{"id":46889,"date":"2016-06-07T21:30:52","date_gmt":"2016-06-08T01:30:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/?p=46889"},"modified":"2016-06-07T21:54:08","modified_gmt":"2016-06-08T01:54:08","slug":"an-affair-of-the-mind-between-a-nubile-undergrad-and-her-ageing-professor","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/?p=46889","title":{"rendered":"An ‘affair’ of the mind between a nubile undergrad and her ageing professor"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>\n

By D.B. S. Jeyaraj<\/strong><\/p>\n

Asoka Handagama\u2019s latest film \u2018Let Her Cry\u2019 is currently being shown in theatres on a limited run from 13 May to 10 June. The director apparently preferred to utilise the gap in between already-scheduled releases and screen his film rather than wait for 16 more months in the queue to get a release. The 104-minute-long film\u2019s title in Sinhala is \u2018Ege Esa Aga,\u2019 which means \u2018The corner of her eye,\u2019 but the filmmaker seems to have opted for \u2018Let Her Cry\u2019 as the official title in English.<\/p>\n

\"Rithika<\/a>

Rithika Kodithuwakku & Dhritiman Chatterjee ~ ‘Let Her Cry’<\/p><\/div>\n

Asoka Handagama has a track record and reputation for causing controversy through his cinematic creations. The ace filmmaker has the temerity and ability to wade into unchartered territory where few have dared to venture before and explore explosive issues in an unconventional manner. Each one of his earlier feature films \u2013 seven in all \u2013 are unparalleled cinematic achievements resulting in passionate debate and heated discussion. \u2018Ege Esa Aga\u2019 seems to be no exception.
\n
\nI am aware that a hectic exchange of views is currently on in Sinhala about the film and its merits. Unfortunately my lack of fluency in the language does not let me benefit from this exchange. I shall however write about my impressions of the film and observations about film related matters in this week\u2019s \u2018Spotlight\u2019 which is appearing after several weeks in the \u2018Weekend FT\u2019.<\/p>\n

Handagama\u2019s movie-making history<\/strong><\/p>\n

Let me begin with a brief comment outlining Asoka Handagama\u2019s movie-making history. Asoka has made seven feature films so far. They are \u2018Chanda Kinnari\u2019 (1993), \u2018Sanda Dadayama\u2019 (1996), \u2018Me Mage Sandai\u2019 (2000), \u2018Thani Thatuwen Piyambanna\u2019 (2002), \u2018Aksharaya\u2019 (2005), \u2018Vidhu\u2019 (2010) and \u2018Ini Avan\u2019 (2012). Six of them are Sinhala films and one is a film in Tamil (\u2018Ini Avan\u2019).<\/p>\n

His latest and eighth film \u2018Ege Esa Aga\u2019 (\u2018Let Her Cry\u2019) was cleared by the Censor Board for release in March 2016. The shooting was over before October last year and post-production complete by November. The film has been shot mainly in a few houses and roads in Colombo and its suburbs. A Buddhist temple in Dehiwala and beaches in Panadura have also been used as locations. Apart from directing, Asoka Handagama has written the film script and also the words of the theme song \u2018Aharenna\u2019 (\u2018Wake Up\u2019).<\/p>\n

Initially when Handagama embarked on this film project, he adopted a novel method to acquire the necessary finances. He introduced the concept of \u201ccrowd funding\u201d by which one raises funds through financial contributions from a large group of generally unknown people instead of getting finance from a known group of investors.<\/p>\n

Though Handagama\u2019s innovative crowd funding technique was welcomed by many, the actual response to it was lukewarm. The funds garnered through crowd funding were woefully inadequate to meet the envisaged budget. Hence the filmmaker had to find other avenues to produce the film. Jagath Wijenayake stepped in and produced the film for Silumina films. The funds raised via crowd funding were used for post-production expenses.<\/p>\n

Cinematographic delight<\/strong><\/p>\n

The opening sequence of the film is a cinematographic delight. The windscreen of a moving vehicle is shown on a dark night. It is raining. A pair of wipers move side to side wiping the raindrops on the windscreen. Headlights of passing vehicles are reflected on the screen. We hear voices, one of which is a male voice. The conversation is about an incident where a woman had reportedly pulled out a lamp post to attack another woman. There is amazement at the strength displayed and also about the motivating reasons for doing so. There is some laughter too. And then a woman starts crying. When asked the reason for crying, the reply is, why cannot someone cry if someone could laugh? Then the male voice wraps up the conversation saying \u2013 LET HER CRY! The three words \u2018Let Her Cry\u2019 form the English title of Handagama\u2019s new film.<\/p>\n

There are four major and several minor characters in the film. The main roles are an ageing professor, his once-beautiful wife, their alienated daughter addicted to TV and an attractive female undergraduate. There is also a son who is not shown in the film but we gather from family conversations that he is in the USA.<\/p>\n

