''Saroja'' ( si, සරෝජා), is a 2000

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

n Sinhalese children's drama film directed by

Somaratne Dissanayake Somaratne Dissanayake is a Sri Lankan film director, Screenwriter and Producer. He is the Chairman of Sri Lanka Rupavahini Corporation and the president of the Film Makers Guild of Sri Lanka (FMG). He won the Peace prize of Chicago Internation ...

as maiden feature film and produced by his wife Renuka Balasuriya. It stars two child artists Pramudi Karunarathne and Nithyavani Kandasami in lead roles along with

Janaka Kumbukage Janaka Kumbukage ( ජනක කුඹුකගේ) inhala, is an actor in Sri Lankan cinema, stage drama and television. Highly versatile actor primarily engaged in television, Kumbukage is notable for the roles in films ''Saroja'', ''Daruwan ...

and

Joe Abeywickrama Deshabandu Gammana Patabendige Don John Abeywickrama ( Sinhala:ජෝ අබේවික්‍රම) (22 June 1927 – 21 September 2011), popularly as Joe Abeywickrama, was an actor in Sri Lankan cinema, theater and television. Initially famed ...

. Music composed by

Rohana Weerasinghe DR. Rohana Weerasinghe (born February 18, 1949), is a Sri Lankan musician, composer and singer. Early life Weerasinghe was born on 18 February 1949 in Algiriya, Matara in southern Sri Lanka. He was the youngest child to his parents Henry Weer ...

. It is the 931st film in Sri Lankan cinema. The film is a hugely successful film that has won awards and critical acclaim worldwide.

Plot

Saroja is a little Tamil girl. Her father is a rebel and one day their home is burnt, and Saroja's mother is dead. Due to the army attacking Saroja's father is wounded and they run away to the jungle. They enter an adjoining Sinhala village. The father and daughter meet Varuni, the little daughter of the village school teacher. Varuni is also of the same age as Saroja, but they cannot understand each other due to the language barrier. But gradually a strong bond of friendship between them builds up. Varuni pleads with her parents and with much difficulty succeeds in providing accommodation for Saroja in their home. Later Saroja's father is also given shelter in the house. However, suspicions arise among Police and Army officers resulting in the family being subject to various types of obstacles from the forces. Suddenly Saroja's father is killed. Varuni's father is given a punishment transfer to another remote village school. The family too leaves, the village along with Saroja who is now treated as a family member

Cast

* Nithyavani Kandasami as Saroja * Pramudi Karunarathne as Varuni *

as Punchibanda, Varuni's father * Mervyn Mahesan as Sundaralingam, Saroja's father *

Nita Fernando Nita Fernando (born 5 September 1947, නීටා ප්‍රනාන්දු) in Negombo, Sri Lanka is an actress in the Sri Lankan cinema. She has starred in films like '' Duhulu Malak'' and ''Pavuru Walalu''. Biography Early life Nita ...

as Varuni's mother *

Susantha Chandramali Abeysiri Narayana Susantha Chandramali Wanigaratne (born February 21, 1964 as සුසන්තා චන්ද්‍රමාලි) inhala, popularly as Susantha Chandramali, is an actress in Sri Lankan cinema, theater and television. She i ...

as Nurse *

Sampath Tennakoon Sampath Tennakoon (20 June 1959 – 3 December 2021: සම්පත් තෙන්නකෝන් inhala, was an actor in Sri Lankan cinema, theater and television. Personal life Sampath Tennakoon was born on 20 June 1959. He was from Isipa ...

as Police Chief *

Mahendra Perera Mahendra Shrikantha Perera (born 17 August 1956: si, මහේන්ද්‍ර පෙරේරා), is an actor in Sri Lankan cinema, stage drama and television. One of the most influential actors in Sinhala cinema, Mahendra performed from ...

as Sirisena *

Asoka Peiris Asoka Peiris (born 1942 – died 24 December 2007 as අශෝක පීරිස්) inhala, was a Sri Lankan actor in Sri Lankan cinema, stage drama and television. Highly versatile actor mainly appeared in dramatic roles, Peiris is best know ...

as Boutique owner * Ranjini Rajamohan as Saroja's mother *

Mahinda Pathirage Thanthrige Pathirage Mahinda (born March 22, 1952, as මහින්ද පතිරගේ) inhala, popularly as Mahinda Pathirage, is an actor in Sri Lankan cinema, stage drama and television. Particularly act in comedy roles, Pathirage is ...

* Winnie Wettasinghe * Lalith Janakantha *

Tony Ranasinghe Deshabandu Ranasinghe Hettiarachchilage Ignatius Anthony Silva (31 July 1937 – 16 June 2015 as ටෝනි රණසිංහ), popularly as Tony Ranasinghe, was an actor in Sri Lankan cinema, theater and television. He is known as the Love ...

as guest artist *

Ravindra Randeniya Liyanage Boniface Walter Perera (born 5 June 1945), popularly known by his stage name Ravindra Randeniya, is a Sri Lankan actor and former politician. He rose to fame in Lester James Peries's film ''Desa Nisa'' in 1972, and was a popular actor d ...

as guest artist Major Fernando

Reception

The film was chosen to represent the competitive section of the International Film Festival commenced in Dhaka on 20 January 2000. The film won the Audience Award Dhaka International Film Festival held on 28 January 2000. It also shared the NETPAC Award for the Best Asian Film with fellow Sri Lankan film ''

Padadaya ''Padadaya (The Outcast)'' ( si, පාදඩයා, italic=yes) is a 1999 Sri Lankan Sinhala drama film directed and produced by Linton Semage for Hiru Films. It stars Linton Semage and Shyamali Warusavitana in lead roles along with Saumya Li ...

'' directed by

Linton Semage Linton Semage is an actor in Sri Lankan cinema, theatre and television as well a filmmaker. He is best known for his roles in movies such as ''Padadaya'' (1998), '' Sulang Kirilli'' (2002) and ''Mad Cowgirl'' (2006). He started his acting career ...

. The film was also selected to compete at the 33rd Annual Worlfest-Houston International Film Festival at the public screening section of the festival from 7 to 16 April 2000. At the festival, ''Saroja'' won Bronze award in competitive section.

Awards

* Audience award (Best film) -

Dhaka International Film Festival Dhaka International Film Festival ( bn, ঢাকা আন্তর্জাতিক চলচ্চিত্র উৎসব) is a biennial film festival held in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Established in 1992, the festival was initially organized on a ...

(Bangladesh) 2000 * Best Asian Film (Netpac Award) - Dhaka International Film Festival (Bangladesh) 2000 * Bronze Award Independent Theatrical Feature Films - First Feature - Houston International Film Festival (USA) 2000 * Special Award of the Festival -

Pyongyang International Film Festival The Pyongyang International Film Festival is a biennial cultural exhibition held in Pyongyang, North Korea. Until 2002, the film festival was reserved to "non-aligned and other developing countries". History The event originated in 1987 as the Py ...

(Korea) 2000 * Best Director - Iran International Film Festival (Isfahan - Iran) 2000 * Best Performance (Pramudi & Nithyavani) - Iran International Film Festival (Isfahan - Iran) 2000 * LivUllmann Peace Award -

Chicago International Film Festival The Chicago International Film Festival is an annual film festival held every fall. Founded in 1964 by Michael Kutza, it is the longest-running competitive film festival in North America. Its logo is a stark, black and white close up of the comp ...

(USA) 2000 * Audience Award - Vesoul International Film Festival (France) 2000

References

External links

{{IMDB title, 0259554 2000 films Films set in Sri Lanka (1948–present) Films about the Sri Lankan Civil War