''Saroja'' ( si, සරෝජා), is a 2000

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 ...

n Sinhalese children's drama film directed by

Somaratne Dissanayake , native_name_lang = sinhala , pronunciation = sōmaratna disānāyaka , birth_name = , birth_date = , birth_place = Giriulla , baptised = , nationality =Sri Lankan , other_names = Soma (Nickname) , siglum = , citizenship = , ...

as maiden feature film and produced by his wife Renuka Balasuriya. It stars two child artists Pramudi Karunarathne and Nithyavani Kandasami in lead roles along with

Janaka Kumbukage Janaka Kumbukage ( ජනක කුඹුකගේ) inhala, is an actor in Sri Lankan cinema, stage drama and television. Highly versatile actor primarily engaged in television, Kumbukage is notable for the roles in films ''Saroja'', ''Daruwan ...

and Joe Abeywickrama. Music composed by Rohana Weerasinghe. It is the 931st film in Sri Lankan cinema. The film is a hugely successful film that has won awards and critical acclaim worldwide.

Plot

Saroja is a little Tamil girl. Her father is a rebel and one day their home is burnt, and Saroja's mother is dead. Due to the army attacking Saroja's father is wounded and they run away to the jungle. They enter an adjoining Sinhala village. The father and daughter meet Varuni, the little daughter of the village school teacher. Varuni is also of the same age as Saroja, but they cannot understand each other due to the language barrier. But gradually a strong bond of friendship between them builds up. Varuni pleads with her parents and with much difficulty succeeds in providing accommodation for Saroja in their home. Later Saroja's father is also given shelter in the house. However, suspicions arise among Police and Army officers resulting in the family being subject to various types of obstacles from the forces. Suddenly Saroja's father is killed. Varuni's father is given a punishment transfer to another remote village school. The family too leaves, the village along with Saroja who is now treated as a family member

Cast

* Nithyavani Kandasami as Saroja * Pramudi Karunarathne as Varuni *

as Punchibanda, Varuni's father * Mervyn Mahesan as Sundaralingam, Saroja's father *

Nita Fernando Nita Fernando (born 5 September 1947, නීටා ප්‍රනාන්දු) in Negombo, Sri Lanka is an actress in the Sri Lankan cinema. She has starred in films like ''Duhulu Malak'' and ''Pavuru Walalu''. Biography Early life Nita F ...

as Varuni's mother *

Susantha Chandramali Abeysiri Narayana Susantha Chandramali Wanigaratne (born February 21, 1964 as සුසන්තා චන්ද්‍රමාලි) inhala, popularly as Susantha Chandramali, is an actress in Sri Lankan cinema, theater and television. She i ...

as Nurse *

Sampath Tennakoon Sampath Tennakoon (20 June 1959 – 3 December 2021: සම්පත් තෙන්නකෝන් inhala, was an actor in Sri Lankan cinema, theater and television. Personal life Sampath Tennakoon was born on 20 June 1959. He was from Isipa ...

as Police Chief * Mahendra Perera as Sirisena * Asoka Peiris as Boutique owner * Ranjini Rajamohan as Saroja's mother * Mahinda Pathirage * Winnie Wettasinghe * Lalith Janakantha * Tony Ranasinghe as guest artist * Ravindra Randeniya as guest artist Major Fernando

Reception

The film was chosen to represent the competitive section of the International Film Festival commenced in Dhaka on 20 January 2000. The film won the Audience Award Dhaka International Film Festival held on 28 January 2000. It also shared the NETPAC Award for the Best Asian Film with fellow Sri Lankan film '' Padadaya'' directed by

Linton Semage Linton Semage is an actor in Sri Lankan cinema, theatre and television as well a filmmaker. He is best known for his roles in movies such as ''Padadaya'' (1998), '' Sulang Kirilli'' (2002) and ''Mad Cowgirl'' (2006). He started his acting career ...

. The film was also selected to compete at the 33rd Annual Worlfest-Houston International Film Festival at the public screening section of the festival from 7 to 16 April 2000. At the festival, ''Saroja'' won Bronze award in competitive section.

Awards

* Audience award (Best film) - Dhaka International Film Festival (Bangladesh) 2000 * Best Asian Film (Netpac Award) - Dhaka International Film Festival (Bangladesh) 2000 * Bronze Award Independent Theatrical Feature Films - First Feature - Houston International Film Festival (USA) 2000 * Special Award of the Festival -

Pyongyang International Film Festival The Pyongyang International Film Festival is a biennial cultural exhibition held in Pyongyang, North Korea. Until 2002, the film festival was reserved to "non-aligned and other developing countries". History The event originated in 1987 as the Py ...

(Korea) 2000 * Best Director - Iran International Film Festival (Isfahan - Iran) 2000 * Best Performance (Pramudi & Nithyavani) - Iran International Film Festival (Isfahan - Iran) 2000 * LivUllmann Peace Award - Chicago International Film Festival (USA) 2000 * Audience Award -

Vesoul International Film Festival Vesoul () is a commune in the Haute-Saône department in the region of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté located in eastern France. It is the most populated municipality of the department with inhabitants in 2014. The same year, the Communauté d'agglo ...

(France) 2000

References

External links

{{IMDB title, 0259554 2000 films Films set in Sri Lanka (1948–present) Films about the Sri Lankan Civil War