Gaadi

Gaadi (Sinhala: ගාඩි), also released as Children of the Sun, is a 2019 Sri Lankan Sinhala historical road film directed by Prasanna Vithanage.^[2] It is co-produced as a Sri Lankan-Indian joint production by H.D. Premasiri, Sandya Salgado for Film Island, Prasanna Vithanage Productions and Alan McAlex and Ajay Rai for Mumbai-based Jar Pictures, an Indian motion picture production company.^[3] It stars Sajitha Anthony with debut actress Dinara Punchihewa in lead roles^[4] along with Shyam Fernando and Ravindra Randeniya.^[5] Music composed by K.^[6]

Gaadi
Film poster
Sinhala	ගාඩි
Directed by	Prasanna Vithanage
Written by	Prasanna Vithanage
Produced by	Sandya Salgado Alan McAlex Ajay Rai H D Premasiri Prasanna Vithanage
Starring	Sajitha Anthony Dinara Punchihewa Shyam Fernando Ravindra Randeniya
Cinematography	Rajeev Ravi
Edited by	A. Sreekar Prasad
Music by	K (Krishna Kumar)
Production companies	Film Island Jar Pictures Prasanna Vithanage Productions
Distributed by	CEL Theatres
Release dates	8 October 2019 (2019-10-08) (Busan) 10 January 2023 (2023-01-10) (Sri Lanka)
Running time	103 Minutes
Country	Sri Lanka
Language	Sinhala
Budget	$560,000[1]

It is a period drama set in 1814, during the last days of the Kandyan Kingdom. The story revolves around the journey of Tikiri who was stripped from nobility and forcibly married to an outcast by the monarchy.^{[7][8][9][10]}

Gaadi premiered on 8 October 2019 at the 24th Busan International Film Festival amidst stellar reviews.^{[11][12][13][14][15]} The film has been selected one of the 100 Asian films that audiences should watch by International Film Festival 2019.^[16]

In January 2020, the film won a Special Jury Award at 18th International Dhaka Film Festival.^[17]

Plot

Stripped of her Radala cast and forcibly married to an outcast by the monarch, a woman fights to keep her dignity by rejecting to succumb to her destiny.

Cast

• Sajitha Anthony as Vijaya
• Dinara Punchihewa as Tikiri^[18]
• Ravindra Randeniya as Ehelepola Adigar
• Shyam Fernando as Bulathgama Disawe
• Iranganie Serasinghe as Bulathgama Disawe's mother
• Damayanthi Fonseka as Bulathgama Disawe's sister
• Mohamed Adamaly as John Doyle
• Ananda Kumara Unnehe as Ukkuwa
• Nethalie Nanayakkara as Ukkuwa's mother
• Kalana Gunasekara as Village youth
• Thusitha Laknath
• Jayabalan^[19]
• Mervyn Croon
• Dishni Rajapaksa
• Denuwan Sri Bandara as Soldier
• Samila Vidanage as messenger

International Screenings

• 24th Busan International Film Festival in South Korea on 8 October 2019.^[20]
• 3rd I South Asian Film Festival - San Francisco on 9 November 2019.^[21]
• 21st Kerala International Film Festival on 9 December 2019.^[22]
• 18th Pune International Film Festival on 10 January 2020.
• 18th Dhaka International Film Festival on 19 January 2020.
• 49th International Film Festival Rotterdam on 26 January 2020.
• 3rd Independent Film Festival of Chennai on 9 February 2020.
• Vesoul International Film Festival on 13 February 2020.
• Bengaluru International Film Festival on 28 February 2020.

Awards

• 18th Dhaka International Film Festival (Best Film - Special Jury Mention)
• 3rd Independent Film Festival of Chennai (Emerald Dove Award)
• 14th Asia Pacific Screen Awards: Cultural Diversity Award (UNESCO)