''Kadawunu Poronduwa'' ( Sinhala: ''කඩවුනු පොරොන්දුව'', "The Broken Promise") was the first film to be made in the

Sinhala language Sinhala ( ; , ''siṁhala'', ), sometimes called Sinhalese (), is an Indo-Aryan language primarily spoken by the Sinhalese people of Sri Lanka, who make up the largest ethnic group on the island, numbering about 16 million. Sinhala is also s ...

; it is generally considered to have heralded the coming of Sinhala Cinema. The film was produced and filmed in

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however, and was highly influenced by South Indian melodrama. It was first shown on January 21, 1947 at the Kingsley Cinema in

Colombo Colombo ( ; si, කොළඹ, translit=Koḷam̆ba, ; ta, கொழும்பு, translit=Koḻumpu, ) is the executive and judicial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by population. According to the Brookings Institution, Colombo me ...

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 ...

. A

remake A remake is a film, television series, video game, song or similar form of entertainment that is based upon and retells the story of an earlier production in the same medium—e.g., a "new version of an existing film". A remake tells the sam ...

was released in 1982.

Plot

Ralahamy, a member of high status, dies leaving his family in debt after having squandered his fortune through extensive drinking and other vices. To get back into wealth, Ralahamy's wife Tackla pushes her daughter Ranjani to marry a wealthy older man Victor with a child through an earlier marriage. In this process, Samson, Ranjani's boyfriend, who had tried extensively to get the family back into good graces going so far as to pay off their debts, is spurned. He then goes abroad to win a fortune. When Samson returns he learns of Ranjani's engagement to Victor and tries to reach her through letter. His letters are hidden from her however, and rumours spread that Samson is now a cripple. Ultimately the truth is revealed.

Cast

* Rukmani Devi as Ranjani: A high-class girl who is pushed into a marriage with an older man and forced to reject her boyfriend. *

Gemini Kantha Nona Yuhan Sheriffdeen (born 20 February 1925 – died 22 June 1992 as ජෙමිනි කාන්තා) inhala, popularly as stage name Jemini Kantha, was an actress in Sri Lankan cinema. One of the earliest pillars of Sinhala cinema, Kan ...

as Jossie: village woman; love interest of Manappuwa *Rupa Devi as Tackla: Ranjani's mother *Miriam Jayamanne as Hilda * Eddie Jayamanne as Manappuwa: naive village simpleton; comic relief *

B. A. W. Jayamanne Bernard Aloysius Wanniarachchi Jayamanne who was better known as B.A.W. Jayamanne (20 May 1908 – 16 February 1965: as බී.ඒ.ඩබ්ලිව්. ජයමාන්න) was a Sri Lankan playwright, director, producer and actor. He played ...

as Samson: Ranjani's love interest; wants financial success for her family but is spurned by the mother *Peter Peries as Victor: old wealthy man with whom Ranjani is forcibly engaged *Stanley Mallawarachchi as Hemapala *D. T. Perera as Jayasena *Asilyn Balasooriya as Sumana *J. B. Perera as Harmahana *

Hugo Fernando Kanupulage Ugo Singho (July 14, 1912 – April 12, 1999), popularly known as Hugo Master or Hugo Fernando, was an actor and composer of Sri Lankan cinema. Debuting in the first Sinhalese film ''Kadawunu Poronduwa'', Fernando had an over 50 year c ...

as doctor *Suriya Rani as Aaya *Sina Pishpani as Narsi *Wida Soyza *S. S. Ponnisena

Production

Kadawunu Poronduwa was produced by S. M. Nayagam, a pioneer of Sinhala film industry and an Indian citizen. He had to ferry the entire cast to

Madurai Madurai ( , also , ) is a major city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the cultural capital of Tamil Nadu and the administrative headquarters of Madurai District. As of the 2011 census, it was the third largest Urban agglomeration i ...

India for filming and production. It began as a successful play for dramatist B. A. W. Jayamanne. In 1947 he filmed and processed the movie in South India. Kadawunu Poronduwa produced a formula that Sinhala films would follow up through the 1960s; Jayamanne describes the formula as such:

Songs

*"Sri Jaya Vijaya" – Minerva Singing Group *"Prema Daya" – Rukmani Devi *"Lapati Rupe Age" – Eddie Jayamanne (the original gramophone record label was incorrectly printed as "Eddie jayanamme and Jemini Kantha") *"Deva Swarmi" – Rukmani Devi *"Sandyawe Sriya Ramya Lesa Pena" – Rukmani Devi and Hugo Fernando - for film / Rukmani Devi and Stanley Mallawarachchi - for gramophone record only *"Is Issara Welaa" – Eddie Jayamanne and Jemini Kantha *"Mage Saka Bambarea" – Eddie Jayamanne and Jemini Kantha *"Thakkita Tharikita" – Eddie Jayamanne and Jemini Kantha *"Jevithaye Saamey" – Rukmani Devi *"Yaami Indiya Desataa" – Rukmani Devi *"Sundari Rupa Rajini" – Stanley Mallawarachchi and Peter Peries *"Papi Shayapi Do" – Rukmani Devi and Hugo Fernando / Stanley Mallawarachchi Songs of Kadawunu Poronduwa were issued by ''Parlophone'' gramophone records with the film release in 1947. They were the last records issued by the Palophone label in Sri Lanka. Please note that the last two songs listed above were not issued on gramophone records and now it is difficult to find them.

References

{{Reflist, 2

External links