Features

Between pathiraja and Premarathne : The cinema of Vasantha Obeyesekere

Published

3 years ago

2022/10/28

By Uditha Devapriya

In my essay on H. D. Premaratne, I pointed out that Premaratne and Vasantha Obeyesekere were responsible for much of the changes that swept through the Sinhala cinema in the 1970s. Basically, they helped shatter the distinction that had prevailed until then between an artistic and a commercial cinema. Both directors focused a common set of issues: youth unrest, class conflict, women’s rights, and in their last few years (Premaratne with Visidela, 1997, and Obeyesekere with Sewwandi, 2006), the civil war and the insurrection. In doing so they pioneered a third way in the cinema, tackling these issues while making concessions to popular audiences. This contribution has not been appreciated enough.

Yet while appreciating Obeyesekere and Premaratne, the exact nature of their contribution needs to be assessed, because there were important differences between the two. I have highlighted some of these differences in my previous article (“Lowering the brow: The films of H. D. Premaratne”, The Island, 24 October 2022). Basically, while both were moved by a concern for the disadvantaged (mostly women), Premaratne viewed their issues through a more mainstream prism. This helped take his films to popular audiences, but it also had the effect of cushioning or softening the social implications of his stories.

A good example here would be Devani Gamana (1982). The protagonist is suspected, even by her husband, of infidelity, because she fails to bleed on her first night. We are moved to sympathy for her. Yet through a series of contrived episodes, she returns to her husband. The final scene is unforgettable: her mother- and grandmother-in-law, played by Irangani Serasinghe and the great Denawaka Hamine, are captured in a still frame, while the camera zooms out and they watch the protagonist and her husband defy and leave them. But while delivering some form of poetic justice, the ending does not question the structures of male power and female submission which led the heroine to it in the first place: the same critique Sunila Abeysekera underscored in her review of Parithyagaya (1980).

We must place these films in the context of their time. The economy had just begun to be liberalised. Imports of foreign films, which had been banned by the socialist government of Sirimavo Bandaranaike with the aim of reviving the local cinema, had been allowed again. The industry had been liberalised, making it easier for both amateurs and gifted artists to enter the field. These reforms soon led to the disintegration of the local cinema, a decline hastened by the 1983 anti-Tamil riots. The onset of television also had an impact on the industry, though as D. B. Nihalsinghe (2006) has convincingly shown, its impact was much less than has since been made out to be by policymakers and writers.

These declines paralleled a decline in cultural and artistic standards which had set in even before the open economy reforms of 1977. Arguably the biggest contribution to the Sinhala cinema during this period was Dharmasena Pathiraja’s. His vision of, and for, the medium was considerably more radical than his predecessors’. In Ahas Gawwa (1974) and even Eya Dan Loku Lamayek (1975), he uses the medium as a mode of protest. Eya Dan Loku Lamayek is seen as Pathiraja’s most mainstream film, but his sympathy for its protagonist, played by Malini Fonseka, is on par, I think, with Premaratne’s sympathy for the heroine in Sikuruliya, released the same year. Where does all this put Obeyesekere?

As far as the politics of his films goes, Vasantha Obeyesekere falls somewhere in-between Premaratne and Pathiraja. While Premaratne never turned his work into a platform for a full-frontal critique of the themes he explored, Obeyesekere did. However, while Pathiraja eschewed the conventions of the medium, Obeyesekere did not fully abandon them. As his career progresses, Pathiraja subverts the most basic canons of cinema, including linearity. There is hardly any linearity in his middle-period work: in Para Dige (1980), for instance, he introduces a character (played by Vasanthi Chathurani) and then makes her disappear. But unlike in Michelangelo Antonioni’s L’Avventura (1960), which centres on the disappearance of a woman, the director does not bother to find out what happened: the story goes on, the characters move on, and she is never brought up or mentioned again.

