'Rosa Vasanthe', another EPA Edirisinghe film, produced by Padmini Edirisinghe was screened on 19th October 2002 at the Commonwealth Institute to a packed audience at a conveniently chosen time of 2.30 p.m.
The plot in the story was based on a three dimensional view focussed on how Love played a twin role in the life of a young and sophisticated Colombo girl, Rajini.
Rajini gets entrapped in her own world of 'blind love' with a ruggerite (Jagath) and dwells in a fantasy world at first with a view to winning his heart one day. In the meanwhile, her schoolmate, Hamamli, who comes to Colombo from the hill country to take up a job at a television studio, takes up lodging at Rajini's house.
During a stroll in a park one day both Rajini and Hemamali come across Jagath casually and after a brief encounter with him Jagath falls deeply in love with Hemamali while Rajini's dives more and more deeply into her fantasy world with Jagath. Despite Hemamali's rejection of Jagath and clear-cut warnings to him not to harass her, Jagath's consistent determination and trying to meet her at odd times and at different places by spying on her, makes things worse. Ultimately due to his own manipulation Rajini confronts Jagath and Hemamali in conversation one day, which savours the friendship between Hamamali and Rajini and Hemamali, leaves Rajini's house.
Ultimately Jagath approaches Hamamali's parents with a marriage proposal and they get married. During their happy marriage Hemamali gets a scholarship to go abroad on further training in her job while Jagath becomes a victim to Rajini's cunning moves thus making her pregnant. However much Jagath tries to persuade Rajini to get the child aborted she finds excuses, and amidst threats, melodrama and the whole issue getting out hand, Hemamali leaves her husband and goes to her parents. Rajini gets married on the rebound to take revenge from herself and to avoid the scandal of carrying Jagath's child.
After this chaotic situation has been exposed to Rajini's husband he abandons her and goes abroad leaving her high and dry in her advanced pregnancy. In the meantime Hemamali finds out that she too is carrying Jagath's child! Finally Rajiny dies during childbirth at the hospital and a nurse contacts Jagath, as per Rajini's instructions, and hands over his son to Jagath.
Desperate and heart broken Jagath now seeks solace in Hemamali and goes in search of her to the village with his son (from Rajini). Hemamali who is still deeply in love with Jagath accepts her husband with Rajini's child. The story comes to a happy ending where Hemamali and Jagath walking with the two children hand in hand.
The screenplay and direction was by Udayakantha Warnasooriya. There was nothing exceptional about the story line and the introduction of singing and dancing gave the impression that those Sri Lankan film directors and producers are still being influenced by Bollywood creations! Cinematography was excellent and credit will have to be given in this respect for picking up some breathtaking scenery for outdoor filming. Technically one could not rate it as one hundred percent perfect as the synchronisation of lip movement with that of the emanating sound at times was not congruent.
Audience sitting through nearly three hours had the occasion to have a glimpse at human behaviour through the screen play as to how fickle a human mind can be and how easily a woman can sap the will out of the strongest hero - in this case Rajini doing it skilfully to Jagath, who was married and her own good friend's husband.
The film was organised by Ari Dissanayake through the good offices of her sister Padma Edirisinghe in aid of the London Buddhist Vihara Building Fund.
