Sri Lankan director Prasanna Vithanage’s new film Paradise, starring Roshan Mathew and Darshana Rajendran, is all set for its world premiere at the upcoming Busan International Film Festival in South Korea on October 7.
A Kim Jiseok Award nominee, the film marks the maiden collaboration between Mani Ratnam’s Madras Talkies and Malayalam cinema through Kerala’s Newton Cinema. As per the makers, Paradise portrays “the scenario of 2022 Sri Lanka during its financial crisis, where surging inflation leads to food, medication, and fuel shortages, resulting in blackouts and public unrest.
This narrative takes viewers on a gripping rollercoaster of love, deceit, and crime. Against this backdrop, Paradise tells the story of a TV producer and his wife, a vlogger, who arrive in the hill country of Sri Lanka to celebrate their 5th wedding anniversary. However, cracks appear in their relationship when conflicts deepen due to an unexpected turn.”
Speaking on the same, director Vithanage comments, “In the face of crisis, an individual’s true nature emerges. I aim to explore life’s realities, and their effects on relationships, and highlight disparities in race, status, justice, and gender. Through the characters’ struggles with societal and personal conflicts, a deeper truth about human nature is revealed.”
Aside from Roshan Mathew and Darshana Rajendran, Paradise features Shyam Fernando and Mahendra Perera, with Rajeev Ravi as the cinematographer, Sreekar Prasad as the editor, Tapas Nayak as the sound designer, and ‘K’ as the music director. On his role, Roshan shared, “Director Vithanage proposed, ‘Let’s delve into the human psyche together.’ This exploration is what he fostered throughout the shoot. My character, Kesav, embodies elements of human nature that reside in everyone.
Darshana recognised her character Amritha as “captivatingly complex,” one whose “strong convictions often remain unspoken, revealing themselves more in solitary moments than in her verbal communication. I embraced this as a unique opportunity to lead the audience through Amritha’s profound transformation.”
The 2023 Busan International Film Festival runs from October 4 to October 13.