''Uppalawanna'' ( si, උප්පලවන්ණා) is a 2007 Sri Lankan Sinhala drama philosophical film directed by

Sunil Ariyaratne Vidyodaya Vibhushana Sahithya Kala Shiromani Prof. Sunil Ariyaratne Kuruwita Bandara (born 28 July 1949 as සුනිල් ආරියරත්න), popularly as Sunil Ariyaratne, is a Sri Lankan scholar, film director, author, poet and a ly ...

and produced by Milinia Sumathipala for Sumathi Films. It stars

Sangeetha Weeraratne Dian Hemamali Sangeetha Weeraratne (born December 13, 1973, as ( Sinhala:සංගීතා වීරරත්න) is a Sri Lankan film actress in the Sri Lankan cinema. She made her debut as a sixteen-year-old with Roy de Silva's ''It's a Mat ...

and

Malini Fonseka Wanniarachchige Malini Senehelatha Fonseka, popularly as Malini Fonseka ( Sinhala:මාලිනී ෆොන්සේකා) (born 30 April 1947, in Kelaniya) is an actress in Sri Lankan cinema, theatre and television as well as a director. ...

in lead roles along with

Roshan Ravindra Roshan may refer to: People * Roshan (music director) (1917–1967), Indian musician and music director, born Roshan Lal Nagrath * Hrithik Roshan (born 1974), Hindi film actor, son of Rakesh Roshan * Mostafa Ahmadi-Roshan (1980–2012), Iranian n ...

and

Chandani Seneviratne Chandani Seneviratne, (born 28 December 1962: si, චාන්දනී සෙනෙවිරත්න), is an actress in Sri Lankan cinema, theatre and television. One of the most distinguished artists in Sinhala cinema, Seneviratne has rece ...

. Music composed by Navaratne Gamage. It is the 1165th Sri Lankan film in the

Sinhala cinema Sri Lankan cinema encompasses the Sri Lankan film industry. It is a fledgling industry that has struggled to find a footing since its inauguration in 1947 with ''Kadawunu Poronduwa'' produced by S. M. Nayagam of Chitra Kala Movietone. Sri Lanka ...

. The film has been shot in and around Thanthirimale.

Plot

Set during the 1987–89 JVP insurrection, Ratnapala (Jagath), a student at the University of Colombo and former member of the JVP, comes to visit his mother in

Anuradhapura Anuradhapura ( si, අනුරාධපුරය, translit=Anurādhapuraya; ta, அனுராதபுரம், translit=Aṉurātapuram) is a major city located in north central plain of Sri Lanka. It is the capital city of North Central ...

. He is killed by a former comrade (Roshan) on the basis of leaking JVP secrets to the Sri Lankan government. The comrade sustains serious injuries from this encounter. The comrade runs from the scene, attempting to make his way back to his base camp. Instead, he ends up near the Anuradhapura nunnery. Uppalavanna (Sangeetha) comes across him and after much deliberation, decides to heal him. Throughout the days she spends helping him, she reflects back on her time as Upuli, a laywoman. Upuli, the daughter of an Ayurvedic doctor (Suminda), fell in love with her dance teacher's son. They eloped, which caused her mother much pain and eventually, a premature death. Upuli and her husband go to the funeral, and there, her father shoots him dead. Her father goes to jail, and Upali explains to him that she wants to repent for all of their sins by joining the nunnery. This reflection coupled with her secret assistance changes how Uppalavanna acts. The chief nun (Malini) senses this, warning Upallavanna with her namesake's story. Eventually, the villagers find the assassin and take him away to kill him. Learning that he received medication from the nunnery, the villagers refuse to offer alms to the nunnery. Accepting the guilt unto herself and establishing the innocence of the other nuns, the film ends with Uppalavanna leaving the nunnery carrying only her alms-bowl.

Cast and characters

as Uppalavanna / Upuli *

Suminda Sirisena Kala Keerthi Suminda Sirisena ( Sinhala: සුමින්ද සිරිසේන) (born July 4, 1948) is an actor in Sri Lankan cinema, theater and television. He has played a wide range of starring or supporting roles and a recipient of Be ...

as Father * Rohana Beddage as Dancing Teacher *

as Rebel *

Jagath Chamila Jagath Chamila Fernando ( si, ජගත් චමිල: born 6 June 1972) is an actor in Sri Lankan cinema, theatre and television. He made his film debut in 1992 in the Sinhalese film ''Guru Gedara'', portraying a child. In 2013, he won the aw ...

as Rathnapala *

as Chief of the Nuns * Sandali Walikanna as Nanduththara Podi Aththi *

as Rathnapala's mother * Chithra Warakagoda as Upuli's mother * Sanath Wimalasiri as Upuli's boyfriend * Vasantha Vittachchi as Police Inspector * Sanjeewa Upendra as Chief monk *

as Weda Mahaththaya

Reception

Critics

The movie was met with primarily negative reviews. Many criticized the various unnecessary characters in the movie which do not have any role in the plot, the editing, and the acting. Sangeetha's performance was panned by some critics. The website Sri Lankan Film Critics, gave her extremely negative reviews. Indeewara Thilakarathne and Ranga Chandrarathne commented on Malini Fonseka's inauthentic portrayal of the chief nun. Indeewara Thilakarathne and Ranga Chandrarathne criticized the similarities of the movie with other movies which shared a similar theme like Water and Sankaran. They said -"Although one may not be able to pinpoint that the film has copied or rather adapted some scenes from Water or Sankara, it is doubtful whether the film maker had attempted to adapt some elements of Water in a Buddhist milieu. Especially the character of Podi Atthi remind the viewers of Chuiya in Water though it is not as lively as Chuiya. The script and cinematography were highly praised by the critics. They said that these factors shed light to the film. Navaratne Gamage's music, Suminda Weerasinghe's cinematography and Nanda Malini's singing made a meaningful contribution to the film. Dr. Praneeth Abeyasundera with his melodious wording has attempted to capture the spirit of the tone of Buddhist chanting.

Commercial

Uppalavanna did fairly at the box office. Uppalavanna recorded the best returns in three years, during the first two weeks. The film reached a record run with 175,000 patrons with over Rs. 12.6 million collection island wide within first 27 days of screening. From 83 days of successful screening, the film earned Rs. 31.5 million island wide.

Awards

Sarasaviya Awards 2007

* Most Popular Actress -

* Best Actress -

* Best Supporting Actress - Chandani Senewiratne * Best Music - Navaratne Gamage

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Uppalawanna (Film) 2007 films 2000s Sinhala-language films 2007 drama films Sri Lankan drama films