By Sunil C. Perera

After  ten long  years veteran film producer and  Director Chandran Rutnam has re-entered the local cinema industry through his newest movie “Road From Elephant Pass” which is a saga of the thirty year war.

Speaking to the media in Colombo he said this film is one of his key productions of the local cinema industry. “This film is based  late Nihal de Silva’s novel and it is now on local film halls, said Rutnam.

According to Nihal’s novel “For seventeen years, the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, the LTTE, have  been fighting the government to establish a separate state for the Tamil minority of the country. The rebels held the heavily forested region called the Wanni, the landmass south of Jaffna extending up to almost the centre of the Island. The camp at Elephant Pass controlled the isthmus between the Wanni and the Jaffna peninsular.

The LTTE, they call themselves Tigers, had grown from a ragged band of youthful rebels in the mid-eighties, to what is now recognized as one of the most powerful and ruthless terrorist organizations in the world.”

The film says the story of the  thirty year war .According to Mr.Rutnam ‘An army officer’s routine assignment to pick up a woman informant near Jaffna turns in to a nightmare, when the Tigers launch a massive attack on the peninsular and the camp at Elephant Pass. The two adversaries are forced to escape together through the rebel held Wanni and later, cross the abandoned Wilpattu National Park by foot.Bitter enemies at the start of their journey, Captain Wasantha and the activist Kamala, face innumerable threats from wild animals and  a gang of deserters who make determined and violent efforts to capture the woman. The constant external danger, and their enforced dependence on each other, gradually erodes enmity and distrust. But a shocking revelation confronts Captain Wasantha when he finally reaches Colombo. He is now compelled to choose between his friend and his country.

Disclosing details of the film and novel of the late Nihal de  Silva ,Mr.Rutnam said this was Nihal’s  first  novel for which he  was awarded the Gratiaen Prize and the State Literary Award for the “Best Sri Lankan Literary Work in English for 2003”, presented to him personally by the President of Sri Lanka. The novel has now been translated into Sinhala..Nihal was a product of St. Joseph’s College , Colombo and the University of Ceylon. He was a keen amateur naturalist with a special interest in avifauna.  Nihal de Silva was tragically killed in a land mine explosion at the  Wilpattu National Park on May 27, 2006.For its moving story, for its constant feel of real life, for its consistency of narrative momentum, for its descriptive power, for
its dramatic use of dialogue to define social  context, capture character psychology and trace the development of a relationship and for its convincing demonstration that resolution of conflict and reconciliation of differences are feasible through mutual experience and regard. And last though not least, for its eminently civilized handling of the last degree of intimacy between a man and a woman, her choice for the 2003 Gratiaen Prize for creative writing in English is, unquestionably, “The Road From Elephant Pass” by Nihal de Silva.

Mr.Rutnam said further said he did everything in relation to the film .He directed, Edited, handled the  Screen play  as well as  produced the film.
He directed the films "Adara Kathawa," which was Sri Lanka's official entry to the International Film Festival of India and the Cairo Film Festival and "Witness to a Killing," which won a Sarasaviya Award and represented Sri Lanka at the International Tokyo Film Festival.

He won the ‘Best Picture’ Award at the Presidential Awards in 1999 for the production of the film, "Pilgrimage," directed by Vasantha Obeysekera, and in the year 2003, his production, “Mansion by the Lake” directed by Lester James Peries was selected for screening at the Cannes Film Festival.
In February of 2007, Chandran was presented with the Special Presidential Award for his contribution to the Sri Lankan film industry.

Chandran has had the distinction of having worked closely with famous and talented directors like  Sir Carol Reed, Sir David Lean, George Lucas, Steven Spielberg, John Boorman and Regis Wargnier. He was the location line producer on over forty international films shot in Sri Lanka and Malaysia. Academy Award winners, “Indochine” “Indiana  Jones and the Temple of Doom” and the Academy Award nominee “Water”.Steven Spielberg has referred to Chandran as his “most valued friend in the far east.

”The film features Ashan Dias , Suranga Ranawaka, Sanath Gunatileke, Athula Pathirane, Joe Abeywickrema, Iranganie Serasinghe, Kumar Mirchandani, Veena Jayakody, M. Rajeshwari, Rohitha Mannage, Ranjith Wickremasinghe, Suminda Silva, Linton Kekulawela, Udani Nayanahansi, M. Kandiah and  K. Senthil Kumar in the leading roles while Suminda Weerasinghe handled the camera.