Jayantha, a director with a powerful vision

Scenes from Guerilla Marketing

He made "Akalasandya" (Un timely dusk) which won two awards in 1996. His fifth production was "Rajana", his debut in films and for this he received nine awards (including the Best Film, Best Director and Best Script) at the Signis Award Ceremony in Sri Lanka.

He got the opportunity to train under the German actor Dr Norbet J Mayer. In 1990 he received a scholarship to study acting in the then East Germany.

In "Guerilla Marketing" we get the story of Surmya Mahakehelwala and Thisara Dissanayeke who are cousins and childhood sweethearts. In the beginning of the film they are both working in an advertising agency. Their love for each other is kept a secret. However, Thisra leaves Surmya to marry Rangi, an upperclass urban woman to deny and flee from his rural roots. Surmya knows that Thisara was diagnosed as schizophrenic. Thisara, who shows exceptional creativity, rises to the top of the advertising industry soon.

Gregory Mahadikaram, a prominent politician, gets Thisara to design his presidential campaign. Thisara proposes a novel campaign strategy. His strategy is to train a group of young men and women and employ them to spread outrageous rumours that show Mahadikaram in the most positive role. Thisara overworks and this takes a toll on him in the height of the election campaign. Negative expression of hallucinatory conditions makes Thisara helpless.

The one image that dominates his hallicunation is Gregory Mahadikaram, who "comes out of the television' and talks to him, walks into his bedroom etc. Thisara is soon admitted to a mental hospital.

A psychiatrist identifies the source of the illness and replaces the negative hallucinations associated with Gregory with the positive feelings for his childhood sweetheart Suramya and the romantic past associated with her. One day Mahadikaram visits his friend Thisara in the hospital. Thisara, who is struggling to overcome his negative hallucinations, chases the real-life Gregory from the hospital, thus chasing the negative elements of his hallucination. He then leaves the hospital partially recovered with the positive hallucinations he retains about Suramya and everything she represents.

Jayantha's favourite films are Satyajit Ray's "Ponther Panchali", Kurosova's "Rashoman", and Bergman's "The Silent". He also enjoyed Tanvir Mokammal's "Chitra Nadir Parey" and Tareq Masood "Ontorjatra". In particular he enjoyed the story lines and the characterisation. He said that his experience at the current film festival has been a pleasant one and that the organisers here are warm and understanding.