Kelani Gango River, The Move from Colombo to Nuwara Eliya, Sri Lanka

The Bridge on the River Kwai is a British 1957 World War II epic film directed by David Lean and starring William Holden, Jack Hawkins, Alec Guinness and Sessue Hayakawa. Based on the novel Le Pont de la Rivière Kwai (1952) by Pierre Boulle, the film is a work of fiction but borrows the construction of the Burma Railway in 1942–43 for its historical setting. The movie was filmed in Ceylon (now known as Sri Lanka). The bridge in the film was located near Kitulgala.

Kelani River is connected closely with the Sinhala Buddhist culture of Sri Lanka, especially with the people living on the area identified as Kelani Valley. This is primarily caused by the fact that Kelani River is associated with two of the most venerated Buddhist shrines and pilgrimages, i.e. Sri Pada Mountain and Kelani Raja Maha Viharaya.