cinema portraits from 1948 till now Know your stars: Who’s Who of Lankan cinema

‘Cinema Ran Potha’ by veteran film journalist Ernest Waduge is a picture gallery of Lankan film stars from the earliest – the Jayamanne era, starting with a still from our first ‘talkie’ feature Kadavunu Poronduwa with Rukmani Devi and B. A. W. Jayemanne. For those who may not know it, Kadavunu Poronduwa was directed by Indian director J. Singh, and his picture is there. 

The descriptions are brief, giving more space to the picture gallery. But many anecdotes fill these pages.  Memories are short, and many celebrities even from the seventies and eighties are now forgotten. They are all brought alive in this book. It contains not just film stars’ faces; producers, directors, music composers, song writers, singers, technicians and film journalists, too, are portrayed. Some of the photos are rare gems – that of Rukmani Devi singing a song in India while actor/director Raj Kapoor accompanies her on table. Author Martin Wickremasinghe with the stars of Gam Peraliya at the film location is another. Lester James Pieris and Willie Blake with their Arriflex camera on a makeshift raft while filming Rekawa is another gem.

Florida Jayalath, Vijitha Mallika, Punya Heendeniya, Sandhya Kumari, Anula Karunathilake, Sonia Disa, Malani Fonseka,  with dancer-actress Fareena Lai – these are some of the more familiar faces from this picture gallery, alongside their male counterparts Domie Jayewardena, Gamini Fonseka, Wally Nayayakkara, Vijaya Kumaratunga. But some of the lesser known faces too, are included.

Then there are some contemporary stars and starlets, too. Many have been left out. As the author notes, only so much could be crammed into a compact book. But for anyone who loves Lankan cinema, it’s a wonderful trip down memory lane. This author publication is priced at Rs. 2000