Rani’s struggle and fight of many mothers

by Anushka Kahandagamage

Unlike Manorani, mothers in both the North and South, whose children disappeared, had no means of reaching out to a state minister in the dead of night, begging for help or even sharing the devastating news of their children’s abduction. They did not have the privilege of calling on influential figures to intervene in their grief. This contrast does not lessen my empathy for Manorani, but rather highlights that a mother’s pain is universal, despite societal divisions or hierarchies. A thought that has been occupying my mind since the making of Rani is why a film is being made about Manorani when so many mothers in this country have lost their children. As Malathi de Alwis highlights, many women involved in the Mothers’ Front never had the chance to take the stage, which was controlled by men. Malathi also argues that Manorani’s special opportunity on that stage was due to her professional background as a medical doctor and her elite status.

Powerful Cinematic Experience

Rani, undoubtedly a powerful cinematic experience, left me frozen, its impact lingering within me. It took me back to the 1987-89 period, a time of terror, when I was just a first grader. The trauma from that era has stayed with our generation ever since. The film brought back events that were slowly fading from my memory, yet still lingered in my nightmares.

Challenging the official memory

Handagama and others involved in the making of the film succeeded in bringing a dark period, which was absent from history books, into the public consciousness or I would say, to the popular discourse. The official memory crafted by the then government regarding this horrifying chapter of history is mostly one-sided, glorifying the rulers while carefully erasing stories that do not align with their narrative. The film uncovers the painful truths, complicating the official narrative constructed by the government. It reveals that history is far more intricate than the simplified version presented in state-crafted accounts.

Subtitles

Creating a film about a dark chapter of the past, one that isn’t recorded in history books, and making it resonate with the public is a formidable challenge. However, the increasing number of people attending the film is a testament to its success. A common challenge faced by artistic films or those addressing complex social issues is their lack of popularity, which often prevents them from entering collective memory. Yet, Rani has effectively overcome this obstacle, achieving both widespread attention and relevance. While the film has undoubtedly succeeded in establishing itself within popular discourse and bringing attention to a dark, often overlooked period in history, the absence of Sinhala and Tamil subtitles presents a significant drawback. These subtitles would have made the film more accessible to a broader audience, particularly those who are directly impacted by the events depicted. Without them, a large segment of the population, including Sinhala and Tamil speakers, may have found it difficult to fully engage with the content and its emotional depth. Subtitles could have enriched the film’s reach and impact, fostering a deeper understanding of the complex and painful history that the movie seeks to bring to light.

Female protagonist

Making a woman the protagonist is an essential reflection of contemporary demands in cinema. Across the globe, there has been a significant shift toward promoting gender equality in film, with an increasing emphasis on strong, multifaceted female characters. This demand is not only a response to the changing social dynamics but also an effort to give a voice to women whose stories have often been sidelined in mainstream narratives. The focus on female protagonists ensures that audiences see a more balanced and inclusive reflection of society on screen.

The Ending and Accountability

The film would have had a more impactful conclusion if it had ended with the peaceful scene of the two women and the child on the beach. This moment was emotionally powerful and seemed like the natural conclusion to the story. However, the final sequence where the police officers are in their casual clothes, drunk and plotting the abduction of Richard, drags on far too long and felt like forcefully imposed. Instead of taking the audience to a peaceful ending, it inadvertently starts to irritate the audience due to its excessive length, detracting from the overall emotional tone of the film. As previously mentioned, the prolonged nature of this scene feels unnecessary and could have been condensed or omitted to maintain the film’s pace and emotional resonance.

In this final scene, perhaps the filmmaker intended to highlight the multiplicity of narratives (as is common in the post-modern era), but it fails in many ways. I strongly object to this scene, as it makes the rulers unaccountable for the murders and reduces the event to a toxic masculine portrayal of the police officers involved.