The relationship<\/strong><\/p>\n

The underlying thread of the story is the relationship between the professor on the verge of retirement and his nubile undergrad student.<\/p>\n

The girl is someone who was born out of wedlock and by her own admission does not know who her father was. She is reportedly from a rural background but appears to be without inhibitions. She is aware of her beauty and the effect it has on men. She even boasts that the women in her village keep their men and even dogs on a leash to keep them away from her. They also do not allow her to sit in front during \u201cBana\u201d preaching at the temple because of the fear that her alluring presence could confuse the Buddhist monk preacher.<\/p>\n

The girl undergrad is obsessed by the Professor. It is more than a youthful crush for an older man or the longing of a girl who does not know her father for a substitute father figure. She appears to be obsessed by the professor totally and tells him candidly that she comes to the varsity only to see him. She is brazen enough to tell the professor\u2019s wife that she wants to have a child by the professor.<\/p>\n

The professor is a sophisticated person who seems more comfortable with a Westernised rather than Eastern way of life. He converses most of the time in English instead of Sinhala and also uses the fork and spoon while eating. His response to the nubile undergrad\u2019s overtures are somewhat ambiguous and uncertain. He seems to be torn by suppressed desire for the girl on the one hand while being inhibited by family values and societal norms on the other.<\/p>\n

His relationship towards his wife and daughter are quite strained and somewhat routinely mechanical. The only time he displays some passion for life is when he is with the girl undergrad. However he is unable or unwilling to interact with her more openly or more fully despite the girl\u2019s entreaties. Any doubts we may entertain about the ageing professor being possibly impotent is removed by the sight of an erection in his sleep.<\/p>\n

The family<\/strong><\/p>\n

The wife is a woman who was once very lovely and beautiful. A glimpse of an old photograph shows how pretty and attractive she was in the past. Age is now withering her beauty and the ordinary routine of everyday existence makes her life stale. Her sole solace seems to be worshipping a Buddha statue at home and regularly going to the Buddhist temple.<\/p>\n

Their bespectacled daughter who was born 10 years after her elder brother is seemingly addicted to TV. She curls up on a chair in front of the TV and frequently switches channels on the remote with a look of utter disdain and boredom on her face. Her father brings her a delicacy to eat every day and she accepts it without evincing any emotion.<\/p>\n

The dreary monotony of their lives and the sense of isolation felt by each is amply illustrated by the director through a repetition of sequences. The father comes home to find the daughter on the chair watching TV. He drops on her lap or hands over a delicacy which he regularly brings home. He then goes up the steps looking at his wife in the shrine room immersed in what seems to be meditation before a Buddha statue. He goes up to his room and removes his shirt and footwear. The wife walks up in a measured gait and disposes of the clothes and footwear. He then goes to the bathroom clad in a towel.<\/p>\n

How firmly this routine has been entrenched in their lives is shown in a scene where the wife enters the bathroom after her husband while he is inside. He is shocked and remonstrates with her, pointing out that she has never done so in the past.<\/p>\n

Unexpected move<\/strong><\/p>\n

Fearing that public knowledge of her husband\u2019s relationship with the girl could affect his status and prestige, the wife resorts to an unexpected move. She invites the undergrad to move into their house and gives the absent son\u2019s room for her to stay in. The entry of the girl undergrad into the routine, boring lives of the three family members is like a breath of fresh air. It is troublesome and worrying at one level but at another level the interaction with her does add some spicy zest to their insipid lives.<\/p>\n

For the first time in the film we are shown scenes of laughter and pleasant conversation when meals are being eaten by the family at the table. The two younger girls also engage in jovial conversation when they go in the car in the mornings. There are also undercurrents of jealousy. The older woman is threatened by the youthful beauty of the girl while the daughter resents the attention being shown to the \u201cguest\u201d in different ways by her parents.<\/p>\n

Matters come to a head when the mother takes the girl along with her to the temple instead of the daughter despite the latter\u2019s specific request to that effect. This makes the daughter angry with the undergrad and leads to a scuffle in the car. When the angry father slaps the daughter, the enraged girl tries to commit suicide but is saved by the undergrad. Upset by this incident the girl moves out of the house even though the mother \u2013 grateful for having saved her daughter \u2013 wants the undergraduate to stay. After her departure the family feels an empty void in their lives. All three want her to come back but for different reasons.<\/p>\n

Melodramatic scenes<\/strong><\/p>\n

As the movie nears its climax there are some melodramatic scenes. The mother goes to the temple on a Poya Day. She refuses to let the daughter accompany her. The father returns home and finds the daughter in a sullen mood. He playfully teases her and in a conciliatory gesture to alleviate her hurt feelings, takes the daughter to the temple. In what appears to be a coincidence the undergrad clad in pure white attire too has come to offer flowers at the same \u201cPansala\u201d. Even as we wonder about what may possibly happen at this unexpected confluence of the four main characters at the temple, a different set of events takes place.<\/p>\n