During an era when an uprising by the people was squashed by the government, Drama Director Sarath Dikkumbura has decided to rekindle the past and give hope to the youth who are in the mindset to usher in ‘change’. Dikkumbura is planning to stage another series of his drama ‘Katharagama Prema’, but he is careful to send a message that armed struggles don’t succeed. He says that the youth have to find a peaceful way to carry out a revolution.
There have been many attempts in the past where filmmakers and drama producers have tried to tell the story of ‘Premawathi Manamperi’. Some of those theatrical productions were banned by state authorities. Dikkumbura in an interview with the ‘Daily Mirror’ said that the motive behind the making of a drama of this nature is to relate it to the present time where the country is struggling, politically, economically and socially.
For the record, Dikkumbura has obtained the greenlight from the Public Performances Board (PPB) and even had to make a trip to the CID to obtain clearance to stage his drama. He said that he approached the PPB because the story of Premawathi Manamperi is so sensitive and that people who can relate to the death of the former beauty queen of Katharagama are still living. The plot of the drama revolves around a depressing economy during that era, the powers vested in the Army and the Police to squash a revolution and how the lust of a police officer destroyed the love affair between Katharagama Prema .