Like Jean-Luc Godard and Samuel Beckett, to whom he owed his conception of theatre and cinema, Pathiraja aligned his critique of capitalist society with his rejection of mainstream aesthetic and cultural codes. While sharing his concerns and political beliefs, Obeyesekere does not go as far. In his middle-period, which begins with Palagetiyo (1979), Obeyesekere juggles time and space, crisscrossing from one timeline to another, more so than Pathiraja. Palagetiyo, for instance, begins with the police questioning the protagonist (Dharmasiri Bandaranayake) over the murder of his wife (Dhammi Fonseka). Dadayama (1984) begins with Rathmali (Swarna Mallawarachchi) searching for the man who has impregnated and abandoned her (Ravindra Randeniya, in the most dislikeable performance ever featured in a Sinhala film). Kadapathaka Chaya (1989) begins with the murder of a powerful businessman (Vijaya Kumaranatunga, in the most villainous part he got in his career).

This technique can be critiqued as an affectation, a cosmetic which goes nowhere and serves no purpose. Yet by splicing time and space, Obeyesekere depicts the deterioration of society, a theme which unifies his work more than any other. Again, it is apt to put him in the context of his time. The open economy reforms of 1977 shook the fabric of Sri Lankan society. They accelerated greed, exploitation, and the immiseration of entire communities. Obeyesekere tries to depict these upheavals, and to emphasise the point he presents the plots of his films in fragments. He features a society caught up in unlimited greed and an unquenchable lust for material advancement. He epitomises that, more than in any of his other antagonists, in the character of Jayanath in Dadayama.

While this anti-romantic, anti-classical quality of his work may seem to share much with Pathiraja’s rejection of linearity and consistency, Obeyesekere does not, as I have pointed out before, go as far as him. Why do I say this? Precisely because Obeyesekere shares as much with Pathiraja as he does with Premaratne: he rejects a classical conception of the cinema, but he does not reject the tropes and motifs of commercial films. In other words, unlike Pathiraja, he deploys these motifs throughout his stories. Yet unlike Premaratne, he does not do so to give (in a manner of speaking) happy endings. The protagonist in Devani Gamana may go back to her lover, but the protagonist of Dadayama keeps imagining that her lover will come back to him, only to be murdered at his hands. The heroine in Palagetiyo dotes on popular romantic fiction and believes that love conquers all; but when the realities of poverty set in, the story moves into its final, inexorably tragic act.

There is another sense in which Obeyesekere differs from Pathiraja: he does not actively take sides. In Palagetiyo, for instance, as Regi Siriwardena observed in his fine review, the director sympathises with the heroine, her father, her lover, and her lover’s mother and sister, even though they are often pitted against each other. This makes him somewhat of a less committed director than Pathiraja: there is no critique of any of his characters, or the beliefs they subscribe to. In Dorakada Marawa (1998), which I rank among his finest films, he pits the heroine (Sangeetha Weeraratne, in what I consider to be her best performance) against the parents and the sisters of her fiancée (Sanath Gunatilake). Yet he does his best, and succeeds remarkably, at empathising with them: we understand their concern for their son and brother, just as we do the protagonist’s fierce attachment to him.

Vasantha Obeyesekere, in these respects, falls somewhere in-between the gentle humanism of Lester James Peries’s cinema and the Beckettian disorientation of Pathiraja’s cinema. He uses the motifs of popular cinema in the same way Premaratne does, but does not deploy them to the same ends: he deploys these motifs in order to subvert them. In the history of the Sinhala cinema I cannot think of another director who used this technique as effectively as he did. Certainly not Pathiraja, who didn’t subvert them as much as reject them (think of the ending in Para Dige, with hero and heroine literally along the road, unsure of what to do next though they have just married). Obeyesekere didn’t so much reconcile the popular and artistic aspects of his stories as to bring them together to emphasise their differences. In the final analysis, this may be his most recognisable achievement.

Note: I once asked Vasanthi Chathurani what happened to her character in “Para Dige.” “To tell you the truth,” she admitted, “even I don’t know.”

