marry Shiranee (Jeevarani Kurukulasuriya), a woman of the same social class. Nissanka decides to go to a club and asks Shiranee, who politely declines. He thus goes alone and meets an old friend, Chitra (Suwineetha Abeysekera). They rekindle their friendship, and Nissanka offers a ride home. Chitra agrees and they set off only to accidentally hit and kill a pedestrian. The two now have a large secret as they flee the scene. Nissanka's family subsequently attempts to cover up the murder. Chitra is faced with a moral dilemma but doesn't give Nissanka up to the police. She urges him to turn himself in. One man who had seen Nissanka's car when it hit the pedestrian, told the police, the numbers on the number plate. The police inquire into this and question Nissanka too. Nissanka's father tells the police that his servant drew the car and the servant is also questioned by the police. One day the servant sees that the pedestrian has passed away, so he runs away to his village. The policemen go to his village and arrest him. Meanwhile, mounting tensions and conflicts exacerbate the already tense situation, making Nissanka's life unbearable. He finally decides to go to the police with Chitra and confess what he has done.
Cast
edit- Tony Ranasinghe as Nissanka Wijesinghe
- Suvineetha Weerasinghe as Chitra Karunaratne
- Jeevarani Kurukulasuriya as Shiranee Gunasekara
- Iranganie Serasinghe as Clara Wijesinghe, Nissanka's mother
- J. B. L. Gunasekera as Herbert Wijesinghe, Nissanka's father
- Winston Serasinghe as Francis Gunasekara, Shiranee's father
- Somapala Dharmapriya as Martin
- Sujatha Jayawardena as Mrs. Gunasekara, Shiranee's mother
- Wijeratne Warakagoda as Police Inspector
- Kithsiri Perera as Asoka
- Nawanandana Wijesinghe as Drunk witness
- Thilakasiri Fernando as Andiris 'Appu'
- Sunila Abeysekera as Chitra's niece
- Premini Gunaratne as Chitra's sister
- G. W. Surendra as Office newspaper reader
- Shirani Gunathilaka as Drama performer
- Sujatha Paramanathan as Drama performer
- Shirani Kurukulasuriya as Drama performer
- Lillian de Abrew as Drama performer
- Shanthi Lekha as Accident victim's Amma
- Asoka Peiris as Factory walker
- Wickrama Bogoda
- Tissa Abeysekara
- Bernard Ranasinghe
- Elson Divithuragama
References
edit- ^ "Delovak Athara - දෙලොවක් අතර". Sinhala Cinema Database. Retrieved 25 December 2019.
- ^ "'Delovak Athara': One film, 50 years". Fragments. Retrieved 25 December 2019.
- ^ "Delovak Athara 1965". British Film Institute. Archived from the original on January 12, 2020. Retrieved 25 December 2019.
- ^ "Delovak Athara rescreened". Sarasaviya. Retrieved 2021-01-07.