‘You Can’t Understand Human Beings…’


‘…without
looking
into
yourself.’
‘What
matters
most
is
human
relationships
and
the
human
mind.’

IMAGE:
Roshan
Mathew
and
Darshana
Rajendran
in

Paradise
.

A
film-maker,
who
chooses
to
make
a
political
film,
is
often
a
person
with
a
cause.

For
Sri
Lankan
film-maker

Prasanna
Vithanage
,
cinema
is
a
medium
to
hold
a
mirror
to
society.
His
films
are
concerned
with
the
complexities
of
socio-political
events
and
their
impact
on
individuals.

In
his
latest
directorial

Paradise
,
Vithanage
sets
the
backdrop
of
tumultuous
times
in
his
homeland
during
the
financial
downfall
of
the
country
in
2022.
The
narrative
is
centred
on
an
Indian
couple
that
arrives
in
crises-ridden
Sri
Lanka
for
a
holiday.
The
narrative
tells
a
layered
relationship
drama
that
also
wrangles
with
complex
issues
that
gripped
the
Island
nation.

Starring
Malayalam
actors
Roshan
Mathew
and
Darshana
Rajendran,

Paradise

won
the
Kim
Jiseok
award
for
Best
Film
at
the
Busan
International
Film
Festival
2023.

“You
cannot
make
an
honest
film
without
looking
into
yourself.
Can
you
criticise
society
without
being
critical
about
yourself?
You
need
a
critical
eye
towards
society,
otherwise
why
would
you
make
films?”
Prasanna
Vithanage
asks

Mayur
Sanap/Rediff.com
.



Paradise

is
subtle
in
its
exploration
of
human
nature
and
relationships.
At
the
same
time,
it
serves
as
a
compelling
critique
of
a
major
political
event.
What
inspired
you
to
write
this
story?

There
was
a
journalist
named
Oriana
Fallaci.
I
think
she
became
famous
when
she
interviewed
Iranian
religious
leader
Ayatollah
Khomeini
in
the
1970s.

I
saw
somewhere
she
said
that
situations
like
war
and
economic
depression
bring
out
the
hidden
truths
about
humans.

It’s
true,
I
think.

I
did
a
trilogy
on
the
background
of
the
prolonged
ethnic
war,
which
happened
in
Sri
Lanka
from
the
1980s
to
2009


Death
on
a
Full
Moon
Day

(1997;
Sri
Lankan
title:
Pura
Handa
Kaluwara
),

August
Sun

(2003;
Sri
Lankan
title:
Ira
Madiyama
),

With
You,
Without
You

(2012;
Sri
Lankan
title:
Oba
Nathuwa
Oba
Ekka
).

For
me,
what
matters
most
is
human
relationships
and
the
human
mind.
But
without
understanding
the
social
undercurrents,
you
cannot
bring
out
the
inner
psychology.

That’s
what
I
have
been
trying
to
do
for
a
long
time
in
my
cinema.


Paradise

is
kind
of
a
culmination
of
that:
An
economic
crisis
that
happens
in
Sri
Lanka
and
two
people,
who
have
nothing
to
do
with
it,
come
to
visit
the
country
on
Ramayana
tour.
They
are
indifferent
to
the
surroundings
but
it
overwhelms
them.

IMAGE:
Roshan
Mathew
and
Darshana
Rajendran
in

Paradise
.


You
once
said
although
the
territory
is
Sri
Lanka,
it
is
an
Indian
movie.
Can
you
elaborate
on
that?

There
are
three
things.

First,
it’s
an
Indian
production.

Second,
the
story
happens
to
two
Indians,
and
the
lead
roles
are
done
by
Indian
actors.
But
it’s
with
a
Sri
Lankan
director
(Laughs).

We
have
five
languages
in
the
film:
Malayalam,
Tamil,
Hindi,
Sinhala
and
English.

That’s
why
I
am
also
calling
it
my
first
Indian
language
film.

IMAGE:
Roshan
Mathew
and
Darshana
Rajendran
in

Paradise
.

Photograph:
Kind
courtesy
Prasanna
Vithanage/Instagram


In
the
film’s
context,
the
title

Paradise

has
a
melancholic
feel
to
it.
How
did
you
come
up
with
this
title?

The
title
was
suggested
by
my
producer
Anto
Chittilappilly
of
Newton
Cinema,
and
I
agreed.

It’s
melancholic,
and
at
the
same
time,
ironic.

Sri
Lanka
has
been
called
paradise
in
various
stories
and
by
many
historians.
It’s
one
of
the
most
beautiful
countries
when
it
comes
to
natural
beauty.

At
the
same
time,
a
lot
of
blood
has
been
spilled
after
the
independence.

It
saw
two
insurgencies,
in
1971
and
1988,
and
a
prolonged
civil
war
from
1980s
to
2009.

All
this
carnage
happened
as
kind
of
a
counter
to
the
beauty.
That’s
why
I
thought
the
title
was
apt.

Rajeev
(Ravi,
cinematographer
)
and
I
wanted
to
bring
it
out
like
that
rather
than
making
a
garish
film.
We
thought
the
natural
beauty
should
be
there
as
counter
to
what’s
happening
in
the
foreground.


What
are
your
personal
experiences
that
have
gone
into
making
this
film?

You
cannot
make
an
honest
film
without
looking
into
yourself.
Can
you
criticise
society
without
being
critical
about
yourself?

You
need
a
critical
eye
towards
society,
otherwise
why
would
you
make
films?

A
film-maker
brings
certain
truths
that
society
doesn’t
want
to
accept.

I
remember
Tarkovsky
(Andrei
Tarkovsky,
the
late
Russian
movie
maestro
)
once
said,
we
are
telling
these
stories
so
that
the
society
will
be
better.

