‘Gamperaliya’ Classic Book Classic Film

When Dr. Lester James Peries set out to make “Gamperaliya” (1964), he was taking two risks: one, he was adapting a landmark novel in Sinhala fiction by Martin Wickremesinghe; two, he was making the first Sri Lankan film without songs or dances— going against the popular trend of the era, when Sinhalese films were heavily influenced by Bollywood. Back then, the intelligentsia did not take Sinhalese films seriously, and even Martin Wickremasinghe was hesitant about the book being adapted to the screen. He was of the opinion that his book “Rohini”, a historical novel, had more ‘cinematic’ material than “Gamperiliya”—a slow drama, where intellectual participation was essential. Even the two prior films by Lester James Peries (“Rekhawa” and “Sandeshaya”) had dancenumbers and songs, which the director included as box-office concessions.

Hence with the release of “Gamperaliya” produced by Anton Wickremasinghe, there was a clean break from formulaic filmmaking, and the critics—especially the Sinhala cultural establishment, led by the esteemed Ediriweera Sarachchandra of “Maname” fame—also approved, which was miraculous because Dr. Sarachchandra disdained Sinhalese cinema, which was then flooded with kitsch Bollywood-inspired movies. In fact, he published a full-page review in Dinamina praising the film, where he famously stated that “at last a Sinhalese film has been made with which we could show the world without having to hide our heads in shame”. Just like “Nidhanaya” (1972), “Gamperaliya” was also an incredible amalgamation of talent: the script was written by Reggie Siriwardena, who was the leading interpreter of Martin Wickremesinghe’s work in English; music was by Pandit Amaradeva, the cast included Henry Jayasena (Piyal), Punya Heendeniya (Nanda), Trilicia Gunawardene (Anula) and Gamini Fonseka (Jinadasa). Although largely faithful to the book, the film does take some liberties with the narrative. For instance, the memorable opening sequence where Piyal teaches English to Nanda was not in the novel; rather, it was only mentioned in the narrative, but was dramatized in the film. But this sequence was an ingenious addition, because it establishes the central dramatic conflict of the plot—a great example of economical screenwriting. But certain points that might bug the viewer, like why Nanda’s elder sister (Anula) never married, or an explanation of the class system (which might be an alien concept to the West) can be better understood if one reads the book. After all, the central ‘love story’ between Piyal and Nanda is complicated by class issues; with Piyal representing the emerging middle-class, and Nanda belonging to a hierarchical aristocratic class. Thematically, there are some core similarities with “Nidhanaya”: both films deal with a crumbling aristocratic class, and interestingly on both occasions it’s symbolized by a decaying household—Willie’s house in “Nidhanaya” and the ‘Mahagedara’ in “Gamperaliya”.

Fortunately, this film was saved from the brink of disaster—salvaged from a local studio where the master negative was in decay; ultimately it was restored in the United States (at the UCLA film restoration unit in California) and consequently re-screened in 2008 at the Cannes Film Festival.