Uppalawanna (film)
Encyclopedia
Uppalavanna is a 2007 Sri Lanka
n drama movie starring Sangeetha Weeraratne
, Malini Fonseka
, Roshan Ravindra. It was directed by Prof. Sunil Ariyaratne. The story deals about the life of the woman named Upuli who later turned to a buddhist nun named Uppalavanna.
The performance lead actress Sangeetha Weeraratne was panned by the critics. They praised her decision to shave her head for the role. They admired her dedication to he movie but they was not happy with her performance as Uppalavanna. They said that the Upuli and Uppalavanna portrayed by Sangeetha Weeraratne, is still not able to come out of her over acting mode which is apparent from induction ceremony into the nunnery as a novice. The website,Srilankan Film Critics, gave her extremely negative reviews for her. According to them -"The experienced actress Sangeetha fell far below the standard of even amateur dramatics. She was clearly miscast as she had a consistently dazed look throughout the film. Sangeetha’s indifference to the role left the inner turmoil of her character unexplored. A note to Ms Weeraratne; merely shaving your head does not automatically make you the character, you have to commit to the role physically as well as mentally!"
However most of the critics gave highly negative reviews to the movie. Indeewara Thilakarathne and Ranga Chandrarathne criticized the similarities of the movie with other movies which shared a similar theme like Water and Sankaran. They said -"Although one may not be able to pinpoint that the film has copied or rather adapted some scenes from Water or Sankara, it is doubtful whether the film maker had attempted to adapt some elements of Water in a Buddhist milieu. Especially the character of Podi Atthi remind the viewers of Chuiya in Water though it is not as lively as Chuiya.
But the script as well the cinematography and the mind blowing camera work of the movie was highly praised by the critics. They said that these factors shed light to the film. Navaratne Gamage's music, Camera by Suminda Weerasinghe and the vocal chords of Nanda Malini have made a meaningful contribution to the film. Dr. Praneeth Abeyasundera with his melodious wording has attempted to capture the spirit of the tone of Buddhist chanting. The critics said that the editing was also not good.
The actors was also faced with heavy crtiscim and negative reviews. According to Indeewara Thilakarathne and Ranga Chandrarathne - " Malini Fonseka's long hair had hindered authenticity of that character which demands a mature personality (not maturity in terms of graying hair). Malini's voice control is not at all suited for a matured nun and another shortcoming is that a long period of time had been allocated for the scene of shaving Upuli's hair. " Many criticized the various
unnecessary characters in the movie which do not have any role in the plot.
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...
n drama movie starring Sangeetha Weeraratne
Sangeetha Weeraratne
Sangeetha Weeraratne is an award-winning actress in the Sri Lankan cinema. She made her debut as a sixteen-year-old with Roy De Silva 's It's a Matter of Time opposite Kamal Addararachchi in 1990. However, she earned immense popularity only after performing in H.D. Premaratne's Saptha Kanya, also...
, 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...
, Roshan Ravindra. It was directed by Prof. Sunil Ariyaratne. The story deals about the life of the woman named Upuli who later turned to a buddhist nun named Uppalavanna.
Plot
Uppalavanna is a youthful, comely nun. She resides in a nunnery, deep in the forest in the Anuradhapura District. Only women can enter this sylvan sanctuary. Those who dwell here lead a tranquil, disciplined and moral life. The story takes place in the days of terror. In 1989 in the very forest where the nunnery is located, young insurgents conduct a training camp. One of those insurgents arrives in Ilukpelessa, the village where the nunnery is situated, to assassinate a university student who has been identified as a traitor. The insurgent assassinates the identified university student, but in his struggle with the student the insurgent too sustains serious injuries. The wounded insurgent falls unconscious and seeks refuge in the premises of the forest nunnery, which is prohibited to males. Uppalavanna, who walks through the forest to fetch water, comes upon this youth, and the conflict in the story begins. Uppalavanna, the daughter of a native physician, is slightly aware of therapy. Now right in from of her, there is a dying patient. Should she heal him back to life? Or else, should she allow him to die? If not, should she put him in police custody? These conflicting questions confront her. There is yet another reason why Uppalavanna should pity him. While in lay life she was intensely in love with a young man. This young person was her dance teacher. Her parents opposed her love affair. The primary reason for their disapproval was the caste of the young man. She elopes with her lover. Due to this shock and sorrow her mother dies of a heart attack. This love story ends with her father shooting the lover dead. The father goes to jail. It is the disillusionment caused by these endless troubles that led her to the order of nuns. At the end Uppalavanna decides to treat the insurgent. She performs the therapy without touching him. But her mind is shaken. The chief nun and other nuns sense her change. In the meantime, the police officers comb the forest, looking for the assassin who killed the university student. One day when Uppalavanna went in search of her patient, he was no longer there. The villagers had taken him away and killed him. Learning that he received medication from the nunnery, the villagers refuse to offer alms to the nunnery. Accepting the guilt unto herself and establishing the innocence of the other nuns, Uppalavanna leaves the nunnery carrying only her alms-bowl, ending the film with a question mark over her fate.Cast and characters
