Dr Somaratne Dissanayake’s distrust, dislike and loathing of communalism has been the basis of his film Tsunami which is currently being filmed. Tsunami boasts of a cast of stellar actors and actresses such as Bimal Jayakody and Himali Sayurangi. Dissanayake is the script writer and director. The story is also by him. Renuka Balasuriya is the producer.
When we are born in the space of a few hours our race and religion are determined. And right throughout our lives we defend these ‘titles’ and even wage war against each other trying to convert others into believing in our ‘titles’. We fight against others who have different ‘titles’ and even call our titles the truth and demand that others adhere to it.
Dissanayake feels strongly about this and believes that most of the suffering in this world is due to these socially constructed beliefs. Dissanayake believes that we are all human and we belong to the human race. Our blood is red and we are of one flesh.
Communalism is why the world has gone wrong and why there is so much conflict.
Tsunami is a story about love and family. It is about loss and it is about hope. It is a heartbreaking story which is based on two families and a child that is loved by both families. In the end it is a story that says that we are all hurting.
“This endeavor of mine is by no means trivial. It is something significant and important. In the coming months we will all have to work very hard. Our task at hand is very challenging and the journey difficult. It will be exacting. Compared to our previous productions this is by far the most challenging. It involves great responsibility and we are well prepared for it,” said Dissanayake.
Dissanayake’s film is based partially on a true story and is the result of painstaking research spanning several years.
“What I have tried to do is not really to present a documentary. I do not want to report on the Tsunami. I want to highlight the lessons learnt. Because my movie is a lesson for humanity, on humanity.
This is because we are all the same inside. We are all equal regardless of socially constructed divides of race and religion. Through this movie I try to raise awareness about communalism and why it is within our consciousness. I try and ask why we identify ourselves according to these divides,” explained Dissanayake.
Dissanayake feels that this movie of his carries a powerful message. Having a group of dedicated actors and actresses he is sure he will achieve his objective. His actors and actresses will not let him down and he is sure of this.
“Much effort is going into this film and it definitely has cinematic value. We are ready to start filming and we are all looking forward to this adventure. We have been speaking to experts and we are doing this in a very professional manner for the sake of accuracy. We want to make this film authentic and precise,” pointed out Dissanayake.
Pictures by Sarath Peiris
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