The writer is an international relations analyst, researcher, and columnist who can be reached at udakdev1@gmail.com

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Features

Digital transformation in the Global South

Published

19 hours ago

2026/02/24

Sahan Weerasooriya

AI Summit, India

Understanding Sri Lanka through the India AI Impact Summit 2026

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has rapidly moved from being a specialised technological field into a major social force that shapes economies, cultures, governance, and everyday human life. The India AI Impact Summit 2026, held in New Delhi, symbolised a significant moment for the Global South, especially South Asia, because it demonstrated that artificial intelligence is no longer limited to advanced Western economies but can also become a development tool for emerging societies. The summit gathered governments, researchers, technology companies, and international organisations to discuss how AI can support social welfare, public services, and economic growth. Its central message was that artificial intelligence should be human centred and socially useful. Instead of focusing only on powerful computing systems, the summit emphasised affordable technologies, open collaboration, and ethical responsibility so that ordinary citizens can benefit from digital transformation. For South Asia, where large populations live in rural areas and resources are unevenly distributed, this idea is particularly important.

People friendly AI

One of the most important concepts promoted at the summit was the idea of “people friendly AI.” This means that artificial intelligence should be accessible, understandable, and helpful in daily activities. In South Asia, language diversity and economic inequality often prevent people from using advanced technology. Therefore, systems designed for local languages, and smartphones, play a crucial role. When a farmer can speak to a digital assistant in Sinhala, Tamil, or Hindi and receive advice about weather patterns or crop diseases, technology becomes practical rather than distant. Similarly, voice based interfaces allow elderly people and individuals with limited literacy to use digital services. Affordable mobile based AI tools reduce the digital divide between urban and rural populations. As a result, artificial intelligence stops being an elite instrument and becomes a social assistant that supports ordinary life.

Transformation in education sector

The influence of this transformation is visible in education. AI based learning platforms can analyse student performance and provide personalised lessons. Instead of all students following the same pace, weaker learners receive additional practice while advanced learners explore deeper material. Teachers are able to focus on mentoring and explanation rather than repetitive instruction. In many South Asian societies, including Sri Lanka, education has long depended on memorisation and private tuition classes. AI tutoring systems could reduce educational inequality by giving rural students access to learning resources, similar to those available in cities. A student who struggles with mathematics, for example, can practice step by step exercises automatically generated according to individual mistakes. This reduces pressure, improves confidence, and gradually changes the educational culture from rote learning toward understanding and problem solving.

Healthcare is another area where AI is becoming people friendly. Many rural communities face shortages of doctors and medical facilities. AI-assisted diagnostic tools can analyse symptoms, or medical images, and provide early warnings about diseases. Patients can receive preliminary advice through mobile applications, which helps them decide whether hospital visits are necessary. This reduces overcrowding in hospitals and saves travel costs. Public health authorities can also analyse large datasets to monitor disease outbreaks and allocate resources efficiently. In this way, artificial intelligence supports not only individual patients but also the entire health system.

Agriculture, which remains a primary livelihood for millions in South Asia, is also undergoing transformation. Farmers traditionally rely on seasonal experience, but climate change has made weather patterns unpredictable. AI systems that analyse rainfall data, soil conditions, and satellite images can predict crop performance and recommend irrigation schedules. Early detection of plant diseases prevents large-scale crop losses. For a small farmer, accurate information can mean the difference between profit and debt. Thus, AI directly influences economic stability at the household level.

Employment and communication reshaped

Artificial intelligence is also reshaping employment and communication. Routine clerical and repetitive tasks are increasingly automated, while demand grows for digital skills, such as data management, programming, and online services. Many young people in South Asia are beginning to participate in remote work, freelancing, and digital entrepreneurship. AI translation tools allow communication across languages, enabling businesses to reach international customers. Knowledge becomes more accessible because information can be summarised, translated, and explained instantly. This leads to a broader sociological shift: authority moves from tradition and hierarchy toward information and analytical reasoning. Individuals rely more on data when making decisions about education, finance, and career planning.