| Character | Played by |
|---|---|
| Uppalavanna/Upulli | Sangeetha Weeraratne Sangeetha Weeraratne Sangeetha Weeraratne is an award-winning actress in the Sri Lankan cinema. She made her debut as a sixteen-year-old with Roy De Silva 's It's a Matter of Time opposite Kamal Addararachchi in 1990. However, she earned immense popularity only after performing in H.D. Premaratne's Saptha Kanya, also... |
| Father | Suminda Sirisena |
| Dancing Teacher | Rohana Beddage |
| Insurgent | Roshan Ravindra |
| Undergraduate | Jagath Chamila |
| Chief of the Nuns | 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... |
| Sandali | Pdo Atthi |
Rception
The movie was met with negative reviews. However it did fairly at the box office. Uppalavanna' is did well with all the cinemas where it's being screened recording the best returns in three years, during the first two weeks. However The Sunday Times Online gave the movie highly positive reviews. They praised the performance of Sangeetha and the efforts of the director. However they commented that the director has to be little more cautious while dealing the subject. According to them -"Sunil Ariyaratne has been fortunate in gathering a team which has delivered exactly what he expected. He shows maturity in direction and is quite at home with the subject. Possibly he should have handled the village monk a bit more cautiously. It would have been better if the monk's tone and actions were more subdued. Young nun Sandali Chaturika, Chandra Kaluarachchi who looks after the nuns, Jagath Chamila, the rebel who is assigned the task of killing his comrade and many others play cameo roles making 'Uppalavanna' a treat to watch. "There were reservations about 'Uppalavanna' because it was a Buddhist theme. Some wondered whether it was the story of 'theri' Uppalavanna of the Buddha's time. The publicity material carried pictures of yellow-robed 'dasa sil mathas'. It was described as a contemporary 'therigatha'.The performance lead actress Sangeetha Weeraratne was panned by the critics. They praised her decision to shave her head for the role. They admired her dedication to he movie but they was not happy with her performance as Uppalavanna. They said that the Upuli and Uppalavanna portrayed by Sangeetha Weeraratne, is still not able to come out of her over acting mode which is apparent from induction ceremony into the nunnery as a novice. The website,Srilankan Film Critics, gave her extremely negative reviews for her. According to them -"The experienced actress Sangeetha fell far below the standard of even amateur dramatics. She was clearly miscast as she had a consistently dazed look throughout the film. Sangeetha’s indifference to the role left the inner turmoil of her character unexplored. A note to Ms Weeraratne; merely shaving your head does not automatically make you the character, you have to commit to the role physically as well as mentally!"
However most of the critics gave highly negative reviews to the movie. Indeewara Thilakarathne and Ranga Chandrarathne criticized the similarities of the movie with other movies which shared a similar theme like Water and Sankaran. They said -"Although one may not be able to pinpoint that the film has copied or rather adapted some scenes from Water or Sankara, it is doubtful whether the film maker had attempted to adapt some elements of Water in a Buddhist milieu. Especially the character of Podi Atthi remind the viewers of Chuiya in Water though it is not as lively as Chuiya.
But the script as well the cinematography and the mind blowing camera work of the movie was highly praised by the critics. They said that these factors shed light to the film. Navaratne Gamage's music, Camera by Suminda Weerasinghe and the vocal chords of Nanda Malini have made a meaningful contribution to the film. Dr. Praneeth Abeyasundera with his melodious wording has attempted to capture the spirit of the tone of Buddhist chanting. The critics said that the editing was also not good.
The actors was also faced with heavy crtiscim and negative reviews. According to Indeewara Thilakarathne and Ranga Chandrarathne - " Malini Fonseka's long hair had hindered authenticity of that character which demands a mature personality (not maturity in terms of graying hair). Malini's voice control is not at all suited for a matured nun and another shortcoming is that a long period of time had been allocated for the scene of shaving Upuli's hair. " Many criticized the various
unnecessary characters in the movie which do not have any role in the plot.