LEADER

When a daughter (Pooja) witnesses the murder of her politician father, she is forced into hiding for her own safety. The Underworld thug (Soththi) responsible for slaying the father is hell bent on doing the same to the daughter. This is why a "pure hearted Rambo" simply known as Leader is hired to guard Pooja, the only witness whose testimony can convict Soththi.

LEADER is written and directed by Ranjan Ramanayaka, produced by Ronney Bevan Perera and stars (quite obviously) Ramanayaka in the lead. The supporting cast includes Anusha Damayanthi, Anton Jude, Janesh Silva, Chathura Perera, Robin Fernando and Sandun Wijesiri. The female love-interest and villain are played by Indian actors Adeen Khan (Pooja) and Babu Anthony (Soththi) respectively.

As a film critic there are two simple pleasures I get from my work. The first is the pleasure of reviewing a film I absolutely love and the second is reviewing a film I unequivocally scorn. LEADER is one of those cinematic gems that undoubtedly belong in the latter category. Where O' where to begin? There are numerous factors a critic takes into account when reviewing any film. Call it our basic tools for textual analysis of fictional film. These factors allow us to recognize the techniques used in any given film to create meaning. But what if you come across a film that doesn't contain a shred of meaning? Then it is only fair to throw the textbook out the window, but in this case slapping the writer/ director across the face with it would be more appropriate. If man can train a chimpanzee to operate a space craft then why can't Ranjan Ramanayaka train himself to devise a better plot? Obviously chimps have a higher IQ than the typical Sri Lankan Commercial Film Maker (SLCFM).

The plot can be described as THE BODYGUARD meets THE THREE STOOGES. The story is shallow, the dialogue is infantile and the entire film feels wet behind the ears. The film begins with a sanctimonious narration of Sri Lanka's political history. The prologue is ideally catered to a seven year old mind and ironically this preachy start has nothing to do with the film's middle and end. It's as if Ramanayaka is making fun of corrupt politicians just for the sake of being controversial. He then conveniently forgets the bold beginning to his film by focusing on flexing is pectorals and trying to look cool for the remainder. It doesn’t take a genius to figure out that Pooja falls madly in love with Leader, he rescues her from a few close calls, defeats the dastardly Soththi, saves the day, and gets the girl all in time to get his chest waxed at the local beauty parlour.

"MORON: a person of borderline intelligence in a former classification of mental retardation." The dialogue is a clear indication that Ramanayaka the script writer believes all Sri Lankan cinema-goers to be morons. This is the only logical explanation I can fathom as to why the dialogue is so ridiculous. The words 'pathetic' and 'flaccid' come to mind when describing the humour and jokes in LEADER. I truly felt disgusted listening to the verbal interactions of the characters because it is evidence that comedy in Sri Lanka has not evolved in decades. That space chimp could have written a better script.

The cinematography is average at best and tries to visually annoy the viewer with triple split screen shots, zooming in and out and close-ups of Ramanayaka's flabby muscles. The film utilizes "Tom and Jerry" styled sound effects to remind us where and when to laugh. The dubbing of the lead actresses' dialogue is out of sync and unprofessional. Something every SLCFM does is copy or duplicate works of international filmmakers. Ramanayaka does not fail in this because as always he has blatantly sampled score music from MORTAL KOMBAT, MISSION IMPOSSIBLE, ripped off the 'machine gun guitar case' from DESPERADO and tried to re-create the slow motion gun battles from THE MATRIX.           

The acting in LEADER simply takes "Bad Acting" to another level completely. Robin Fernando, the poor man's Abitabh Bachan shows that just because you're sporting the silver goatee don't make you "The Big B." Sandun Wijesiri is a disgrace to bad actors around the world. He is so inept in his performance (comedic or dramatic), even a coma patient could have done a better job.

Anusha Damayanthi's portrayal of her character is painful both physically (due to the sound of her voice) and mentally (due to why the hell is she still acting?). If I had a choice between watching Anton Jude's, Janesh Silva's and Chathura Perera's performances or receiving an enema…stick it in me doc! 

The two Indian actors confirm that miscasting can be detrimental to a film. And last but not least Ranjan Ramanayaka proves that acting in a 100 films does not make you even capable, unless one possesses a biological cell of talent.

There are two types of cinema in Sri Lanka, Commercial Cinema and Controversial/Art House Cinema. Although there is a lack of art house films, there is indeed an abundance of commercial films. These commercial films can be divided into the sub-categories of Action, Comedy, Love Story and Kids Movie. Sri Lankan commercial cinema steals ideas from Bollywood, Bollywood steals ideas from Hollywood and ironically, Hollywood steals ideas from European cinema. Film is a medium that constantly recycles ideas, but the trick is to give the old idea a new spin. Unfortunately SLCFM's are oblivious to this concept. They choose to regurgitate the same old stories and have the gall to lie to audiences saying they've made a unique film.

LEADER is no exception, if there's anyone to blame it is certainly Ranjan Ramanayaka. The hiring of two unknown Indian actors is pointless and merely a failed gimmick to attract local audiences. Not only did the makers of LEADER take two acting jobs away from Sri Lankan actors, they increased expenditure by having to hire actors for dubbing.  This film is a true example of narcissism at its best, not only is Ramanayaka the lead actor, screen writer and director he is also the costume designer, dance choreographer, song lyricist and playback singer. I'm surprised he didn't take up the role of on-location caterer as well. If that wasn't enough Ramanayaka has proclaimed himself to be the "Sri Lankan People's Actor," (shown during the opening credits). This level of self centered and egocentric behavior is probably a first in film history. Nearly half the film's duration is comprised of scenes where either Ramanayaka is flexing, posing, close-ups of his muscles, trying to look cool and also trying to look tough. The intro-scene alone, when Leader gets off the helicopter drags on for an eternity. The entire scene is Leader getting off the helicopter repeated 5 times (for our viewing pleasure), cut-to walking in a desert, walking up to an elephant, walking past a Buddhist temple, walking past a Hindu kovil, walking past a Catholic church etc. etc. etc. If I were suicidal, I would have probably slit both my wrists before he got to the temple.

LEADER is fundamentally a primitive film made by a bunch of amateurs. The story is boring, the action is absurd, the comedy is tragic, the love story is adolescent, the acting is unbelievably incompetent and the direction is frighteningly void of talent.

The most hilarious part of the LEADER experience is the fact that producer Ronney Bevan Perera intends to promote the film worldwide including some satellite television channels. I can understand a producer trying his best to get a profit from his investment but Ronney, you probably picked Ramanayaka's worst film to produce. If PARLIAMENT JOKES was bad and ONE SHOT was worse, then LEADER is by far the worst.

We the Sri Lankan People demand that Ranjan Ramanayaka stop ruining our cinema, stop humiliating us by screening your films abroad and JUST STOP MAKING FILMS ENTIRELY!!!

Rating: 0/5

S. V. Fernando