Impact on Sri Lanka

The impact on Sri Lanka is especially significant because the country shares many social and economic conditions with India and often adopts regional technological innovations. Sri Lanka has already begun integrating artificial intelligence into education, agriculture, and public administration. In schools and universities, AI learning tools may reduce the heavy dependence on private tuition and help students in rural districts receive equal academic support. In agriculture, predictive analytics can help farmers manage climate variability, improving productivity and food security. In public administration, digital systems can speed up document processing, licensing, and public service delivery. Smart transportation systems may reduce congestion in urban areas, saving time and fuel.

Economic opportunities are also expanding. Sri Lanka’s service based economy and IT outsourcing sector can benefit from increased global demand for digital skills. AI-assisted software development, data annotation, and online service platforms can create new employment pathways, especially for educated youth. Small and medium entrepreneurs can use AI tools to design products, manage finances, and market services internationally at low cost. In tourism, personalised digital assistants and recommendation systems can improve visitor experiences and help small businesses connect with travellers directly.

Digital inequality

However, the integration of artificial intelligence also raises serious concerns. Digital inequality may widen if only educated urban populations gain access to technological skills. Some routine jobs may disappear, requiring workers to retrain. There are also risks of misinformation, surveillance, and misuse of personal data. Ethical regulation and transparency are, therefore, essential. Governments must develop policies that protect privacy, ensure accountability, and encourage responsible innovation. Public awareness and digital literacy programmes are necessary so that citizens understand both the benefits and limitations of AI systems.

Beyond economics and services, AI is gradually influencing social relationships and cultural patterns. South Asian societies have traditionally relied on hierarchy and personal authority, but data-driven decision making changes this structure. Agricultural planning may depend on predictive models rather than ancestral practice, and educational evaluation may rely on learning analytics instead of examination rankings alone. This does not eliminate human judgment, but it alters its basis. Societies increasingly value analytical thinking, creativity, and adaptability. Educational systems must, therefore, move beyond memorisation toward critical thinking and interdisciplinary learning.

AI contribution to national development

In Sri Lanka, these changes may contribute to national development if implemented carefully. AI-supported financial monitoring can improve transparency and reduce corruption. Smart infrastructure systems can help manage transportation and urban planning. Communication technologies can support interaction among Sinhala, Tamil, and English speakers, promoting social inclusion in a multilingual society. Assistive technologies can improve accessibility for persons with disabilities, enabling broader participation in education and employment. These developments show that artificial intelligence is not merely a technological innovation but a social instrument capable of strengthening equality when guided by ethical policy.

Symbolic shift

Ultimately, the India AI Impact Summit 2026 represents a symbolic shift in the global technological landscape. It indicates that developing nations are beginning to shape the future of artificial intelligence according to their own social needs rather than passively importing technology. For South Asia and Sri Lanka, the challenge is not whether AI will arrive but how it will be used. If education systems prepare citizens, if governments establish responsible regulations, and if access remains inclusive, AI can become a partner in development rather than a source of inequality. The future will likely involve close collaboration between humans and intelligent systems, where machines assist decision making while human values guide outcomes. In this sense, artificial intelligence does not replace human society, but transforms it, offering Sri Lanka an opportunity to build a more knowledge based, efficient, and equitable social order in the decades ahead.

by Milinda Mayadunna

Features

Governance cannot be a postscript to economics

Published

19 hours ago

2026/02/24

Sahan Weerasooriya

Kristalina-Georgieva

The visit by IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva to Sri Lanka was widely described as a success for the government. She was fulsome in her praise of the country and its developmental potential. The grounds for this success and collaborative spirit go back to the inception of the agreement signed in March 2023 in the aftermath of Sri Lanka’s declaration of international bankruptcy. The IMF came in to fulfil its role as lender of last resort. The government of the day bit the bullet. It imposed unpopular policies on the people, most notably significant tax increases. At a moment when the country had run out of foreign exchange, defaulted on its debt, and faced shortages of fuel, medicine and food, the IMF programme restored a measure of confidence both within the country and internationally.

