"Akasa Kusum" Wraps Up Principal Photography

The director and crew of "Akasa Kusum" wrapped up shooting on Prasanna Vithanage's new film at 2 a.m. this morning at a location in Battaramulla. Dilhani Ekanayake played in the scene as Shalika, while Mohamed 'Adam' Adamaly played opposite her as Eric. The crew landed at the location at around 7 p.m. last night, and began shooting around 9 p.m. after the setting-up process. The final scenes lensed before dawn today, were of Shalika getting off her car and being attended to by her servants.

Vithanage thanked all the cast and crew of the film, singling out First Assistant Director Daminda Madawela for his tight but unhurried schedule and all the cast and crew for working hard and putting in long hours to make the film a reality. He also joked that his biggest pleasure in directing the movie was that he had the chance to work with seven of the loveliest women in Sri Lanka!

Earlier yesterday, Malani Fonseka wrapped up her performance as Sandhya Rani with a sequence shot at the IDH, with Vithanage, who cites Robert Bresson as one of his major influences, took subtle, quiet shots that would set the mood and reveal to the audience the goings-on on the screen. Fonseka was caught totally by surprise when First Assistant Daminda Madawela announced to her she had finished playing her role, her gleeful, jubilant laughter making all in the crew and cast smile and share her joy.

Vithanage will now concentrate his energies on editing and marketing the film, with a tentative World Premiere in Toronto already slated. He will travel to Chennai next week to work extensively with editor A. Sreekar Prasad, following which he will return to the island in late April to dub the film. He goes back to Chennai soon after to design the film's soundscape with veteran Indian sound designer A. Laxminarayan, with whom Vithanage worked in "Ira Madiyama." He hopes to have "Akasa Kusum" ready for Sri Lankan theatres early next year.