Kelum Palitha Mahirathne's latest tele serial 'Visula Ahasa Yata' revolving around a gripping plot involving four ambitious youngsters inclduing a teenage girl, is going to be a novel treat to the small screen audiences.

The 120 episode tele drama unspools at 7 pm daily on weekdays on Hiru TV.

"This has all the feel-good ingredients that ultimately conveys a positive message to society on love and romance. It also makes people realise about true values and right attitudes in life. The three boys in the story come from various backdrops. One is a boy from the village who studies at a university but dreams of becoming an actor. The other is a sherbert seller who also longs to become an actor. The third is the son of a popular actress who wants to make her son an actor. The girl is from a shanty whose father works in the film industry. His ultimate dream is to make his daughter the screen queen some day. The story depicts the disputes and unforeseen situations that arise due to these ambitions. Though the four belong to four different families, they finally meet at a film academy, unfolding the real drama," said Kelum.

"I try to highlight the existing gaps among all classes in society. Though people blame long-running tele serials, I wanted to prove that good creations could also come out through such mega serials. This will not exceed 120 episodes. We must realise that there have been classics among long running tele serials. But the whole situation took a turn for the worse due to ad hoc decisions made by some television channels. Belts were given to people on personal friendships and affiliations. But the government's decision to restrict tele dramas to 100 episodes should be hailed," said Kelum.

"I am doing this tele drama after five years. Uwani Chamika Gunasekara has written the script, doing justice to every character.  Buddhika Indrajith handled the camera and the whole tele serial was shot in the hand-held mode. I used a special colour to depict an extra ordinary tone to the story and enhanced the composition of frames to give a lot of feeling. I am glad to announce that this is the first tele drama of mine that was released for telecast without bribing anyone. When tele dramas were scrutinised by script boards prior to telecast on Rupavahini all saw it as a welcome move. It was so for some time but for the past five years or so, the situation became very corrupt. I am thankful to Hiru TV CEO Dhammika Bandara Tennekoon and the administration including Chairman Raynor Silva for the trust they place in good creations," he said.

The cast includes Wimal Kumar de Costa, Anoma Wattaladeniya, Sriyantha Mendis, Geetha Kanthi Jayakody, Chandika Nanayakkara, Gihan Fernando, Hiran Yattowita, Amanda Nilukshi, Palitha Abeyratne, Ravindra Yasas and Malki Perera. The editing was handled by Hasthika Sathkumara. Chathuranga Lasiru Mahiratne was the editing and graphics consultant.

By Ramesh Uvais