Cinema Express: A Wedding, a War, and a Wounded History

When the Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF) were deployed in Sri Lanka, the Sri Lankan Tamils, who were already pushed to a corner by the Sri Lankan government, also had to resist the IPKF that had initially landed in the island nation to safeguard them and broker peace between the majoritarian Buddhist-Sinhalese government and the Tamils. Sri Lankan Tamil poet and head of the arts and culture department of the now-defunct and proscribed LTTE, Puthuvai Ratnathurai, in one of his poems, would have evocatively written that the IPKF had come to adorn them (Tamils) with new clothes but ended up stripping even the loincloth they were wearing. Through Neelira (A Long Night), filmmaker Someetharan attempts to capture this blood-soaked history—and largely succeeds.

Neelira begins in a nondescript village in war-torn Northern Sri Lanka, where a family prepares for their daughter’s wedding. As the conflict between the IPKF and the Tamil rebels reaches their doorstep, it becomes uncertain if the wedding will take place as planned. The film explores one of the many personal stories of the filmmaker and the theme of celebration during war.

Despite its short runtime and a screenplay centred around one particular incident, Neelira registers various pointers on the go. The film is set in 1987, months after the IPKF went rogue and began its campaign against the Tamil rebels. The film piques our interest with the very first scene, where the father of the bride seeks permission from the army to hold the wedding ceremony in their home. Many of us who planned our weddings during the COVID-19 lockdown would be familiar with the strictures and permissions sought from the authorities. Imagine the discomfort that we went through due to a unprecedented global pandemic was something that was normalised, for years together, in a country that isn’t very far from ours.

In this intense chamber drama, Someetharan also takes time to introduce us to the pop culture of Sri Lankan Tamils. The depiction of a huge fan following for Vijayakant, who crusades against authoritarian injustice in films, is both a pop culture reference and a telltale of how the politics of Sri Lankan Tamils shaped their taste in cinema. In these spaces, Neelira also lays bare the constraints placed by the administration on every possible level. People have to take CDs of Tamil films secretly, as the Tamil rebels’ message for the unification of Tamils against the Sri Lankan state is placed as inserts between the films. The writing and picturisation of the underlying bleakness and a muted wedding celebration, succinctly defies the colourful portrayal of weddings in Tamil films.

Director: Someetharan

Cast: Naveen Chandra, Roopa Koduvayur, Sananth, Rohit Kakate

Nevertheless, Neelira is not free from shortcomings. The film runs a risk of finding limited takers, as it assumes people have a deep understanding of Sri Lankan Tamil politics. With a large number of characters involved in this closed setting, their tensions with the IPKF soldiers, and their differences are mostly expressed through dialogues. Some explanation of this conflict by any of the characters would have been a useful primer to those who aren’t aware. Also, the interaction between the family, the rebels, and the IPKF soldiers, though helped by strong dialogues, looks performative and their transformations artificial. The economy of the duration should not come at the cost of a sense of contentment and completion in the film. Someetharan should have instead taken more time, given actors time to live through their roles, and smoothed their transformations.

Ultimately, Neelira stands as a poignant reminder of a bleak history that remains underrepresented. While its narrative economy and lack of contextual hand-holding may distance some viewers, its emotional sincerity leaves a lasting imprint. Neelira may not offer easy answers or closure, but it compels us to sit with discomfort, ensuring that these stories are not forgotten.