A film on a horrible death sentence

• The Government of Sri Lanka (GoSL) is sceptical when a film is about to be released. This is because a film has the potential to expose the wrongdoings of a regime.  Most of the films released during the golden era of Sri Lanka cinema touched on some aspect of human life which was threatened or battered. 

These are times when the Sri Lankan cinema is making a resurgence. This is positive news for the cinema industry. After ‘Rani’, a film based on slain journalist Richard de Zoysa, we now get to know about a cinematic production by Chandran Rutnam. The latter (Rizana-A caged bird) is a film based on the slain Sri Lankan maid Rizana Nafeek. She was punished by the Saudi regime with death. She was sentenced to death after Saudi officials initiated a punishment on her for negligence as a housemaid, which led to the alleged death of a baby. The film, on Rizana’s life and times and untimely death, was launched recently in Colombo. It was stated at the launch that the film was made to give the late Rizana a voice and show that she hasn’t been forgotten. 

Films are powerful media tools that can be used to communicate ideas to the public. Both Rani and now ‘A Caged Bird’ nudge state authorities, who are in power. Critics opine that state authorities might have blundered in the run-up to the activities that brought anguish to the lives of Manorani and Rizana. As with Rizana’s case, there are questions raised in real life whether the Sri Lankan Government did all it could to get Rizana released from Saudi Arabia. 

Films are there to expose wrongdoers. They can also bring justice to grieving parties when the law fails to deliver a fair verdict. But this is also a time when the entire cinema industry in Sri Lanka is grieving for a fair distribution system. This distribution is about slots in cinema halls with regard to locally produced movies. Renowned film director Eranga Senaratne is quoted in the first quarterly publication for 2025 of the magazine titled ‘Cinema’, stating that he believes the new regime will intervene and establish a system where there will be an equal distribution of film slots for locally produced movies. Movies, like any other media tool, can highlight the injustice that’s happening in other industries, but is there anyone to expose the dark side of the Sri Lankan cinema? 

Critics point out that the private sector being involved in the distribution of films has caused an imbalance in the industry. There is another issue initiated by cinema hall owners that contributes to the frustration in the industry. Most cinema halls still opt to show a single film in all its daily slots during a selected time frame. It is in this backdrop that certain films receive the opportunity to jump the queue. 

The Government of Sri Lanka (GoSL) is sceptical when a film is about to be released. This is because a film has the potential to expose the wrongdoings of a regime.  Most of the films released during the golden era of Sri Lanka cinema touched on some aspect of human life which was threatened or battered. These films helped the public develop their power of reasoning. Also, importantly, these films often generated healthy public discourse. There was a time when there was an intellectual audience frequenting cinema halls. That was an audience which had the upbringing to ‘agree to disagree’ or accept the differing viewpoints of others. Another important fact was that the golden era of Sri Lankan cinema helped sustain the growing cinema industry on the island. 

Will the present regime accept opposing viewpoints that might be presented through films? The film ‘Rani’ was sensitive and affected certain families in this country. The film ‘Rizana-A Caged Bird’ might create some waves internationally because references are made to another country. And this is a country in the Middle East where Sri Lankan housemaids travel to and find employment. 

This is a country where so many death verdicts have been given. From the deaths during the times of the monarchs and to the killings during police raids, we have witnessed how lives have perished. Most of them were ‘horrible death sentences’. 

Sri Lanka awaits impatiently for the release of the movie ‘Rizana-A Caged Bird’.