‘GIRIVESIPURA’

on Sri Wickrama Rajasinghe to hit the screens soon

The movies that have been previously produced have portrayed King Sri Wickrama Rajasinghe as a brutal character

Devinda Kongahage’s newest movie ‘Girivesipura’ based on the Kandyan Kindgom and the country’s last King Sri Wickrama Rajasinghe is all set to hit screens soon. Kongahage portrays King Sri Wickrama Rajasinghe as a man who was aware of the realities of life. He is projected as a slave of his own aristocrats and one who became a common man again. Accordingly, the story line is different to the common tale associated with the king who was accused of harassing the Ehelepola family. He is portrayed as a practical and knowledgeable person in the movie. Devinda who explained about the movie during the recent trailer launch, said his objective was to reveal the real character of Sri Wickrama Rajasinghe. “The movies that have been previously produced have portrayed King Sri Wickrama Rajasinghe as a brutal character. Even the history books also refer to king as a brutal character and they hide the reality. Sri Wickrama Rajasinghe is not talked of much as he is considered to be a tyrant. My effort was to show the reality to the people,” he said. He advised the people choose history books which gives correct information and do their own research to determine the reality of Sri Wickrama Rajasinghe. “For me researching historical facts is more important than being a director,” he said adding that it took him three years to complete the movie. The cast includes Mahendra Perera, Pubudu Chathuranga, Niranjala Shanmugaraja, Roshan Pilapitiya, Daya Tennekoon, Juliana John Philip and Nawayuga Raj Kumar. Buddhist monk Ven. Bibiladeniya Mahanama Thera has directed music for the film for the first time in the local film history. “When we talk of reconciliation we focus on learning languages in order to communicate with each other. However, our director has done it in a different way by bringing Tamil and Sinhalese artistes together. We built up bonds with each other while were working,” said Niranjani Shamugaraja who plays the lead role in the movie.