By Somasiri Munasinghe –

Somasiri Munasinghe

Sri Lanka’s legendary cinematographer Donald Karunaratne who passed away in Los Angeles on August 28, aged 77, was planning to make a sequel to Ahas Gawwa. “Everything was ready to begin Ahas Gawwa 2 with even characters written for the few original cast members who are still living,” says Chandrarathne Bandara, who wrote the script. 

Donald was making the final arrangements for the film in Sri Lanka when he fell ill and rushed to Los Angeles, where he passed away. 

Bandara compares the association between Donald and Pathiraja to the close relationship between Lester James Peiris and Willie Blake. These professional collaborations marked the most prolific era of Sri Lanka’s film industry.

Donald Karunaratne. Shooting a scene from a moving jeep precariously hanging on to a rope

The university lecturer-turned-filmmaker ushered in the new wave of Sinhala cinema with such classics like Ahas Gawwa, Bambaru Avith and Para Dige, and Donald, with his excellent cinematography and unparalleled visual artistry, gave a new dimension to Pathiraja’s vision to explore the travails of the youths hailing from the downtrodden sections of the society. 

Lester portrayed the same issues through the eyes of the emerging bourgeois, land-owing class basking in their glory in the opulent mansions of Colombo 7, but Pathiraja’s characters were non-English speaking jobless youths working as pavement hawkers, pickpockets, prostitutes, and petty criminals seeking their right to exist. 

“The greatest asset of Donald was his flexibility,” says Bandara. “He could work with reputed directors like Lester and Sumithra Peiris, Pathiraja, Vasantha Obeysekera and Amarnath Jayathilake to turn out masterpieces and at the same time cooperated with commercial filmmakers like Neil Rupasinghe, without compromising quality,” says Bandara who was a close friend of both Pathiraja and Donald. 

One look at Donald’s prolific repertoire is enough proof of his legendary contribution to the development of Sinhala cinema from the heady days of the early 70s with classics like Ahas Gawwa (1974), Pon Mani (1977), Ahasin Polawata (1978), Bambaru Avith (1978), Karumakkarayo (1980), Ganga Addara (1980), Kaliyugaya (1981), Malata Noena Bambaru (1982, Dadayama (1983), Sagara Jalaya Madi Handuwa (1988), Golumuhude Kunatuwak (1991), Sakkarang (2016) and his 2017 magical Vaishnavi that blended vintage Donald with modern digital film making.

The list extends to more than 50 classics of the Sinhala cinema. He won 19 best cinematographer awards, a record yet to be equalled, and in 2017 he was honoured by the President’s Lifetime Award to recognize his services to the nation’s film industry.

In an interview with me two years ago, Donald said he studied at Kelaniya Gurukula. Among his classmates were Malani Fonseka, Pathiraja L.S. Dayananda, H. D. Premarathne and Wimal Kumar de Costa, destined to become leading film artists in the country. Donald’s ambition was to master Kathakali dance forms, and after leaving school, he joined Haywood College to hone his skills, but he had a date with destiny while walking near the Colombo Museum one afternoon. 

Donald said that he saw a scene for a film being shot on the museum premises. After the shooting, he saw Mike Wilson, the director of Ranmuthuduva, struggling to pack some equipment into a Volkswagen wagon. 

Looking over the wall, Donald asked him, “Sir can I help you?” 

“Yes, please. That will be a great help,” said Wilson, who was directing the first Sinhala colour film in association with Space Prophet Arthur C. Clark and deep-water diver Rodney Jonklaas.  

Wilson inquired about what he was doing and asked Donald whether he would like to work for him. 

“That was the beginning of my career,” said Donald. “Next day, I went to the Serendib Productions in Rajagiriya and began to help with things like cleaning underwater cameras, lighting equipment and many other gadgets, getting firsthand knowledge of how film photography equipment work.”

He was star-struck by the many celebrities who visited the Serendib Films office in Rajagiriya. “I got to know Director Lester James Peiris who was a frequent visitor, and veterans like Shesha Palihakkara, Tissa Liyanasuriya and Titus Thotawatte. I also remember meeting Nanda Malini, Pandit Amaradeva, Lionel Algama and Mahagama Sekera, some of whom worked for Ranmuthuduva,” he said.

Donald appeared in a dance scene in the film.

