Madras Cafe’s honesty questioned by Sri Lankan filmmaker Prasanna Vithanage

An allegation has come from Sri Lankan filmmaker Prasanna Vithanage’s end on Tuesday that Shoojit Sircar’s Madras Cafe was not an "honest" movie. He has also observed that his country’s films get affected by Bollywood movies which emerge as more popular.

He also expressed his regret that Sri Lankan films have become almost extinct in India. Vithanage told reporters at the 19th Kolkata International Film Festival, "The problem is (`Madras Cafe`)... doesn`t touch the characters. It has caricatures... those are not people. To me it`s not an honest film. You cannot make a film when it doesn`t come from the heart.” He also added, "But I know the government was very happy.” Madras Cafe, released in August, was a political thriller set in India and Sri Lanka based on the Sri Lankan civil war. The Shoojit Sircar-directed film featured John Abraham, Nargis Fakhri and newcomer Rashi Khanna in lead roles.

Vithanage admitted that Sri Lankan films "can`t compete" with Hindi cinema in his country because of its immense popularity. He said, "We can`t compete with Bollywood. Sri Lankan films are taking a beating from Bollywood.” He mentioned Hrithik Roshan’s latest blockbuster Krrish 3 as an example which is presently running in most of the Sri Lankan theatres. He said, "The big budget Bollywood films and blockbusters are really popular in Sri Lanka." Vithanage also praised the technological progresses in the Indian film industry. He said, "In Sri Lanka, even simple technologies are not available. Directors like me use the digital technology available in India for our films. We can send our films to international film fests (only) because of the standards you have here."