Akasa Kusum (Flowers of the Sky)
Encyclopedia
Akasa Kusum is a 2008 film from prolific Sri Lankan filmmaker Prasanna Vithanage
. It received a world premiere at the Pusan International Film Festival
in October 2008, and won numerous awards at various other festivals.
The film was released in Sri Lanka
on 21 August 2009, and became a box-office hit in that country. It was also Sri Lanka's initial entry to the 2010 Academy Awards
for Best Foreign Language Film
, but was replaced by Alimankada (The Road from Elephant Pass).
) is an aging film star who was once the darling of the silver screen. Having lost fame and fortune in a changing world, she now lives quietly in obscurity. She ekes out a living by renting out a room in her home to the young film and television stars of today to satisfy their illicit sexual desires.
When a popular starlet’s (Dilhani Ekanayake
) husband discovers his wife’s affair in the room, the scandal and publicity forces Rani into the limelight again. As the media-crazy nation draws her into its net, Rani is confronted to revisit the dark side of her earlier rise to fame.
Her daughter, Priya (Nimmi Harasgama), whom Rani was forced to abandon as an infant, is now an attractive, young lady who works as a hostess in a Karaoke night club. Priya despises her mother and the men she has to entertain and finds a confidant in co-hostess Bunty (Samanalee Fosenka).
. The film was released on 21 August 2009 and ran over 77 days across 24 screens in the country.
have a limited release from 18 June 2010, at Sinema Old School a 136-seater high definition cinema screening local and award-winning films in Singapore
.
- Nominee, International Federation of Film Critics (FIPRESCI) Award
- Nominee, Best Actress Malini Fonseka
’s official entry for Best Foreign Language Film to the Academy Awards (Oscars) in 2010. It was replaced by Alimankada (The Road from Elephant Pass).
Prasanna Vithanage
Prasanna Vithanage is one of Sri Lanka's most notable filmmakers. His films have won many awards, both local and international....
. It received a world premiere at the Pusan International Film Festival
Pusan International Film Festival
Busan International Film Festival , held annually in Haeundae-gu, Busan , South Korea, is one of the most significant film festivals in Asia...
in October 2008, and won numerous awards at various other festivals.
The film was released in Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...
on 21 August 2009, and became a box-office hit in that country. It was also Sri Lanka's initial entry to the 2010 Academy Awards
82nd Academy Awards
The 82nd Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences , honored the best films of 2009 and took place March 7, 2010, at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles beginning at 5:30 p.m. PST / 8:30 p.m. EST. The ceremony was scheduled well after...
for Best Foreign Language Film
Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film
The Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film is one of the Academy Awards of Merit, popularly known as the Oscars, handed out annually by the U.S.-based Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences...
, but was replaced by Alimankada (The Road from Elephant Pass).
Synopsis
Sandhya Rani (Malini FonsekaMalini Fonseka
Malani Senehelatha Fonseka is an award-winning Sri Lankan film actress, also known as the "Queen of Sinhalese cinema". Her cinema career which has spanned many decades began with Tissa Liyansooriya's Punchi Baba in 1968...
) is an aging film star who was once the darling of the silver screen. Having lost fame and fortune in a changing world, she now lives quietly in obscurity. She ekes out a living by renting out a room in her home to the young film and television stars of today to satisfy their illicit sexual desires.
When a popular starlet’s (Dilhani Ekanayake
Dilhani Ekanayake
Dilhani Ashokamala Ekanayake is an award-winning Sri Lankan film and teledrama actress.-Biography:Dilhani studied at St Clare's girls school ,Colombo. She is married to singer and actor Priyankara Perera son of famous singer Milton Perera. She has a son aged 16.Sinhala film industry slumped in the...
) husband discovers his wife’s affair in the room, the scandal and publicity forces Rani into the limelight again. As the media-crazy nation draws her into its net, Rani is confronted to revisit the dark side of her earlier rise to fame.
Her daughter, Priya (Nimmi Harasgama), whom Rani was forced to abandon as an infant, is now an attractive, young lady who works as a hostess in a Karaoke night club. Priya despises her mother and the men she has to entertain and finds a confidant in co-hostess Bunty (Samanalee Fosenka).
