Ceylon | |
---|---|
Directed by | Santosh Sivan |
Screenplay by | Santosh Sivan Zazy Sharanya Rajgopal |
Produced by | Mubina Rattonsey Santosh Sivan N. Subash Chandrabose |
Starring | S. Karan Sugandha Ram Saritha |
Narrated by | Arvind Swamy |
Cinematography | Santosh Sivan |
Edited by | T. S. Suresh |
Music by | Vishal Chandrasekhar |
Production companies | |
Release dates |
|
Running time | 125 mins |
Country | India |
Languages | Tamil English |
Ceylon, titled Inam in Tamil, [1] is a 2013 Indian war film written, directed, filmed and produced by Santosh Sivan. The story revolves around a group of teenagers in an orphanage set during the civil war in Sri Lanka. The film premiered at the 2013 Busan International Film Festival [2] and had a theatrical release in India on 28 March 2014. [3] Although it was positively reviewed by critics, the film was withdrawn by Linguswamy(who bought the distribution rights for the film) from theaters, after it was met with protests from various Tamil groups in Tamil Nadu. [4] The film was a "U" censored, and had a Govt Tax free tag.
Rajini, a Sri Lankan Tamil girl, narrates the horrific tale of why she had to leave her homeland and become a refugee in India.
In 2009, it was first reported that Santhosh Sivan's next film would be "a hard-hitting political film scripted around the LTTE (Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam)-related strife and the death of its leader Velupillai Prabhakaran". [5] In June 2012 then he stated "in Ceylon I want to look at the Sri Lankan situation from the perspective of a bunch of youngsters who get caught in the crisis. It's more about the outsiders' response to the horrors than about the politics". [6] He also told that he will shoot in Sri Lanka after the rains and that he didn't want "Ceylon to look like a tourist's attraction". [6] Sivan described Ceylon as his pet-project. [7]
Santosh Sivan later said that the film was about "a bunch of teenagers in an orphanage, and set against the backdrop of a civil strife". [8] One of the teenagers, the protagonist was a 16-year-old boy, Karan, with Down's Syndrome [1] with whom Sivan spent nine months before shooting the film. [9] Sugandha Ram, who acted in Tere Bin Laden before, was chosen to portray the female lead. [10] Sugandha later told that the film was offered in 2010 to her but did not happen then and that the script was later altered and she got an opportunity to audition for the role again. [11] It was reported that Saritha played the role of a person who runs the orphanage. [8] According to Sivan, the idea for the film was conceived over a Sri Lankan lunch with a friend during which they met a lady who ran an orphanage in Sri Lanka. [12] Sivan wanted director Stanley for a role, but cast Karunas for it since he could also sing. Karunas was said to have done a serious role unlike his usual comic self. [10] Sivan stated, "my film is about human aspirations and emotions shattered by the war, not about the politics behind it". [13] He also clarified the film will have nothing to do with the LTTE. [14] Sivan spent months researching and getting footage for the film. [15] He shot it in Tamil as Inam but also made the film into English for a larger audience and titled it Ceylon. [12] The Tamil version was longer and included songs, scenes for comic relief and the making of the film over end credits and the English version, Sivan said, "is much tighter". [10]
The film was shot by Sivan himself in various locations including Kerala, Thirunelveli, Rameswaram and Maharashtra [16] with a Red Epic digital camera. [9] Since he could not go for many takes, three or four cameras were used at the same time. [10] Though he used a high-end digital camera he said that he purposely made the shots look candid as if they had been captured through a mobile phone or a hand-held camera [17] as he found out that mobile phones played an important role in the Sri Lankan wars. [12] Editor Suresh was also asked "to keep all good-looking shots aside" as Sivan felt that the film "should be raw and rustic" and not beautiful. [17]
The first look resembling a blood splattered fingerprint forming the map of Sri Lanka, which was designed by Jairam Posterwala, was revealed in June 2013. [18] Arvind Swamy provided a voice-over for the film. [19] The film was cleared by the Censor Board in October 2013. [20] Actor Udhaya's wife Keerthika Udhaya had dubbed for Sugandha in all versions.
Vishal Chandrasekhar was signed as the music director. Sivan stated that "the background score is heart thumping" since it was a thriller film, but that a Baila, and "a few romantic numbers, treaded in a different way" were also included. [12]
The film was first screened at the 18th Busan International Film Festival. [21] [22] The film's Tamil Nadu distribution rights were bought by N. Lingusamy's Thirrupathi Brothers in February 2014. [23] Prior to the theatrical release, Sivan and Thirrupathi Brothers held premiere shows in Chennai and Mumbai. [24] [25] The film was released in Tamil Nadu theatres on 28 March 2014.