At Serendib Productions, he met cinematographer Sumiththa Amarasinghe. After realizing Donald’s enthusiasm and passion for cinematography, he began to train the young lad. 

“Sumiththa was very methodical in his teaching and even lent me his notes he used learning filmmaking in India and taught me how to handle the camera,” he said. 

Donald worked with Sumiththa in Parasathu Mal and Baduth Ekka Horu as his assistant.

While working with Sumiththa in Hanthane Kathawe, he met Pathiraja and shot his short film Sathuro based on a story by Ajith Tillekasena, beginning their legendary association. Sathuro won an award at Bergamo short film festival. 

Donald said that he had encountered death-defying incidents in his professional life, stressing that cameramen took many risks to capture a perfect shot during those days. 

He recalled an accident when he was shooting Siripala and Ranmenika. The film had a stunt scene featuring Ravindra Randeniya and Robin Fernando when they were escaping in a train after fleeing jail.

“The scene was being shot in Anuradhapura. A small stand was fixed to the train for me to sit with the camera to shoot the scene. We had a trial run to test the safety, and everything seemed alright,” the cameraman said.

Ravindra and Robin were to hide from the police who were looking for them on the train. “We did not have walkie-talkies, and we communicated with the crew shouting to each other. A few minutes after the shooting began, I felt the carriage where I was with the camera loosening, and I knew I would be run over by the train if I fell. The only option for me was to jump off the breaking carriage. I dived, hugging my camera, and rolled on the ground to break the fall to avoid serious injuries. It was a miracle how I survived the jump off a train travelling at 45 mph!”

He faced another frightening experience while shooting Vasantha Obeysekera’s Dadayama.

“The scene where Ravindra Randeniya drives his car fast intending to run over the heroine (Swarna Mallawarachchi) seems graphic on screen, and that was another death-defying incident I had to face for the sake of reality. Ravindra did his stunts in the film, and I was with the camera when he swerved the car violently. I was about a few inches from the car when it skidded and braked just a few millimetres from me. I stood where I was, without moving as I wanted to capture the scene the best way possible,” said Donald adding that in those days the cinematographers lacked protective devices.

In the same film, there was another scene in which Swarna smashed the car’s windshield with a branch as Ravindra was driving fast toward her. “I was shooting the scene when Swarna hit the windscreen with the branch breaking it to pieces. I was bathed in glass splinters, and dust, and the camera got damaged. We borrowed it from director Lester James Peiris. It was the only 20 mm wide angle lens in the country which Lester used to film his debut Rekhawa. He may have been angry but didn’t say anything and only asked us to send it to Germany for repairs!”

Another narrow escape was when he was shooting Sithadevi, a joint venture between India and Sri Lanka.

The film featured a violent boat race between Gamini Fonseka and Ravindra Randeniya. Donald was in the front of a boat carrying the camera, secured to a rope. “The boat was travelling at a speed of about 70 to 80 miles, and suddenly it stopped as something got stuck in the propeller. I was thrown off into the sea, which was about 60 feet deep in that area. I never let go of the camera as I started sinking, but soon an extra boat sailing for our protection fished me out of the water.”

Director Manik Sandarasagara, who was in the boat, had given a glass of whiskey to calm Donald’s nervousness. “I was more concerned about the film-roll as I knew it was a perfect shot. There was no serious damage to the camera or the film roll,” he added.

“Many technicians and actors get hurt all over the world. In the west, they are covered with insurance, but producers in a country like Sri Lanka cannot go to such lengths as they operate on tight budgets. On the other hand, there were no safety equipment and remote-control devices for shooting during my time,” he said.

Donald said his only regret relating to his career was his inability to work with emerging young filmmakers like Prasanna Vithanaga and Dharmasiri Bandaranayake due to his busy schedule. 

“I had opportunities to work with these terrific young filmmakers, but I was either out of the country on various assignments or too busy when their films began,” he said.

In fact, he had initially gone to scout for Hansa Vilak locations along with Bandaranayake. 

Donald’s death marks the end of an era. He was the last link of top-notch cinematographers who enriched the local cinema bringing our small film industry to a global focus. His powerful presence and the unique personal touch to explore the mystery behind light and darkness to entertain and enchant us remains the most incredible gift he left for posterity. So long, Donald!