The Broken Promise of the Lankan Cinema: Asoka and Swarna's Thrilling Melodrama – Part II

The Colombo premiere of Broken Promise (1947) was a national event, attended by D. S. Senanayake and business leaders as it promised much - the possibility of a popular national cinema that addressed a multi-ethnic polity and a profitable business.

- BY LALEEN JAYAMANNE

People were bused into Kandy, where the film was screened in a large tent, and screened in several cinemas in Colombo and the suburbs. Certainly, from its inception the Lankan cinema was multi-ethnic in the composition of its creative artists (musicians, singers, actors, directors), technicians and producers, theatre and studio owners who provided the capital.

Sumathy Sivamohan's 2018 film Sons and Fathers explored this multiethnic creative hybrid ecosystem of the industry during the 1983 pogrom against the Tamil citizens of Lanka. She modelled the musician in the film on the creative spirit of Rocksamy's life and work so integral to the success of Lankan cinema. Sumathy researched the film by speaking to Mrs Rocksamy and incorporated a scene with her in the film. She spoke to impoverished old Tamil editors and the children of a musician to understand in some detail its multi-ethnic ecosystem and ethos of its lower-middle class creatives. She then crafted these ethnographic musical insights into an intricate poetic film.

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