Asandhimitta
Directed by Asoka Handagama | Written by Asoka Handagama | Starring Nilmini Sigera , W. Jayasiri , Yashoda Wimaladharma , Dharmapriya Dias
A film director receives a surprising phone call from Asandhimitta, a woman who requests that he make a movie about her life story. Intrigued, he agrees to meet her. The narrative then unfolds, taking the audience on a journey through Asandhimitta’s tumultuous life. The story begins on a bus, where the obese and ridiculed Asandhimitta encounters Wickramasekara, a younger man who shows interest in her. Wickramasekara soon becomes her partner, and the couple faces a series of misfortunes. Asandhimitta loses her job as a parking ticket collector and, despite several attempts at odd jobs, struggles to make ends meet. To seek empowerment, she places a newspaper advertisement about forming an association for helpless women. Their plight takes a dark turn when they visit a wealthy family with two women, Madara and Samadara. Wickramasekara attempts to deceive one of the women, but events spiral out of control, leading to the murders of both women and another family member. Asandhimitta is arrested as the primary suspect in the gruesome killings. The director, in his pursuit of understanding her story, tries to locate Wickramasekara with the help of Pradeep, Asandhimitta’s landlord. In a shocking twist, it is revealed that Wickramasekara never existed—he was a hallucination of Asandhimitta’s fractured mind.
The younger and older male personas seen in the story are different manifestations of the same imagined character. The film concludes with a chilling juxtaposition: the director celebrates his birthday by cutting a cake while Asandhimitta, condemned to death, is executed by hanging. The scene underscores the stark divide between societal judgment and the hidden depths of the human psyche.
Highlights and Recognition
Language: Sinhala
Runtime: 1 hour 38 minutes
Country of Origin: Sri Lanka
Release Date
March 22, 2019