Pathiraja : the adaptable film maker

By Athula Samarakoon

As we remember Pathiraja the filmmaker on his third death anniversary, falling on the 28th of January, 2021, I want to remember him for his versatility. Much has been written about Dr. Pathi as many of his students and the younger cohort of filmmakers and fans knew him, but little on his television contributions.

At a time when the television medium was in its early stages, Dr. Pathi turned to it, to create an idiom that branched off from his usual cinematic style, adapting it to the television medium. He adopts and adapts the narrative medium for the television, something he consciously avoided in his film practice. I look at four teledramas of his which were both artistically rich and at the same time, popular.

Identity as a filmmaker

Pathiraja‘s cinema has been hailed as trailblazing and as illustrating the left bank film idiom in Sri Lanka. He is generally considered to be the filmmaker who drastically changed the content and style of the Sri Lankan cinema, rejecting the content and style of conventional Sinhala cinema.  The creator of the second paradigm shift in Sri Lankan cinema is another fascinating introduction given to him. Pathiraja is a filmmaker who rejected the narrative structure in his filmmaking. Instead he relied highly on non-narrative style.  As Chathura Jayathilaka, one of the leading film critics in Sri Lanka remarked, 

What is crystal clear in Pathiraja’ s cinema is that instead of constructing a well-made narrative with the beginning – middle -and end he creates eventful situations that itself generates the order of the story, story structure, events and characters. (Jayathilaka, 1996:46).

 Pathiraja consciously moved away from this identity of the non-narrative style, when he entered the television medium. Here, he embraced a different identity. Thus Pathiraja ‘s shift from cinema to television is a responsible and sensible move.  Being the master of the art of both Film and Television, he shaped his television works for the medium. Being the scholar of both film and television his knowledge seems to have a profound impact on this move.

 In television he actively engaged in three genres: serial plays, documentary and Docudrama.  Looking at the aesthetics of his television productions, one can see that he was a director who grasped the pulse of the television medium. Pura Sak mana , Gagulen Egodata, Maaya Mandira, WanniHami lage Kathawa, Ella Langa Walauwa, Kadulla,Kampithawil, Suba Anagathyak, Durgaanthaya are some of the productions he made for the television medium.

 Television narrative and fragmentation

Television is a medium that depends on narrative story-telling and exists within that medium. Whether it is fiction or non-fiction all are based on the narrative structure. Narrative structure not only patterns the television story but also shapes our experience of that story. That is why it is called the Nation’s Storyteller

 At the same time, this narrative is also fragmented into smaller units, punctuated by a number of different audio and video elements such as commercials, trailers, station promos, leading to a disturbed or fragmented viewing experience. An undisturbed, seamless engagement with what is on the screen is impossible on television medium.  

This is further complicated by the episodic nature of the form; there are week long gaps for most serieals. Therefore television is a continuously fragmented medium. This fragmentation takes place at the micro-level too.  A 22-minute programme may be divided into two acts whereas an hours programme may break up into four acts.  This type of internal fragmentation will obviously turn television viewing experience into scattered ruminations. Therefore one of the useful ways to address the intrusive nature of television is to articulate the content of the television into narrative structure.

 Flow

 Fragmentation is followed by another distinctive characteristic that is flow, meaning the verity of images and sound that streams into television screens continually. Thus, again television viewing became an obtrusive experience.  Jane Feuer describes this;

‘’ continuous, never-ending sequence in which it is impossible to separate out individual texts ‘’. (Feuer, 1983:15) Therefore getting the attention of the audience and keeping them fixed to the text becomes a complicated task for a creator.  In order to overcome this problem is to relate and anchor the text to a narrative as much as possible.

 Concluding each episode with a cliffhanger is one of the methods employed by the writer to address the effect of a disturbance generated by continuous flow. Cliffhanger is something placed at the end of the act or at the end of each episode that is capable of sustaining the interest of the audience.  With a cliffhanger, the writer can end the episode or act in such a way that the audience excitedly waits for the next episode.   In a narrative, it is indispensable to have a cliffhanger to keep the audience intact. 

