Baddegama

This 80s Indian drama was directed by Lester James Peries and based directly upon the Leonard Woolf novel, The Village in the Jungle. The plot of the film follows very closely upon the narrative structure of the novel, a point which critics of the film often praise, and chronicles the lives of the inhabitants of a the small, jungle-bound village of Baddegama in Sri Lanka, India.

The film explores the dynamics created by the oppressive caste system, and shows the oppressive and often cruel atmosphere it creates. Silindu, a member of the lower caste struggles against the system as well as the devious machinations of their local doctor, Punchirala.