Asoka Handagama’s latest cinematic masterpiece ‘Rani’ delves into the extraordinary life of Dr Manorani Saravanamuttu, mother of a prominent journalist, author, human rights activist and actor Richard de Zoysa who was abducted and murdered on February 18, 1990. Despite political upheaval and unrest at the time, Manorani was determined to seek justice for her son’s gruesome murder. Her pursuit of justice for her own son and people who were victims of state-sponsored suppression had been discussed over the years, even after her demise in 2001.

A dream come true
This project is a dream come true for Swarna Mallawarachchi, acknowledged as the ‘Golden star of Sinhala cinema’, who also brings Manorani’s character to life. “I have been wanting to do this film for the past 28 years,” Swarna said in an exclusive interview with the Daily Mirror Life. “Last year we completed the film and we are screening it this year. Back then, we grew up in a gruesome political environment. People I knew such as Premakeerthi De Alwis were killed. In fact he interviewed me on the Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation (SLBC) one month before he was killed.”

Swarna recalled how she also met Richard around two or three weeks prior to his murder. “I was coming back after watching a play. It was either one of Dr Ediriweera Sarathchandra’s plays or one of Jerome De Silva’s. We used to go to the theatre, especially Lionel Wendt and Lumbini theatre all the time. I remember people rushing to their vehicles that day because it was drizzling and I saw Richard. He came up to me and said that I was his favourite actress. This was after I appeared in Dadayama, Suddilage Kathawa. Perhaps he must have watched those films. He was very interested in drama and cinema and he was an actor himself. I said thank you very much and we departed. So that was it. The other person I knew was Sagarika Gomes who was also killed. At that time we were surrounded by these kinds of incidents and we didn’t know who would be abducted or killed,” she added.

Haunting memories and a promise
After Richard was killed in 1990, the incident had kept haunting Swarna. “In 1996 I met Manorani. Back then we didn’t have social media and there were very few channels. We knew that she was fighting for other mothers whose loved ones had been either disappeared or murdered. On the first day, even though I met her I didn’t ask anything. On the second day, I told her that I like to tell the world about her and her son. She was very open about it and every time I mentioned Richard she would look up and hold back her tears. I met her four times. At that time I was much younger and if we did this film 28 years ago I would have had to wear a lot of makeup. Then I have been travelling for some time and eventually, she died in 2001. But I always kept that promise and 28 years later it had become a reality,” she said.

Bringing Manorani to life
Speaking about the script and the production, Swarna said that there were several scripts written about the film at the beginning. “I went back and forth having discussions with various parties but all these led to dead-ends. Sometimes I didn’t take up other projects because I gave priority to this film. Then in 2023 when I was in Australia, I heard that Lyca Productions was going to do five Sinhala films in Sri Lanka. After making a few inquiries I was able to get in touch with Janaki Wijerathne, Head of Productions at Lyca. After listening to the story they agreed to come on board to produce the film.”

But even though Swarna had overcome the biggest challenge – which was to find a producer for the film, she was still looking for a director and a script. This was when she made a suggestion to Asoka Handagama. “Just before I left for an overseas trip I met with Asoka because I had done several films with him earlier and we were good friends. But at that time he was going through various health issues. I spoke to him about this project and I asked whether he was interested in doing this film. He agreed at once but then again we didn’t have a script. So I had a producer and a director but no script!

But Asoka never said no and he agreed to write the script as well. He was familiar with the era I was talking about. He had read about these incidents because he was a university student at the time. Some university students were taken away and they never came back. So he knew the political situation at the time. Then Janaki spoke to Asoka and he agreed to give the script by October. Asoka got more people to research Manorani and Richard to add more depth to the script. Then he got the crew, he did a casting and we started on the project,” Swarna added.

Manorani, fondly known as Mano, was an elegant lady who represented the Colombo elite. During the interview, Swarna recalled her beauty and majestic looks. “But she was suffering and I could see the pain in her eyes. Over the past 27 years, I read a lot of literature about her. The film includes certain dialogues that Manorani actually said, including speeches she delivered when she founded the Mother’s Front. She didn’t speak much Sinhala but because she was working as a doctor in Borella she may have spoken to underprivileged people who came there in limited Sinhala. I studied all these features in her but when I do a film I always like to have a chat with the director,” she added.

A versatile actress
Many of her films directed by Vasantha Obeysekera were based on true stories. Suddilage Kathawa directed by Dharmasiri Bandaranayake was based on a novel. “But this is the first time I played the character of a person lots of people knew about. Yet, I portrayed the role according to Asoka’s direction. I used to go to him after every shot. We have to respect the director because he is like a thread that holds things together from the beginning of a film till its end. He told me that Manorani’s character wouldn’t be one of a heroine unlike in Dadayama where I was the heroine.”

Swarna has worked with many veteran directors in the field including Sumitra Peries, Dharmasiri Bandaranayake, Asoka Handagama, Prasanna Vithanage, Vasantha Obeysekera, Dharmasena Pathiraja, Siri Gunasinghe, Mahagamasekara and Sugathapala Senarath Yapa. She said that she regrets not being able to work on a film directed by Dr. Lester James Peries but that she was fortunate enough to be cast in Sagara Jalaya Madi Handuwa Oba Handa which was a script written by Dr. Peries and directed by his spouse Sumitra.

Unforgettable moments
‘Rani’ is a gripping tale of resilience, courage, and the enduring power of a mother’s love in the face of unspeakable tragedy. Reviews from the press show held last week give a hint about Swarna’s exceptional performance, giving an accurate portrayal of the character Manorani. Recalling some unforgettable moments during shooting, Swarna recalled how she had to do a costume change within seconds to appear in the same scene. “I change from a saree to a dress in 38 seconds!” she laughed. “There is one scene that was shot for seven minutes without any editing. The shot was conceived by Channa Deshapriya, Director of Photography and I need to appreciate his dedication. There were four people holding him from behind because his camera weighs around 50 kilos. I had a good costume department and I felt like I was being treated like a queen on the set,” she added.  

She acknowledged the dedication put forth by Deshapriya while also commending Ruwan Costa for his talented photography in Dada Ima. She compared their talents to other veteran photographers including Donald Karunaratne, Sumith Amarasinghe and D. B Nihalsinghe. Speaking about her co-stars, Swarna said that she had so much fun working with Sanath, Mayura, Bimal, Ashan, Rehan who is new to the screen, Sajitha, Gihan, Sampath, Rithika, Saumya, Lalitha and Anusuya. “Every day I got to act with a new person and it was a truly rewarding experience. I also want to mention Priyantha Dissanayake for handling the hair and makeup in a professional manner. He can be compared to other veteran makeup artistes in the field including Shesha Palihakkara and Ranjith Mathangaweera,” she added.

A promising future for Sinhala cinema?
When asked about the future of the Sinhala film industry Swarna appreciated the fact that there are many young people who are interested in doing films. “Some have studied abroad and there are so many films which are now being released on social media. We need good films and good concepts and it would be nice to see some of our productions on platforms such as Netflix and Amazon. But you have to put in a lot of work when you act on camera. You can never cheat the camera unlike in a theatre production where you can do everything from voice modulation to posture etc., beforehand. I love to be on camera and every time I finish one shot I look at the crew because they are the first audience - from the lighting boy, assistants, costume designers etc. Depending on their reactions I can say whether that particular shot is ready to go to the public.”

Even though Swarna is not working on another project at the moment she is hopeful about the future. “At this age, it is difficult to create attractive and forceful characters, but let’s see,” she said with a hearty laugh.

‘Rani’ will be released in theatres from January 30 onwards.