Pathiraja’s television aesthetics rests on capturing this and utilizing these features with distinction. One sees them in the expositions of Ella Langa Walauwa, Maya Mandira. Through these productions, he was able to offer powerful and exciting television experiences to the audience while maintaining a thrilling, suspenseful, detective and mystical flavour.  His films never had these cliffhanger conclusions, but for television, thanks in part to the efforts of a talented writer like Nimal Senanayake, he was able to craft the form of a cliffhanger style here.

Kadulla and kampitha Vil deal with the events that are deeply historical and of a formative period of the nation state. Though these productions bear a certain affinity to news and documentary, they shape themselves as narratives. The distinctive character of kadulla is the inculcating of dramatic value to the selected content. As a tele-drama Kadulla ran the risk of being rejected by the audience due to its documentary flavour. However, it was an overwhelming success for it was articulated dramatically. He could do it because he knew for sure that selected text is ideal and accordingly he found a way to present it. Consequently, he decisively moved away from his usual predilection for the non-narrative form and strategically embraced narrative structure.

Pathiraja evinced an interest in deploying this new application for a certain extent when directing Wanni Hami Lage Kathawa a tele-drama made before Kadulla. Although, one cannot say it was a successful effort, one could see that he infused the text with dramatic gravity; a dense, rich, television experience. However, it was a kind of effort to infuse a dramatic gravity to the text.   The documentary look that was visible in Kadulla springs from the historic nature of its content. Pathiraja takes the historical detail and turns it into a modern media moment, a recounting of the rise of the nation’s bougeiosie, through plot and character, in a form that makes sense to the mass of late 20th century viewers.

 This understanding can be identified one observes in his visual style also. The Long Takes that formulate reality as documentary, and camera movements and angles that parallel the subject matter, drive his style. Employing close-ups intermittently where necessary illustrates that he exploited the characteristics of the television medium.

 Usage of myth

 He used myth in his serials, a departure from his cinematic style. In his early tele- dramas one could see how he made use of myth to convey his intended meanings. He never thought of using myth in his feature films, and instead, focused on the contemporary moment.

 Over the years’ myth has been one of the foundations of narratives. Therefore myths are encountered in narratives again and again because myths can be used to represent life experiences, beliefs, values and behaviours. Consequently, television relies on myths when narratives are created.  Myths can operate in manifold ways in a television narrative giving greater depth to the text. As Vitoria O Donnells says: “Myth counts on television narrative in very intimate and subtle ways” (O’ Donnells, 2007″87). Drawing on myths in developing television narratives has had a salutary effect in creating prodigious characters, incidents, events, and plots. Therefore myth can function as a key for an audience to reach out to the human psyche and it can also create a shocking experience in them. 

 It was Pathiraja’s decision to deal with the mythic element that made Ella Langa Waluawa and Maya Mandira popular and influential. Rather than depending solely on the visual of the suspense and horror genres, he created a sense of horror, suspense and tension, by infusing mythic elements to television narrative. He was able to generate a tightly woven dramatic narrative.

 It was not an easy task to have depth and discussion in television productions, which is driven by commercial needs. Pathiraja faced this challenge by adapting to its form, the narrative style in the main, the well-made story. He used dramatic and mythic elements within the form, where there is suspense, tension, and depth of character. In the hands of another director, it would have been a blue print for failure, but the genius of Pathiraja was able to pull it off.

Pathiraja has been hailed as a revolutionary filmmaker; I also see him as a director who adapted and was adaptable. His tele drama serials bear testimony to this. This is not just an academic exercise for me. In writing this, I have shown how important Pathiraja has been as a film maker, not just in his versatility as a filmmaker, but as an adventurer and an (visual) activist.

References

Jayathilaka, Chathura. (1997), Wam Iwuraka Kathila, Vihaga Publishers, Kadaana.

O’ Donnells, V. (2007), Television Criticism, Sage, London.

Miller, Willem. (1991), Screenwriting for Narrative Film and Television, London: Virgin Publishing.

Feuer, J. (1983), ‘The Concept of Live Television’: Ontology as ideology’ in E.A. Kaplan (Ed), Regarding Television, Los Angeles: American Film Institute.

Jayarathna,Thilak.(2008) Kadulla, Fast Publishers, Colombo.