Cast
| Actor | Role |
|---|---|
| Malini Fonseka Malini Fonseka Malani Senehelatha Fonseka is an award-winning Sri Lankan film actress, also known as the "Queen of Sinhalese cinema". Her cinema career which has spanned many decades began with Tissa Liyansooriya's Punchi Baba in 1968... |
Sandhya Rani |
| Nimmi Harasgama | Priya |
| Dilhani Ekanayake Dilhani Ekanayake Dilhani Ashokamala Ekanayake is an award-winning Sri Lankan film and teledrama actress.-Biography:Dilhani studied at St Clare's girls school ,Colombo. She is married to singer and actor Priyankara Perera son of famous singer Milton Perera. She has a son aged 16.Sinhala film industry slumped in the... |
Shalika |
| Samanalee Fonseka | Bunty |
| Sanduni Fonseka | Teenage Sandhya Rani |
Music
The original music for Akasa Kusum (Flowers of the Sky) was composed by Lakshman Joseph de Saram. The original soundtrack (OST) was also made into a promotional music video.| Track | Song | Singer(s) | Music | Lyrics | Duration |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Akasa Kusum (Flowers of the Sky) (Original Sound Track) | Saman Nishantha | Ranga Dasanayake | Upul Shantha Sanasgala | 4:28 |
Sri Lanka
Akasa Kusum (Flowers of the Sky) was a domestic box office hit in Sri LankaSri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...
. The film was released on 21 August 2009 and ran over 77 days across 24 screens in the country.
Singapore
Akasa Kusum (Flowers of the Sky) and Ira Madiyama (August Sun)Ira Madiyama (August Sun)
Ira Madiyama is a bi-lingual feature film directed by award-winning filmmaker Prasanna Vithanage.The film premiered at the Montreal World Film Festival.-Synopsis:...
have a limited release from 18 June 2010, at Sinema Old School a 136-seater high definition cinema screening local and award-winning films in Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
.
Awards
- Silver Peacock Award (Best Actress – Malini FonsekaMalini FonsekaMalani Senehelatha Fonseka is an award-winning Sri Lankan film actress, also known as the "Queen of Sinhalese cinema". Her cinema career which has spanned many decades began with Tissa Liyansooriya's Punchi Baba in 1968...
), Indian International Film Festival (IFFF), India
- Best Actress – Malini FonsekaMalini FonsekaMalani Senehelatha Fonseka is an award-winning Sri Lankan film actress, also known as the "Queen of Sinhalese cinema". Her cinema career which has spanned many decades began with Tissa Liyansooriya's Punchi Baba in 1968...
, Levante International Film Festival, Italy
- Jury Special Mention Award, Vesoul Asian Film Festival, France
- Best Asian Film (NETPAC) Award – Granada Cinesdelsur Film Festival, Spain
Official selections
- Pusan International Film FestivalPusan International Film FestivalBusan International Film Festival , held annually in Haeundae-gu, Busan , South Korea, is one of the most significant film festivals in Asia...
, Korea (World Premiere)
- Brisbane International Film FestivalBrisbane International Film FestivalBrisbane International Film Festival held in Brisbane provides a focus for film culture in Queensland, Australia. The festival has taken place since 1992 and focuses on films from the Asia-Pacific region. The event offers films including features, documentaries, shorts, experimental, silent films...
, AustraliaAustraliaAustralia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
- Nominee, International Federation of Film Critics (FIPRESCI) Award
- Asia Pacific Screen AwardsAsia Pacific Screen AwardsThe Asia Pacific Screen Awards is an international cultural initiative of the State Government of Queensland, Australia, through Events Queensland, to honour and promote the films, actors, directors, and cultures of Asia-Pacific to a global audience and to realise the objectives of UNESCO to...
, Australia
- Nominee, Best Actress Malini Fonseka
Malini Fonseka
Malani Senehelatha Fonseka is an award-winning Sri Lankan film actress, also known as the "Queen of Sinhalese cinema". Her cinema career which has spanned many decades began with Tissa Liyansooriya's Punchi Baba in 1968...
- South Asian International Film Festival (SAIFF), New YorkNew YorkNew York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, USA
- International Film Festival of Kerala, IndiaIndiaIndia , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
- Palm Springs International Film FestivalPalm Springs International Film FestivalPalm Springs International Film Festival is a film festival held in Palm Springs, California. It was started in 1989 and is held annually in January...
, USA
- Tiburon International Film Festival, USA
- Asiatica Filmmediale, ItalyItalyItaly , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
- Singapore International Film FestivalSingapore International Film FestivalThe Singapore International Film Festival was launched in 1987. The festival is an annual film event, held around April/May each year, and screens about 300 films from over 45 countries...
, SingaporeSingaporeSingapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
- London Asian Film Festival, United KingdomUnited KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
- Fukuoka International Film Festival, JapanJapanJapan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
- New Jersey Independent South Asian Cine FestNew Jersey Independent South Asian Cine FestEstablished in 2007, New Jersey Independent South Asian Cine Fest is based in New Jersey and dedicated to South Asian independent films. The annual festival is produced by the Asian American Film and Theater Project, a 501 tax exempt US based non profit organization committed to the promotion,...
, USA
Others
Akasa Kusum (Flowers of the Sky) was originally Sri LankaSri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...
’s official entry for Best Foreign Language Film to the Academy Awards (Oscars) in 2010. It was replaced by Alimankada (The Road from Elephant Pass).