CHAMINDA PERERA in another tuneful mission
MUSIC AND film ENTHUSIAST CHAMINDA Perera entered the WORLD OF ARTS IN THE LATE seventies producing the LANDMARK MOVIE ‘SITU KUMARIYO’ INTRODUCING A NEW film HERO TO THE SINHALA CINEMA - AND THAT’S NONE OTHER THAN SANATH GUNATHILAKE “I am grateful to Canadian Film Institute Chief Tom Mcsorely for his generosity in offering me all the support to make this annual event a success, because of his passion for movies”
Chaminda Perera who is domiciled in Canada, is no stranger to the Sri Lankan film and music industries. He entered the world of arts in the late seventies producing the landmark movie ‘Situ Kumariyo’ introducing a new film hero to the Sinhala cinema, and that’s none other than Sanath Gunathilake. Chaminda then took up another challenge by producing the first ever cassette of legendary singer H. R. Jothipala which paved the way for him to penetrate the popular market in the early eighties.
“I was inspired by the Mohideen Baig cassette that Vijaya Ramanayake did and wondered Jothi was the man. Producing Jothi’s first cassette ‘Siriyamesara’ was a wonderful experience with Stanley Peiris handling the music. But associating a man like Jothi was another fantastic experience. For the first time in Sri Lanka’s music history I used a jingle on radio to promote this casette. Jothi and his cassette became a huge hit . Then came Jothi Rathriya which I suggested to him. It became Jothi’s best era,” recalled Chaminda whose passion for music has not diminished a bit despite the passage of time.
“Then I did a cassette with new original creations, titled ‘Shravana Vinodhini’ probably the first or second in that calibre. It had various music directors and singers making superb contributions. All songs were based on popular picture stories of the era. Victor Rathnayake sang ‘Ithin Eeeta Passe’ which became a huge hit and among the others who contributed were Sujatha, Clarence, Priya Suriyasena, Damayanthi Jayasuriya (her first), Mariazelle and others.
“I am planning to recreate two tracks from that cassette by infusing young talent. I am already working on it with music director Suneth Kelum who was introduced to me by Sanath Gunathilake. Suneth showed me the fascinating work he had done for Sanath Gunathilake’s newest movie ‘Gehenu’. I was particularly impressed by young female and male actors who are featured in this film, going by the rushes Suneth Kelum showed me. It brings such freshness, away from the run-of-the mill, hackneyed fare that is dished out. I introduced Sanath to cinema and it’s nice to see him promoting the next colourful generation,” said Chaminda who will be launching the 5th Film Festival in Canada soon.
“I am grateful to Sri Lanka’s High Commissioner in Canada Asoka Girihagama for his unstinted support in promoting this festival for the past five years. I am also grateful to Canadian Film Institute Chief Tom Mcsorely for his generosity in offering me all the support to make this annual event a success, largely because of his passion for movies. Tom is known the Mr. Cinema in Canada,” said Chaminda.
Chaminda who also wrote the story and script for the movie ‘Sinahawa Atharin’ directed by Sanath Gunathilake, said it was tragic that our Sri Lankan film industry is undergoing a bad patch despite good movies being made here.
“I feel the biggest mistake we did was not taking steps to protect our film industry. How can we compete with Bollywood and Hollywood which get simultaneous releases here. The authorities should seriously think about this immediately, to save our movie industry,” he said adding that our movies lost a fair share of their audiences because we moved away from the music part in films,” he said.