Kadawunu Poronduwa

කඩවුනු පොරොන්දුව

***Kadawunu Poronduwa*** (Sinhala: කඩවුනු පොරොන්දුව, transl. The Broken Promise) is a 1947 Sri Lankan Sinhalese-language film directed by Jyotish Sinha and written by Roy De Silva, and B A. W. Jayamanne. The film stars Rukmani Devi, B.A.W. Jayamanne, and Eddie Jayamanne. It was the first film to be made in the Sinhalese language. It is generally considered to have heralded the coming of Sri Lankan cinema. The film was produced and filmed in India however, and was highly influenced by South Indian melodrama. It was first shown on January 21, 1947, at the Kingsley Cinema in Colombo, Sri Lanka.

A remake of the film was released in 1982.

## Plot

Ralahamy, a member of high status, dies leaving his family in debt after having squandered his fortune through extensive drinking and other vices. To get back into wealth, Ralahamy's wife Tackla pushes her daughter Ranjani to marry a wealthy older man Victor with a child through an earlier marriage. In this process, Samson, Ranjani's boyfriend, who had tried extensively to get the family back into good graces going so far as to pay off their debts, is spurned. He then goes abroad to win a fortune.

When Samson returns he learns of Ranjani's engagement to Victor and tries to reach her through letter. His letters are hidden from her however, and rumours spread that Samson is now a cripple. Ultimately the truth is revealed.

## Cast

* Rukmani Devi as Ranjani
* B. A. W. Jayamanne as Samson
* Eddie Jayamanne as Manappuwa
* Gemini Kantha as Jossie
* Rupa Devi as Tackla
* Miriam Jayamanne as Hilda
* Peter Peries as Victor
* Stanley Mallawarachchi as Hemapala
* D. T. Perera as Jayasena
* Asilyn Balasooriya as Sumana
* J. B. Perera as Harmahana
* Hugo Fernando as Doctor
* Suriya Rani as Aaya
* Sina Pishpani as Narsi
* Wida Soyza
* S. S. Ponnisena

## Production

*Kadawunu Poronduwa* was produced by S. M. Nayagam, a pioneer of Sinhalese film industry and an Indian citizen. He had to ferry the entire cast to Madurai in India for filming and production. It began as a successful play for dramatist B. A. W. Jayamanne. In 1947 he filmed and processed the movie in South India.

*Kadawunu Poronduwa* produced a formula that Sinhalese films would follow up through the 1960s; Jayamanne describes the formula as such:

> The duration of a film had to be two and a half hours. One hour of this had to be given to scenes with dialogue. Half an hour to songs (about ten), another half-hour given to silent background scenes, with an interval of fifteen minutes.
>
>

## Songs

The songs of *Kadawunu Poronduwa* were issued by Parlophone gramophone records with the film release in 1947. They were the last records issued by the Parlophone label in Sri Lanka.

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\*the original gramophone record label was incorrectly printed as "Eddie jayanamme and Jemini Kantha"

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\*\*Rukmani Devi and Hugo Fernando - for film / Rukmani Devi and Stanley Mallawarachchi - for gramophone record only

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\*\*\*The last two songs listed, "Sundari Rupa Rajin" and "Papi Shayapi Do", were not distributed on gramophone records, rendering them difficult to find.

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## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 26 January 2017. "First Sinhala Talkie “Broken Promise” was Released 70 Years Ago on Jan 21 1947". dbsjeyaraj.com. Retrieved on 29 August 2023.
2. ↑ Sri Lankan government (1998). Kadawunu Poronduwa, 1947. Colnect. Retrieved on 29 August 2023.
3. ↑ Jayamanne, Laleen (2001). *Toward Cinema and Its Double: Cross-cultural Mimesis*. Indiana University Press. ISBN 0-253-21475-0.