Since 1965 Sri Lanka has entered into agreements with the IMF on 16 occasions none of which were taken to their full term. The present agreement is the 17^th agreement . IMF agreements have traditionally been focused on economic restructuring. Invariably the terms of agreement have been harsh on the people, with priority being given to ensure the debtor country pays its loans back to the IMF. Fiscal consolidation, tax increases, subsidy reductions and structural reforms have been the recurring features. The social and political costs have often been high. Governments have lost popularity and sometimes fallen before programmes were completed. The IMF has learned from experience across the world that macroeconomic reform without social protection can generate backlash, instability and policy reversals.

The experience of countries such as Greece, Ireland and Portugal in dealing with the IMF during the eurozone crisis demonstrated the political and social costs of austerity, even though those economies later stabilised and returned to growth. The evolution of IMF policies has ensured that there are two special features in the present agreement. The first is that the IMF has included a safety net of social welfare spending to mitigate the impact of the austerity measures on the poorest sections of the population. No country can hope to grow at 7 or 8 percent per annum when a third of its people are struggling to survive. Poverty alleviation measures in the Aswesuma programme, developed with the agreement of the IMF, are key to mitigating the worst impacts of the rising cost of living and limited opportunities for employment.

Governance Included

The second important feature of the IMF agreement is the inclusion of governance criteria to be implemented alongside the economic reforms. It goes to the heart of why Sri Lanka has had to return to the IMF repeatedly. Economic mismanagement did not take place in a vacuum. It was enabled by weak institutions, politicised decision making, non-transparent procurement, and the erosion of checks and balances. In its economic reform process, the IMF has included an assessment of governance related issues to accompany the economic restructuring process. At the top of this list is tackling the problem of corruption by means of publicising contracts, ensuring open solicitation of tenders, and strengthening financial accountability mechanisms.

The IMF also encouraged a civil society diagnostic study and engaged with civil society organisations regularly. The civil society analysis of governance issues which was promoted by Verite Research and facilitated by Transparency International was wider in scope than those identified in the IMF’s own diagnostic. It pointed to systemic weaknesses that go beyond narrow fiscal concerns. The civil society diagnostic study included issues of social justice such as the inequitable impact of targeting EPF and ETF funds of workers for restructuring and the need to repeal abuse prone laws such as the Prevention of Terrorism Act and the Online Safety Act. When workers see their retirement savings restructured without adequate consultation, confidence in policy making erodes. When laws are perceived to be instruments of arbitrary power, social cohesion weakens.

During a meeting between the IMF Managing Director Georgeiva and civil society members last week, there was discussion on the implementation of those governance measures in which she spoke in a manner that was not alien to the civil society representatives. Significantly, the civil society diagnostic report also referred to the ethnic conflict and the breakdown of interethnic relations that led to three decades of deadly war, causing severe economic losses to the country. This was also discussed at the meeting. Governance is not only about accounting standards and procurement rules. It is about social justice, equality before the law, and political representation. On this issue the government has more to do. Ethnic and religious minorities find themselves inadequately represented in high level government committees. The provincial council system that ensured ethnic and minority representation at the provincial level continues to be in abeyance.

Beyond IMF

The significance of addressing governance issues is not only relevant to the IMF agreement. It is also important in accessing tariff concessions from the European Union. The GSP Plus tariff concession given by the EU enables Sri Lankan exports to be sold at lower prices and win markets in Europe. For an export dependent economy, this is critical. Loss of such concessions would directly affect employment in key sectors such as apparel. The government needs to address longstanding EU concerns about the protection of human rights and labour rights in the country. The EU has, for several years, linked the continuation of GSP Plus to compliance with international conventions. This includes the condition that the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) be brought into line with international standards. The government’s alternative in the form of the draft Protection of the State from Terrorism Act (PTSA) is less abusive on paper but is wider in scope and retains the core features of the PTA.

