This paper employs a dual framework of eco-feminism (Vandana Shiva, Val Plumwood) and post-colonial male anxiety (Kalpana Ram, Mrinalini Sinha). In the Sinhala Buddhist imaginary, the wæna (jungle) traditionally represents both ascetic renunciation (the forest-dwelling monk) and demonic chaos (the yaksha realm). Keerthisena inverts this: the jungle becomes a site of pre-colonial, matriarchal knowledge.
Wal Katha (2002), directed by award-winning filmmaker Boodee Keerthisena, stands as an anomaly in early 21st-century Sinhala cinema. Released during the final, most violent phase of the Sri Lankan Civil War (1983-2009), the film eschews direct political commentary on the ethnic conflict. Instead, it presents a surreal, allegorical narrative that intertwines jungle ecology, indigenous belief systems, and a critique of militarized masculinity. This paper argues that Wal Katha uses the trope of the “jungle” not as a mere backdrop but as an active, feminized agent that subverts the patriarchal and militaristic violence embodied by its male protagonists. Through its non-linear structure, minimal dialogue, and striking visual poetry, the film offers a rare cinematic resistance to the dominant war discourse of its era.
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