''Yuganthaya'' is a 1983 Sri Lankan

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...

directed by

Lester James Peries Sri Lankabhimanya Lester James Peries ( Sinhala: ශ්‍රී ලංකාභිමාන්‍ය ලෙස්ටර් ජේම්ස් පීරිස්; 5 April 1919 – 29 April 2018) was a Sri Lankan film director, screenwriter, a ...

; it was adapted from the novel ''

Yuganthaya ''Yuganthaya'' ( Sinhala: යුගාන්තය "The End of an Era" or "Destiny") is a novel written by Sri Lankan writer Martin Wickremasinghe and first published in 1949. It is the third and last part of Wickramasinghe's trilogy that began w ...

'' by

Martin Wickramasinghe Lama Hewage Don Martin Wickramasinghe, (commonly known as Martin Wickramasinghe) ( si, මාර්ටින් වික්‍රමසිංහ) (29 May 1890 – 23 July 1976) was a Sri Lankan journalist and author. His books have been tran ...

, and deals with the beginning of labor unions in Sri Lanka. For the film, Lester won Sri Lanka's Presidential Award for best director. Critical reception was mixed however, and some critics found the film not up to par with the earlier films. It was entered into the

14th Moscow International Film Festival The 14th Moscow International Film Festival was held from 28 June to 12 July 1985. The Golden Prizes were awarded to the Soviet film ''Come and See'' directed by Elem Klimov, the American film '' A Soldier's Story'' directed by Norman Jewison and ...

Plot

Simon Kabilana (Gamini Fonseka) is a powerful ruthless capitalist who uses terror to keep his workers under control and yield high production quotas. His son Malin (Richard De Zoysa) is the complete opposite, coming back from England idolizing Marx and Lenin, causing them to clash. Malin eventually gives up his fortunes in his father's company and works toward a confrontation with his father.

Cast

Gamini Fonseka Kala Keerthi Sembuge Gamini Shelton Fonseka () (21 March 1936 - 30 September 2004 as ගාමිණී ෆොන්සේකා), was a Sri Lankan film actor, film director and politician. Often considered as the Greatest Actor in the Sinhal ...

as Simon Kabilana * Suvineetha Weerasinghe as Nalika *

Richard De Zoysa Richard Manik de Zoysa (Tamil: இரிச்சர்ட் டி சோய்சா) ( Sinhala:රිචඩ් ද සොයිසා) (18 March 1958 – 18 February 1990) was a well-known Sri Lankan journalist, author, human rights acti ...

as Malin *

Ramani Bartholomeusz Ramani Elizabeth Bartholomeusz ( si, රමනී බර්තෝලමියුස්; 1 September 1966 – 30 June 1987) was a Sri Lankan model and actress. Having been crowned Miss Sri Lanka in 1985, she represented Sri Lanka at the 1985 Miss U ...

as Chamari * Mahal Wijewardena *

Punya Heendeniya Heendeniya Vidanaralalage Punya Heendeniya (born 31 July 1938: si, පුණ්‍යා හීන්දෙනිය), popularly as Punya Heendeniya, is a former Sri Lankan cinema actress who currently resides in England. Personal life Punya He ...

Douglas Ranasinghe Morathennage Douglas Ranasinghe (born May 27, 1945, si, ඩග්ලස් රණසිංහ), is an actor in Sri Lankan cinema, theater, and television. He acted in many supportive roles in movies including ''Akkara Paha'', ''Yuganthaya'', '' ...

as Aravinda *

Chitra Wakishta Chitra Dhanawalavithana (23 December 1936 – 31 May 2019 as චිත්‍රා වාකිෂ්ඨ) inhala, popularly as Chitra Wakishta, was an actress in Sri Lankan cinema, stage drama and television. Wakishta is best known for her rol ...

Miyuri Samarasinghe Wijeratne Miyuri Samarasinghe (15 March 1939 – 6 February 2021: as si, මියුරි සමරසිංහ), popularly as Miyuri Samarasinghe, was an actress in Sri Lankan cinema, theater and television. Apart from acting, she also worke ...

Production

The film was shot on

35mm 35 mm may refer to: * 135 film, a type of still photography format commonly referred to as 35 mm film * 35 mm movie film, a type of motion picture film stock * 35MM 35 mm may refer to: * 135 film, a type of still photography format ...

and used

eastmancolor Eastmancolor is a trade name used by Eastman Kodak for a number of related film and processing technologies associated with color motion picture production and referring to George Eastman, founder of Kodak. Eastmancolor, introduced in 1950, was on ...

References

External links

Official site
of Lester James Peries * * 1983 films 1983 drama films 1980s Sinhala-language films Films based on Sri Lankan novels Films set in Sri Lanka (1948–present) Sri Lankan drama films Films based on works by Martin Wickramasinghe {{SriLanka-film-stub