Governance and social justice factors cannot be ignored or downplayed in the pursuit of economic development. If Sri Lanka is to break out of its cycle of crisis and bailout, it must internalise the fact that good governance which promotes social justice and more fairly distributes the costs and fruits of development is the foundation on which durable economic growth is built. Without it, stabilisation will remain fragile, poverty will remain high, and the promise of 7 to 8 percent growth will remain elusive. The implementation of governance reforms will also have a positive effect through the creative mechanism of governance linked bonds, an innovation of the present IMF agreement.

The Sri Lankan think tank Verité Research played an important role in the development of governance linked bonds. They reduce the rate of interest payable by the government on outstanding debt on the basis that better governance leads to a reduction in risk for those who have lent their money to Sri Lanka. This is a direct financial reward for governance reform. The present IMF programme offers an opportunity not only to stabilise the economy but to strengthen the institutions that underpin it. That opportunity needs to be taken. Without it, the country cannot attract investment, expand exports and move towards shared prosperity and to a 7-8 percent growth rate that can lift the country out of its debt trap.

by Jehan Perera

Features

MISTER Band … in the spotlight

Published

19 hours ago

2026/02/24

Sahan Weerasooriya

MISTER Band: For the past four consecutive years, they have performed overseas, during New Year’s Eve

It’s a good sign, indeed, for the local scene, to see artistes, who have not been very much in the limelight, now making their presence felt, in a big way, and I’m glad to give them the publicity they deserve.

On 10th February we had Yellow Beatz in the spotlight and this week it’s MISTER Band.

This outfit is certainly not new to our scene; they have been around since 2012, under the leadership of Sithum Waidyarathne.

The seven energetic members who make up MISTER Band are:

Sithum Waidyarathne (leader/founder/saxophonist/guitarist and vocalist), Rangana Seram (bass guitarist), Vihanga Liyanage (vocalist), Ridmi Dissanayake (female vocalist), Nuwan Cristo (keyboardist/vocalist), Kasun Thennakoon (lead guitarist), and Nuwan Madushanka (drummer).

According to Sithum, their vision is to provide high quality entertainmen to those who engage their services.

“Thanks to our engaging performances and growing popularity, MISTER Band continues to be in high demand … at weddings, corporate events and dinner dances,” said Sithum.

They predominantly cover English and Sinhala music, as well as the most popular genres.

And the reviews that come their way, after a performance, are excellent, they say, and this is one of the bouquets they received:

It was a pleasure to have you at our wedding. Being avid music fans we wanted the best music, not just a big named band, and you guys acceded that expectations. Big thanks to Sithum for being very supportive, attentive and generous.

: Sithum Waidyarathne: Band leader and founder

: Ridmi Dissanayake: MISTER Band’s female vocalist

The best thing is the post feedback from all the guests. Normally we get mixed reviews but the whole crowd was impressed by you.

MISTER Band was one of our best choices for our wedding.

What is interesting is that for the past four consecutive years, this outfit has performed overseas, during New Year’s Eve, thereby taking their music to the international stage, as well.

The band has also produced a collection of original songs, with around six original tracks composed by the band leader, Sithum Waidyarathne, including ‘Suraganak Dutuwa,’ ‘Landuni,’ ‘Dili Dili Payana,’ ‘Hada Wedana,’ and ‘Nil Kandu Athare.’

Two more songs are set to be released this month: ‘Hitha Norida’ and ‘Premaye Hanguman.’

In addition to their original music, they have also created a strong online presence by performing and uploading over 50 cover songs and medleys to YouTube.

“We’re now planning to connect with an even wider audience by releasing more cover content very soon,” said Sithum, adding that they are also very active on social media, under the name Mister Band Official – on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok.