This is a more of an explanation and an opinion rather than a reply to a comment made by a user comparing this movie to a different version of boys don't cry. well this is my personal opinion on this movie based on facts that i am aware of.
Just like Boys Don't Cry "flying with one wing" was based on a true story. A girl who grew up in a rural area of Sri Lanka who had to hide her sexual identity in order to impersonate herself as a male after coming of age. She fell in love with another girl and started living with her, while a gay young man continuously trying to win her heart while he was under the impression that she was a boy. That's the partial synopsis i was exposed to regarding the storyline. But speaking of "Thani Tatuwen Piyambanna", even though I haven't seen the movie, I became aware of the story line. I have to tell you that I have also seen "Boys Don't Cry" by Kimberly Pierce, a true story about a girl name Brandon Teena who grew up in state of Nebraska and finally got brutally murdered.
Please do not even fathom the fact that I am trying to call the director a counterfeiter or in plain slang this film is a rip off. No absolutely not; I was proud of Asoka Handagama as a Sri Lankan when he made this movie and stood by his creation. the release of this movie created havoc among society and it hit the society like kamikaze. Director stood firm in the middle of the perfect storm and defended his creation.
Similar story lines can happen all around the world. And even if it is a remake by any chance, as long as the movie itself is done with great ingenuity, it deserves the same respect just as the original version. When Sergio Leone made all those spaghetti westerns, remakes of Kurosawa's Samurai movies, starring Clint Eastwood, the different between him and Toshiro Mifune was the Winchester gun instead of samurai sword. Akira Kurosawa's, great samurai movies were remade in western in a different cultural set up , but the end result was a series of good movies not far from the greatness of Kurosawa's work. And Kurosawa has often mentioned how he was inspired by John Ford and his movie hero John Wayne. That is what inspired him to create the movies he made in his kind. He went to greater extent not just to appreciate John Ford as a filmmaker but to impersonate him by dressing just like him while he was on movie set. Among the other Japanese technical staff working on his movie, Kurosawa was distinguished not just because of his height which was unusual for an average Japanese native, but for his outfit as well.
The point I was trying to make with the above references was, that inspiration can travel across the globe, transfer to continents and people with the capacity to recreate good forms of art by upholding or even may be surpassing the original should be highly appreciated. And regarding "Thani Thatuwen Piyambanna", all I could say is bravo to the director for his efforts for making a movie which followed serious fallout and having the courage to face dreadful consequences. I am still looking forward to watch it whenever I get an opportunity. And yet again I applaud and support his audacity for creating a cinematic piece of unconventional nature.
