Swarna Mallawarachchi was Vijaya Kumaranatunga’s first on-screen partner, starring alongside him in his debut film, Hantane Kathawa. Because of this, she was often referred to as Vijaya’s first girlfriend. Before his tragic murder, Swarna acted with him in several films, including Kedapataka Chhaya.
What stands out, however, is that she never showed an interest in making a film about Vijay’s murder. She never promised his wife, Chandrika, or his mother that she would bring his story to the screen. This is especially surprising considering that Swarna spoke of her dream to make a film about the murder of Richard de Zoysa, an actor who appeared in only a handful of films and teledramas. She even had assured Richard’s mother that she would tell his story—yet made no such commitment for Vijaya.
The following is a story shared by a veteran artist in Sri Lanka who wishes to remain anonymous. He did not share this story without reason—he had a deep understanding of the political context surrounding the Richard de Zoysa film. It was no coincidence that JVP leaders eagerly lined up to watch Rani, a film depicting the death of Richard de Zoysa. They recognized the political advantage it offered them.
Before the wave of films that portrayed the JVP in a favourable light, a series of teledramas with a similar agenda had already emerged during Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga’s government. This trend began when Mangala Samaraweera served as Minister of Media. At the time, Chandrika and Mangala used these productions to criticize the UNP and highlight the violence of the JR-Premadasa administration.
These teledramas conveyed the narrative that the JVP was not responsible for acts of terror but was instead a victim of UNP brutality. Mangala facilitated the airing of these productions on both state-run television networks, providing a significant platform for the JVP to reshape its image. The party fully capitalized on this opportunity.
The wave of JVP films began with the film ‘Ginnen Uppan Seethala’ starring Kamal Addaraarachchi, based on the character of Wijeweera. This was followed by the film ‘Rahas Kiana Kadhu’ starring JVP MP Jagath Manuwarna. The latest film is the film ‘Rani’, which came out after the JVP seized power. The strategy used by the JVP to win the sympathy of the people through teledramas and films is very successful.
The UNP and Samagi Jana Balawegaya, which is known for its ‘South & South’ slogan, lack such strategies. Otherwise, films should have been made about the murder of Vijaya, the murder of Sagarika Gomes, and the murder of Tevis Guruge before the murder of Richard.
Sagarika Gomes is an up-and-coming singer. Her songs were extremely popular during the Premadasa government. She worked at the Rupavahini Corporation. The JVP issued an ultimatum to Rupavahini, ITN TV stations and radio broadcasting services, saying that the presenters of these institutions would be considered traitors and killed if they reported the news. At this time, Richard de Soyza was also an English news presenter on Rupavahini. Richard stopped reporting the news, respecting the JVP order. A close friend of Richard de Soyza, Rajeewa Weerasinghe, said that he told other news presenters to do the same. This is part of the story he told the media after the screening of the film ‘Rani’.
‘When the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) asked him to stop reporting the news, Richard stopped reporting the news. That is why many people said that he was a JVP member. Someone came to me and told me that he had told his close colleagues not to report the news. I asked Richard about it. He said that he had told them to be a little careful. Some said that he tried to stop these programs on JVP request..’
‘Aruna’ Newspaper
2025.02.09
According to Richard’s friend, Richard had told the news anchors on the TV to obey the JVP’s orders. Somehow, the news anchors eventually stopped reporting the news on TV due to fear of death. Under the influence of the Rupavahini chairman, Sagarika Gomes, a popular singer working at Rupavahini at the time, came forward to report the news on TV. For this reason, the JVP killed her. Not only she, but also the chairman of Independent TV, Thevis Guruge, and the famous lyricist and announcer Premakeerthi de Alwis, who did not obey the JVP’s threats and orders, were also killed by the JVP.
The killing of Richard, by the Premadasa government, who had obeyed the order issued by the JVP not to report the news and told other announcers to obey that order, is a brutal act. Similarly, the JVP’s killing of Sagarika Gomes, who read the news without obeying the JVP’s orders or the influence of Richard de Zoysa, is also a brutal act.
The problem of Sri Lankan artists is that Richard de Zoysa is being treated as a hero and Sagarika Gomes is not being treated as such. The reason for this is that most of Sri Lankan artists are supporters of the leftist JVP ideology. The director who directed ‘Rani’ says that he collapsed when Wijeweera was killed.
In that sense, ‘Rani’ is a political film. ‘Rani’ is produced by Subaskaran Aliraja, the owner of Lyca Mobile, who is accused of money laundering and is trying to strengthen his business network by leaning on governments. It is not known whether the film ‘Rani’ is a stepping stone for him to lean on the JVP government.
The left bank knows how to get any task done even by using the devil. The South Bank does not know this. The South Bank had one leader who did that. That was Ranasinghe Premadasa. He carried the Southern opinion into the country through cinema giants like Gamini Fonseka, Malani Fonseka, Joe Abeywickrama, Ravindra Randeniya, Sanath Gunathilaka, novelists and playwrights like Simon Nawagaththegama, and singers like Jothipala and Latha.
If not for Premadasa, Gamini Fonseka would never have made the film ‘Sagarayam Meda’. Premadasa brought Gamini and Sanath into politics. D.S., Dudley, Sir John, and J.R. were English-speaking leaders who wore tie coats in Colombo’s Cinnamon Garden, so they were not strategic in carrying the Southern opinion among the people. They had connections with English-speaking artists in Colombo. Premadasa turned popular Sinhala artists into representatives of southern opinion. Like Premadasa, Gamini Dissanayake did this strategically through the Mahaweli.
Films with political themes began in the distant past. These films gradually evolved in delivering political messages. ‘kawda Raja’ , and ‘Thilaka & Thilakka’ based on T.B. Illangaratne’s book are such films. The first film to be produced and screened with a political message was ‘Sagarayak Meda,’ which the UNP government took full advantage of.
After the Premadasa and Gamini, there are no leaders who can bring the views of the South to the country through art. Vijaya is the most popular actor in Sri Lanka. His wife Chandrika did not even try to make a film about that murder when she was the President. If Vijaya had been killed by the U.N.P., artists in Sri Lanka would have scrambled to make films about Vijaya’s murder, not her. Unfortunately, it was the leftist JVP who killed Vijaya.
