Miyuri Samarasinghe

The legends of Ceylon's first king and his yaksha clan queen.

Susila lives in a small village with her mother and two brothers. Growing up facing the bitterest realities of life, her coming of age is delayed. But once it happens, she instantaneously attracts the attention of the young men in the village leading to conflict.

The story revolves around a young theatre group acting out the life and times of Ehelepola and Sri Wickrama Rajasingha.

Set during the British colonial reign in Sri Lanka (1905), this powerful drama follows Peduru who descends from a line of traditional drummers, crossing over to three generations. Peduru's struggle for survival in this harsh rural hamlet exposes the repressive Buddhist institutionalization of the locals, and the hierarchical structure backed by the British colonials.

This psychological drama attempts to dwell into the mind of Aravinda, whose Buddhist empathy and detachment are contrasted with his worldly friends and relatives. The English translation of the title, "The Way of the Lotus" implies Aravinda as Lotus-rising above dirt and mud to blossom.

Kannagi (Pooja) born in the Chola kingdom, one of the three kingdoms in South India around 1,500 years ago, is happily married to Kovalan (Uddika), a millionaire. Kovalan attends the crowning ceremony of the Chola dancing queen, Princess Madhavi (Aruni). Pleased with he performance the king wants Madhavi to indicate whom she would pick to become her husband from among the wealthy male guests present. She selects Kovalan. Spellbound by Madhavi's beauty and her dancing skills, Kovalan too likes Madhavi. The happy marriage crashes. Kovalan spends all his wealth on Madhavi. Broken-hearted, the weeping Kannagi bears up the agony.

Maruthaya is a very honest, daring, and dramtic exposure of the traumatic experiences of an honest politicain and his family. Director Vasantha Obeysekera’s frank and sensitive handling of an age old topic, conveys a clear message that in politics, honesty is not always the best policy! And politicians are losers everytime! Maruthaya highlights the tragic plight of a politician’s family, which had tasted all the perks of power when the going was good, and the shattering experience of being faced with defeat at the elections, and all the evil that comes with it in Sri Lanka.