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"There
are no heroes or villains in life"
By
Ranee Mohamed
I
wanted to become a journalist and I went for an interview with
Fred de Silva. It was in the 1930s. We were inter-viewed by D.R.
Wijewardene. Fred got the job, but I was turned down," said
celebrated film director, Dr. Lester James Pieris, as he relaxed
in the evening of his life at his quiet residence at Dickman's
Road, Bambalapitiya.
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Lester
James Pieris however did not give up his quest for journalism. "I
continued to write reviews about books, about theatre.
For
he is able to see everything in life in a different light. Today he
can sit back and dwell on what has been. He can accept his successes
and his criticism with equal ease. He can close his eyes and hear the
applauds and he can open his mind and see the way to capture on
celluloid what life really is.
Life
is a mystery and it is an enigma said Pieris. Lester James Pieris has
learnt to live in style - in great artistic style. And his life has
touched and transformed the way we think. It has created an archive in
our own minds and hearts about what life really is, what it is and
what it ought to be.
I
went in search of the right media. Lionel Wendt helped me a lot. I
worked on a small paper," recalled Peries. He also spoke of the
great Indian editor Frank Moraes who was editor of the Times of Ceylon
in the 1940s. "He sent me to the Times of Ceylon office in
London," said Peries.
It
was at this time that Lester James Peries began to make amateur films.
Today,
Lester James Peries is an idol in the film world. He has taught Sri
Lanka and the world what inborn talent really is. "I see no
villains and no heroes. There is bad in the best of us and good in the
worst of us," said Peries who says that revenge is not his forte.
"When someone is nasty to me I do not go in search of revenge. We
ought to be able to take both praise and criticism in the same stride.
We have to accept life as it comes . There are good times and bad
times and the in between times in life, you have got to accept them
all," advised Peries.
"People
are bad because they probably can't help it due to some psychotic
reason or because circumstances have propelled them to the
underworld," said a compassionate Peries. Peries said that the
key to life is compassion. "We ought to have a compassionate view
of life instead of having dark, evil visions and believe that
everything is evil," he pointed out.
Lester
James Peries however pointed out that humanism is being devalued
today. He expressed sadness at the film industry of
Sri lanka. "We have never had an organised, stable film
industry. One hundred cinemas were burnt in 1983, our equipment are
outdated and technologically we are 30 years behind," he said.
This
great director however spoke glowingly about
the talent in Sri Lanka. Our actresses brought us international
awards, but they have not been to film school, he said. He paid
glowing tributes to these actresses - Anoja Weerasinghe, Nita Fernando
and Anoma Jinadari.
"The
silver lining I see in the otherwise cloudy horizon is that we have
great young directors. The cinema belongs to the younger generation.
They will have to keep it going," he pointed out.
Fifty
three years in the film world is a long time, "But I have made
only 20 films," he says modestly. "When one enter the film
industry one must decide whether one wants to be a commercial director or a serious director. I decided to be a
serious director. This decision may have left me without years and
years of work," he said. But yet
spoke of a total commitment - which made him walk and dream of
cinema. "It was a
kind of obsession," he revealed.
"My films are based on a sense of humanity. One has to
have a theme and the theme of my films was the Sri Lankan family.
"Gamperiliya,
Kaliyugaya and Yuganthaya are famous Sinhala novels which were turned
into films and which touched the hearts," said Peries.
Lester
James Peries who had much faith in good Sri Lanka novels based
his films on such work. Thus Martin Wickremasinghe, Madawala
Ratnayake and Karunasena Jayalath featured significantly in his films.
Speaking
of the Sri Lankan family today, Pieris observed that families in Sri
Lanka have changed today. "There are the mothers who go to the
Middle East to work,and there are the sons who are unemployed. These
are significant changes," he pointed out.
"Life
is very different today to what it was 40 years ago. There is the
McDonalds, Kentucky Fried and Coco
Cola," he said.
Lester
James Peries is a man of wide experience. His open mind and his great
artistic eye has been rewarding to himself.
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