Mille Soya

Mille Soya
Theatrical release poster
Sinhala	මිල්ලේ සොයා
Directed by	Boodee Keerthisena
Written by	Boodee Keerthisena
Produced by	Boodee Keerthisena
Starring	Mahendra Perera Jackson Anthony Sanath Gunathilake Kamal Addararachchi Sangeetha Weeraratne
Cinematography	Moishe Ben-Yaish K.A. Dharmasena
Edited by	Ravindra Guruge
Music by	Lakshman Joseph De Seram
Distributed by	CEL Theatres
Release date	21 October 2004 (2004-10-21) [1]
Running time	110 minutes
Countries	Sri Lanka Italy
Languages	Sinhala Italian
Budget	US$ 100,000 [2]

Mille Soya (Buongiorno Italia) is a 2004 romantic musical film, written, produced and directed by Boodee Keerthisena. ^[3] The film stars Mahendra Perera, Jackson Anthony, Sanath Gunathilake, Kamal Addararachchi, and Sangeetha Weeraratne. ^[4] The film was released on 21 October 2004. ^[5] The film received mostly positive reviews from critics. ^{[6] [7] [8]}

The film is Sri Lanka's very first digital film. ^[9] Shooting of the film was started in 1997 in Naples, Positano in Italy and in Chilaw in Sri Lanka. It is a Sri Lankan-Italian co-production. ^[10]

The film follows a group of young Sri Lankan musicians who illegally immigrate to Italy in the baggage compartment of a bus and about the lost dreams of Sri Lankan youth living during the Sri Lankan civil war. ^[11]

Plot

The story revolves around a group of young musicians – rock 'n rollers who venerate Bob Marley and wish to become a famous band. But their lives on the lowest rungs of Sri Lankan society, with its poverty and violence, offer them little if no opportunities. Friends returning from Italy talk about the money to be made. But the journey there is not straightforward because it's not legal. The film follows them on their dangerous journey with all its hazards, its comradeship, its tears and laughter, and also death. When in Naples, Italy, the appalling conditions of their day-to-day living, the hard labor, but also the basic human frailties, strengths, loves and hates, are also shown. On returning to Sri Lanka, somehow they seem to be better equipped to survive either in Sri Lanka, or to return to Italy, this time as legal immigrants. ^[12]

Cast

• Mahendra Perera as Pradeep
• Sangeetha Weeraratne as Princy
• Jackson Anthony as Samson
• Kamal Addararachchi as Maxi
• Sanath Gunathilake as Sagara
• Ravindra Randeniya as Agent KingsLey
• Veena Jayakody as Pradeep's mother
• Sriyantha Mendis as Jude
• W. Jayasiri
• Suvineetha Weerasinghe as Maxi's Mother
• Roger Seneviratne as Michael
• Lakshman Mendis as Premasiri

Songs

• Sudu Andumin performed by Jaya Sri
• Anjaleeka performed by Marians
• Ape Dawasak Enawamai performed by Jaya Sri (written in Sinhala to the melody of "No Woman, No Cry")
• Gantheere Gantheere performed by Kithsiri Jayasekara & Nirosha Virajini
• Salli Pokuru Mille Ahuru performed by Damian Wickramathilaka

References

1. "'Milla Soya' ready for screen at last". Sunday Times. Retrieved 17 July 2019.
2. "Boodee speaks of times both bitter and sweet". Sunday Times. Retrieved 29 November 2019.
3. "Boodee and his Mille Soya trip". Sunday Times. Retrieved 17 July 2019.
4. "Sri Lankan screened films". Sarasaviya. Archived from the original on 16 November 2016. Retrieved 11 March 2017.
5. Mille Soya at IMDb
6. "Laudable exercise in free cinema concept". Daily News. Retrieved 11 March 2017.
7. "To 'enjoy' dreadful reality". The Island. Retrieved 11 March 2017.
8. "Paradise is greener from the other side". The Sunday Leader. Retrieved 11 March 2017.
9. "'Boungiorno Italia' comes to Lanka". Sunday Times. Retrieved 29 November 2019.
10. "'Mille Soya' has reached the top through hardship". The Sunday Times. Retrieved 11 March 2017.
11. "'Milla Soya': A trek from Lanka to Italy". Sunday Times. Retrieved 11 March 2017.
12. "imdb". IMDb . Retrieved 26 December 2019.

External links

• Mille Soya at IMDb
• Official website