“Light Arose” an epic tale of Unity & Spirituality

Amazing videography, visual effects, and storyline made ‘Aloko Udapadi’ an interesting movie to watch. Directed by Chathra Weeraman an independent filmmaker and Co-directed by Baratha Gihan Hettiarachchi “The Light Arose” is a story revolving around King Walagamba but what makes it different about this movie is that it is not just about his rule and his heroic and spiritual journey but a tale about the monks who recorded the sacred work of Buddha in writing, while the land was aflame with war and famine.

What surprised me most was that this is the debut movie for both Chathra Weeraman & Baratha Gihan Hettiarachchi and the execution was nothing short of phenomenal. The meticulous production detailing, cinematic wide shots and realistic visual effects were what drew me to the movie. The locations picked were perfect for every scene from the lush green forests and paddy fields to the dry brittle backgrounds.All filmed in Sri Lanka.

This was the first time in the history of Sri Lankan filmmaking the concept of “production designing” was used to blend every design aspect and establish a common ground throughout the departments. Each character was researched, sketched and digitally illustrated. The locations were photographed and researched and made “historically accurate.” Thumbnail sketches were drawn and they were put on storyboards. The movie supposedly had over 700 storyboards. This was the first time Storyboards were used in the Sri Lankan film industry.

The visual effects on Aloko Udapadi were truly a treat. The young director used VFX(visual effects) to make the tale epic. Production crew built the lower parts of structures and the rest was done post production. Matte paintings were used to recreate shots like the damaged Ruwanwelisaya. Watching the movie you would never think that the movie had only 200 extras they used crowd multiplication to make the battle scenes epic. There was this scene that I felt I was actually in the water too. The scene begins with a fisherman on a raft, he wakes up and sees these huge Cholian ships……..they were all amazing CGI (computer generated images.) It may not have been the first time this was done in Sri Lankan movies but boy, this was the first time it was truly amazing.

It was 113 minutes of amazing. It was an emotional, visual and inspirational movie. I was quite surprised that it was directed, filmed and produced in Sri Lanka. In a time of remakes and thoughtless movies in Sri Lanka, Aloko Udapadi showed human connections, unity, strength and the importance of spirituality. It is a movie to elevate the spiritual and cultural well-being of generations to come.

Aloko Udapadi, “Light Arose” Directed by Chathra Weeraman, Co-directed by Baratha Gihan Hettiarachchi, written by Saman Weeraman and produced by the generous, farsighted Buddhist Philanthropist Thusitha Wijesena. Please click here for the trailer.