Following protests from Thanthai Periyar Dravidar Kazhagam (TDMK) activists, who had attacked the Balaji Theatre in Puducherry, stating the film projects the Sri Lankan Civil War in bad light, four scenes and one dialogue were removed the following day. [26] After Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam politician Vaiko too severely criticized the film for being pro-Sinhalese, Lingusamy decided to stop screening and withdraw the film from theatres from 31 March 2014 onwards. [27] [28]
After its theatrical release, it received positive reviews from critics. Sify wrote, "Inam is a charming film that pulls at your heart strings. Santosh has made a film on a very sensitive subject, but has handled it beautifully without any propaganda, preaching or twisting of facts" and called it "very good". [29] Behindwoods gave it 3.25 stars out of 5 and called it "a disturbing tale, brilliantly captured". [30] Baradwaj Rangan wrote, "Sivan is happiest when concocting near-surreal imagery that hints at mood rather than tells a story. The big scenes, on the other hand, don’t work as well. The slice-and-dice vignettes approach results in broad characters rather than complex people capable of holding together a sustained narrative. The effort to humanise them (at least cinematically) through songs doesn’t work". [31] The Times of India gave the film 3.5 stars out of 5 and wrote, "Inam is very much topical and mostly presents a neutral perspective on the last phase of the brutal civil war. It wants to show how war can tear apart the moral fibre of humans, and how it affects even those who aren't involved in the fighting...Yet, somehow, Inam stops short of being a hard-hitting film. It is very reluctant to spell things out, which...makes everything a little hazy, as the context isn't firmly established...there are times when we can see Sivan leaning a little too much on his visuals to create the desired impact". [32] Hindustan Times wrote, "Although the plot is wafer thin, Sivan’s script includes an array of anecdotes to keep the movie moving. If there is a flip side to Inam, it lies in its utter melancholy. Despite, Sivan’s efforts to inject a bit of joy through songs and wit, the film refuses to rise above excruciating sorrow". [33] The New Indian Express wrote, "Inam is a pretentious piece of work, one is not exactly sure what the director wishes to convey. The film is neither entertaining nor thought provoking. There is a total lack of clarity of purpose, focus and sensitivity". [34] IANS gave it 4 stars out of 5 and wrote, "Inam comes straight from the heart of Santosh Sivan. It deserves to be accepted, embraced and celebrated". [35]
The Hollywood Reporter in its review wrote, "Romancing in slow-motion; musical numbers ill-fitting the narrative flow; high-octane shootouts laced with the odd comic touch; a highly-strung, tragic final half hour intended to stir emotions – Santosh Sivan’s latest offering boasts of all the hallmarks of commercial Indian cinema, which should allow the Kerala-born director to continue the fine run he has had in the past few years...but more focus and context would have helped the film live up to its seemingly more historical-epic title of Ceylon". [36] Gulf News wrote, "Director Santosh Sivan has crafted his characters with great care and their unique traits set each one apart. Matched with a laudable performance by the cast, Inam keeps the audience engaged. With Sivan’s signature on every frame, Inam is sheer poetry". [37]
The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam was a Tamil militant organization, that was based in the northern and eastern Sri Lanka. The LTTE fought to create an independent Tamil state called Tamil Eelam in the northeast of the island in response to violent persecution and discriminatory policies against Sri Lankan Tamils by the Sinhalese-dominated Sri Lankan Government.
The Sri Lankan civil war was a civil war fought in Sri Lanka from 1983 to 2009. Beginning on 23 July 1983, it was an intermittent insurgency against the government by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam led by Velupillai Prabhakaran. The LTTE fought to create an independent Tamil state called Tamil Eelam in the north-east of the island, due to the continuous discrimination and violent persecution against Sri Lankan Tamils by the Sinhalese-dominated Sri Lanka government.
Velupillai Prabhakaran was a Tamil revolutionary. Prabhakaran was a major figure of Tamil nationalism, and the founder and leader of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). The LTTE was a militant organization that sought to create an independent Tamil state in the north and east of Sri Lanka in reaction to the oppression of the country's Tamil population by the Sri Lankan government. Under his direction, the LTTE undertook a military campaign against the Sri Lankan government for more than 25 years.
Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF) was the Indian military contingent performing a peacekeeping operation in Sri Lanka between 1987 and 1990. It was formed under the mandate of the 1987 Indo-Sri Lankan Accord that aimed to end the Sri Lankan Civil War between Sri Lankan Tamil militant groups such as the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and the Sri Lankan military.
Santosh Sivan is an Indian cinematographer, film director, producer and actor known for his works in Malayalam, Tamil and Hindi cinema. Santosh graduated from the Film and Television Institute of India and has, to date, completed 55 feature films and 50 documentaries. He is regarded as one of India's finest and best cinematographers. He is the recipient of the Pierre Angénieux Excellens in Cinematography, twelve National Film Awards, six Filmfare Awards, four Kerala State Film Awards, and three Tamil Nadu State Film Awards.
Anton Balasingham Stanislaus was a Sri Lankan Tamil journalist, rebel and chief political strategist and chief negotiator for the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, a separatist Tamil militant organisation in Sri Lanka.
Rasaiah Parthipan was a Tamil Eelam revolutionary and member of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), a separatist Tamil militant organisation in Sri Lanka. He died while on hunger strike.
Tamil Eelam is a proposed independent state that many Tamils in Sri Lanka and the Eelam Tamil diaspora aspire to create in the north and east of Sri Lanka. Large sections of the North-East were under de facto control of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) for most of the 1990s–2000s during the Sri Lankan Civil War. Tamil Eelam, although encompassing the traditional homelands of Eelam Tamils, does not have official status or recognition by world states. The name is derived from the ancient Tamil name for Sri Lanka, Eelam.
Vishnuvardhan is an Indian film director, producer and screenwriter who predominantly works in the Tamil cinema.
Eelam War I is the name given to the initial phase of the armed conflict between the government of Sri Lanka and the LTTE.
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Contributions to popular culture involving direct reference to the Sri Lankan Tamil community in Indian cinema are listed below. All communities that speak Tamil and originally came from Sri Lanka are included. Tamils of Sri Lanka today are a trans-national minority and are found across the globe. While most films on the topic are made in Tamil cinema, there has also been Malayalam and Hindi content on the area.