''Ahasin Polowata'' (English: ''White Flowers for the Dead'', ) is a

1978 Events January * January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213. * January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of Republican People's Party, CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd ...

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...

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. The drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular ...

directed by Dr

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

and written by Tissa Abeysekara. The film stars

Tony Ranasinghe Deshabandu Tony Ranasinghe ( 1937 - 2015 ) was an actor in Cinema of Sri Lanka, Sri Lankan cinema, theater and television. Widely regarded as one of the greatest actors in Sinhala cinema of all time, Tony is highly praised for his unique facial e ...

as Sarath, an abusive husband who is haunted by his wife's death. Peries made the film as a favour to D. B. I. S. Siriwardene who was ardent that Peries direct a film based on his wife, Eileen's book. It was well received in Sri Lanka, critically and commercially, and made appearances at several foreign film festivals including the

Cairo International Film Festival The Cairo International Film Festival is an annual internationally accredited film festival held in Cairo Opera House. It was established in 1976 and has taken place every year since its inception, except for 2011 and 2013, when it was cancelled ...

where it won the Best Film from the Third World award.

Plot

Dr. Sarath (Tony Ranasinghe) domineers over his timid wife Vineetha (Sriyani Amarasena). When she is to have a Caesarean delivery of their baby, Sarath refuses to be present even though he himself is a doctor. She dies during surgery and Sarath is forced to live with the spectre of his wife hanging over him.

Cast

as Sarath * Sriyani Amarasena as Vineetha *

Vijaya Kumaratunga Kovilage Anton Vijaya Kumaranatunga (; ; 9 October 1945 – 16 February 1988), popularly known as Vijaya Kumaratunga'','' was a Sri Lankan film actor, playback singer and politician regarded as one of the most popular icons in Sri Lankan cinem ...

as Sarath's friend, Lalith * Vasanthi Chathurani as Pushpa, Vineetha's sister *

Rukmani Devi Daisy Rasammah Daniels, known popularly as Rukmani Devi (15 January 1923 – 28 October 1978: ) was a Sri Lankan film actress and singer who was often acclaimed as "The Nightingale of Sri Lanka". She made it to the silver screen via the stage ...

as Sarath's aunt * Thalatha Gunasekara *

Shanthi Lekha Rita Irene Koys (July 1, 1929 – May 11, 2009), better known as Shanthi Lekha, was a Sri Lankan Film actress. She played the role of mother in more films than any other actress in Sinhala cinema. Personal life Lekha was born in Kalutara on July ...

* D. R. Nanayakkara * Geetha Kumarasinghe * Eddie Junior * Ajith Jinadasa * Asanka Monarawila * Mapa Gunaratne * Ebert Wijesinghe * Daya Alwis

Awards

* Most outstanding film from a Third World country at the 3rd International Film Festival in Cairo in 1978. * Best Actor

Presidential Film Awards Presidential Film Awards is a film award ceremony held in Sri Lanka. It is organized by the National Film Corporation along with the Presidential Secretariat and the Ministry of Cultural Affairs. It was 1st awards in 1979 by President J. R. Jayew ...

1979 -

. * Best Direction

1979 -

. * Best Editor

1979 - Sumithra Peris. * Best Cinematographer

1979 - Donald Karunarathna. * Best Script Writer

1979 - Tissa Abeysekara. * Best Playback Singer Female

1979 -

("Doi Doi").

References

External links

* 1978 films Films directed by Lester James Peries {{SriLanka-film-stub