In
my
film,
Kesav
has
been
married
for
five
years.

I
have
been
married
for
31
years.

You
cannot
understand
other
human
beings
without
looking
into
yourself.
Whatever
I
say
to
you,
all
these
profound
things,
when
it
comes
to
the
practicalities,
what
matters
is
how
we
behave
in
our
close
relationships.

It’s
a
kind
of
a
mirror
that
I
am
holding
to
myself
and
I
hope
that
mirror
will
not
only
reflect
on
me
but
it
will
reflect
on
other
human
beings
also.

IMAGE:
Prasanna
Vithanage
with
Roshan
Mathew.

Photograph:
Kind
courtesy
Prasanna
Vithanage/Instagram


How
did
you
decide
to
cast
Roshan
Mathew
and
Darshana
Rajendran?
Were
you
aware
of
their
work
in
Malayalam
cinema?

For
me,
casting
is
the
most
important
part
of
direction.
If
you
cast
the
right
person,
you
have
accomplished
90
per
cent
of
your
job
regarding
acting.

I
wanted
a
person
who
is
cosmopolitan,
somebody
who
is
from
Kerala,
and
he
should
have
some
charm.

Roshan
Matthew
possesses
all
these
qualities.

I
wanted
him
from
the
beginning.

I
have
seen
his
work
like

C
U
Soon
,

Kappela
,

Moothon
.

Darshana
came
later.

(The
character
)
is
little
overshadowed
by
the
husband.
I
thought
she
should
be
petite.

I
knew
Darshana
is
an
amazing
actress.
I
have
seen
her

Jaya
Jaya
Jaya
Jaya
Hey

and
other
films.

I
thought
their
chemistry
would
be
ideal
for
the
film.


Both
of
them
are
really
good
in
the
film.

Can
I
add
something?


Yes,
please.

Yesterday,
when
I
was
watching
the
film
with
the
audience,
I
felt
male
actors,
especially
in
our
part
of
the
world,
are
not
very
keen
to
show
their
vulnerable
side.

If
you
see
a
performance
by,
let’s
say,
Marlon
Brando
in

On
The
Waterfront

or
Robert
De
Niro
in

Taxi
Driver
,
you
can
see
their
vulnerability
and
understand
the
ache.

I
am
grateful
to
Roshan,
who
is
such
a
well-known
star,
for
showing
a
darker
side
(of
his
character
).

We
all
have
that
but
don’t
want
to
identify
with
it.
What
good
actors
do
is
that
they
open
their
hearts.

I’m
not
saying
it’s
inside
Roshan
but
he
was
ready
to
understand
Kesav
(his
character’s
name
)
and
not
to
judge
him.

Also,
I
always
believed
that
good
actresses
bring
a
certain
kind
of
independence
to
their
characters
that
even
a
director
or
script
writer
has
not
imagined
of
before.

And
Darshana
did
that
with
Amritha
(her
character’s
name
).

IMAGE:
Mani
Ratnam,
A
Sreekar
Prasad
and
Prasanna
Vithanage
at
the
poster
launch
of

Paradise
.

Photograph:
Kind
courtesy
Prasanna
Vithanage/Instagram


How
did
Mani
Ratnam’s
Madras
Talkies
come
on
board
to
present
this
film?

I
have
been
coming
to
Chennai
from
1993
and
working
with
Mr
Prasad
(A
Sreekar
Prasad,
film
editor
)
from
1997.

Sreekar
Prasad,
we
fondly
call
him
Nani,
was
the
common
link
between
Mani
Ratnam
and
me.

I
asked
Mani
Ratnam’s
manager,
Siva
Anand,
if
he
would
accept
to
present
my
film.
He
immediately
said
yes.

He
gave
me
his
banner
out
of
love
for
the
film.
Siva
Anand
said
there’s
no
financial
involvement
and
Mani
Ratnam
was
ready
to
present
the
film.
It
shows
his
magnanimity.

Before
this,
Mani
Ratnam
wanted
to
shoot
part
of

Ponniyin
Selvan

in
Sri
Lanka
and
I
was
the
line
producer.
But
it
didn’t
happen
because
of
the
COVID
pandemic
and
they
decided
to
shoot
it
in
India
instead.

Our
friendship
continued
and
I’m
grateful
to
Mani
Ratnam
and
Madras
Talkies.

IMAGE:
Prasanna
Vithanage
with
his
crew
on
the
sets
of

Paradise
.

Photograph:
Kind
courtesy
Prasanna
Vithanage/Instagram


It
is
a
struggle
for
an
indie
feature
to
find
a
theatrical
release.
With
the
kind
of
backing
you
have
got,
what
do
you
hope
to
achieve
with
the
wider
release
of

Paradise
?

See,
within
these
two
weeks,
there
is
a
release
of
other
blockbusters
but
we
are
still
going
ahead.

This
is
a
small
film;
by
small
I
mean,
the
scale,
the
business
and
the
stars
it
features.

We
are
ready
to
face
any
outcome
but
I
believe
this
film
has
a
potential
to
hold
the
audience’s
attention.

I’m
grateful
to
my
producers
at
Newton
Cinema
that
they
decided
to
go
for
a
wider
release.
They
said
we
will
spend
money
because
later,
they
don’t
want
to
regret
they
didn’t
do
justice
to
the
film
as
producers.

Yesterday,
when
I
was
in
this
auditorium,
there
were
so
many
people
who
felt
closer
to
the
film.
They
could
relate
to
it.

We
make
films
because
we
want
to
say
something
through
our
beloved
medium
of
cinema
and
we
hope
it
will
touch
others’
hearts.

If
that
happens,
I
would
be
more
than
happy.