Gaadi Explained

Gaadi
Native Name:
Director:	Prasanna Vithanage
Producer:	Sandya Salgado Alan McAlex Ajay Rai H D Premasiri Prasanna Vithanage
Starring:	Sajitha Anthony Dinara Punchihewa Shyam Fernando Ravindra Randeniya
Cinematography:	Rajeev Ravi
Editing:	A. Sreekar Prasad
Music:	K (Krishna Kumar)
Studio:	Film Island Jar Pictures Prasanna Vithanage Productions
Distributor:	CEL Theatres
Runtime:	103 Minutes
Country:	Sri Lanka
Language:	Sinhala
Budget:	$560,000^[1]

Gaadi (Sinhala; Sinhalese: ගාඩි), also released as Children of the Sun, is a 2019 Sri Lankan Sinhala historical road film directed by Prasanna Vithanage.^[2] It is co-produced as a Sri Lankan-Indian joint production by H.D. Premasiri, Sandya Salgado for Film Island, Prasanna Vithanage Productions and Alan McAlex and Ajay Rai for Mumbai-based Jar Pictures, an Indian motion picture production company.^[3] It stars Sajitha Anthony with debut actress Dinara Punchihewa in lead roles^[4] along with Shyam Fernando and Ravindra Randeniya.^[5] Music composed by K.^[6]

It is a period drama set in 1814, during the last days of the Kandyan Kingdom. The story revolves around the journey of Tikiri who was stripped from nobility and forcibly married to an outcast by the monarchy.^{[7] [8] [9] [10]}

Gaadi premiered on 8 October 2019 at the 24th Busan International Film Festival amidst stellar reviews.^{[11] [12] [13] [14]} The film has been selected one of the 100 Asian films that audiences should watch by International Film Festival 2019.^[15]

In January 2020, the film won a Special Jury Award at 18th International Dhaka Film Festival.^[16]

Plot

Stripped of her Radala cast and forcibly married to an outcast by the monarch, a woman fights to keep her dignity by rejecting to succumb to her destiny.

Cast

• Sajitha Anthony as Vijaya
• Dinara Punchihewa as Tikiri^[17]
• Ravindra Randeniya as Ehelepola Adigar
• Shyam Fernando as Bulathgama Disawe
• Iranganie Serasinghe as Bulathgama Disawe's mother
• Damayanthi Fonseka as Bulathgama Disawe's sister
• Mohamed Adamaly as John Doyle
• Ananda Kumara Unnehe as Ukkuwa
• Nethalie Nanayakkara as Ukkuwa's mother
• Kalana Gunasekara as Village youth
• Thusitha Laknath
• Jayabalan^[18]
• Mervyn Croon
• Dishni Rajapaksa
• Denuwan Sri Bandara as Soldier^[19]
• Samila Vidanage as messenger

International Screenings

• 24th Busan International Film Festival in South Korea on 8 October 2019.^[20]
• 3rd I South Asian Film Festival - San Francisco on 9 November 2019.^[21]
• 21st Kerala International Film Festival on 9 December 2019.^[22]
• 18th Pune International Film Festival on 10 January 2020.
• 18th Dhaka International Film Festival on 19 January 2020.
• 49th International Film Festival Rotterdam on 26 January 2020.
• 3rd Independent Film Festival of Chennai on 9 February 2020.
• Vesoul International Film Festival on 13 February 2020.
• Bengaluru International Film Festival on 28 February 2020.

Awards

• 18th Dhaka International Film Festival (Best Film - Special Jury Mention)
• 3rd Independent Film Festival of Chennai (Emerald Dove Award)
• 14th Asia Pacific Screen Awards: Cultural Diversity Award (UNESCO)

Notes and References

1. Web site: Busan: Prasanna Vithanage Sri Lankan Auteur Shines With 'Children of the Sun' . variety . 10 November 2019.
2. Web site: Film Island starts work on Prasanna's epic movie: 'Gaadi' . etthawitthi . 10 November 2019.
3. Web site: Prasanna bridges Sri Lanka and Bollywood with 'Gaadi' . Sunday Times . 10 November 2019.
4. Web site: Dinara and Sajitha lead the cast in 'Gaadi' . Daily News . 10 August 2019.
5. Web site: Gaadi film . Sinhala Cinema Database . 10 November 2019.
6. Web site: 'Gaadi': first Sri Lankan – Bollywood co-production . Daily News . 10 November 2019.
7. Web site: Busan: Prasanna Vithanage Sri Lankan Auteur Shines With 'Children of the Sun'. Ramachandran. Naman. 2019-10-07. Variety. en. 2019-10-21.
8. Web site: In Sri Lankan film 'Gaadi', a searing exposition of the caste system across the Palk Straits. Sri Lanka Foundation. en-US. 2019-10-21.
9. Web site: Prasanna moves to Troubled past on a Road Movie. The Sunday Times Sri Lanka. 2019-10-21.
10. Web site: World premiere for 'Gaadi' in Busan. Times Online - Daily Online Edition of The Sunday Times Sri Lanka. 2019-10-21.
11. Web site: Children of the Sun Movie Review: A Love Story That Underlines the Identity Crisis. News18. 2019-10-21.
12. Web site: In Sri Lankan film 'Gaadi', a searing exposition of the caste system across the Palk Straits. Ramnath. Nandini. Scroll.in. en-US. 2019-10-21.
13. Web site: A film questioning identity politics. 2019-10-19. Indiansapidnews.com. en-US. 2019-10-21.
14. News: A film questioning identity politics. Srinivasan. Meera. 2019-10-19. The Hindu. 2019-10-21. en-IN. 0971-751X.
15. Web site: Gaadi included to Asia's Top 100 . Sarasaviya . 9 January 2020.
16. Web site: Jury Award for Gaadi . Sarasaviya . 23 January 2020.
17. Web site: Dinara to dazzle audiences together with Sajitha in Gaadi . Film Island . 15 October 2019.
18. Web site: Renowned Sri Lankan actor philosopher Jayapalan to star in Prasanna's 'Gaadi' . Daily FT . 10 November 2019.
19. Web site: 'Children of the Sun (Gaadi) . IMDb.
20. Web site: World premiere for 'Gaadi' in Busan . Sunday Times . 1 November 2019.
21. Web site: "Gaadi" at the world famous Castro Cinema . Sarasaviya . 10 November 2019.
22. Web site: ගාඩි 09 වැනිදා 24 වැනි කේරළ සිනමා උලෙළේ දී . Sarasaviya . 7 December 2019.