Bawa Duka - The Sorrow of Existence - Part I

A continuation of “Bawa Duka”; via Peduru’s family, the narrative exposes the social stasis/class discrimination encouraged by the local Sinhalese Buddhist clergy, while the arrival of the Christian missionaries signals a more progressive mindset, though at the cost of conversion to a monotheistic faith. Tyranny is not only practiced by the British colonials but equally facilitated by local traditional institutions--thus, the resultant suffering (Duka) of Peduru is a combination of the two.

The film centered around the story behind national patriot Veera Puran Appu and his Matale rebellion in 1848 for the freedom from British. Though he was executed by the British by firing squad, his influence to the country's independence has been highly praised and thus Puran Appu is highlighted as a national hero of the Sri Lankan history.

A married man (Nissanka) and woman (Miranda) find their lives disrupted after their affair is exposed by the police. Leaving their respective families, the two decide to live together. Shortly afterwards, Miranda secretly goes back to see her former husband. As paranoia mounts, Nissanka disintegrates psychologically to point where reality and fantasy are blurred.

Three rural, working class garment factory girls - a pampered prima-Donna (Mangala), a safe runner (Swineetha) and a tormented vixen (Gothami) go through trials and tribulations of their bitter sweet youth in a liberalized industrial zone in the city. Lovelorn Gothami makes life difficult for everyone around her and creates her own tragedy by obsessively falling in love with her pretty friend Mangala's sexually frustrated lover, Vipula. The carefree existence of the three girls end in catastrophe and gothami disappears. An accidental meeting of the two girls after several years results in a confession by the ever winning Mangala. the revelation shocks Gothami. Perhaps for the first time Gothami sees life, winning and losing, suffering and salvation in a completely different perspective, which she never thought existed.

A continuation of “Bawa Duka”; via Peduru’s family, the narrative exposes the social stasis/class discrimination encouraged by the local Sinhalese Buddhist clergy, while the arrival of the Christian missionaries signals a more progressive mindset, though at the cost of conversion to a monotheistic faith. Tyranny is not only practiced by the British colonials but equally facilitated by local traditional institutions--thus, the resultant suffering (Duka) of Peduru is a combination of the two.

Thunveni Yamaya (Third part of the night) is an attempt to delve deep into, and cinematically depict a series of terrifying and tormenting experiences of a young man (Percy), during a nightmare honeymoon. These experiences appear to be a catharsis of traumatic experiences of a bewildered childhood. And in their eructation they engulf all around them, his wife (Princy), his mother, his servant, and all who come in contact with him, the most cruelly persecuted being the image of his own innocent childhood.

Set in the dry zone of Sri Lanka, Suddi is married to a notorious criminal in the village, Romiel. Convicted for a murder Romiel is jailed. Miserable Suddhi has to depend on Sirimewan Mudalalie, a shrewd businessman from town.

"Tears In Paradise" is a poignant documentary film directed by Sri Lankan filmmaker Dharmasiri Bandaranayake, a follow-up to the docu-film 'In Search Of Paradise', which he also directed. Continuing its exploration of Sri Lanka’s socio-political landscape, the film delves deeper into the human cost of conflict, displacement, and the enduring search for identity and belonging. Through intimate narratives and reflective storytelling, Tears In Paradise captures the emotional aftermath of a fractured past while questioning the meaning of paradise in a land marked by both beauty and struggle.