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SL artistes stage Adishtana Pooja against TN counterparts
View(s):By Sonja Candappa
Well-known faces in the local film and television industry were seen at an ‘Adishtana Pooja’ held this week at Independence Square, expressing their displeasure over protests by fellow Tamil Nadu actors. The peaceful gathering named ‘Enna Avith Sathya Dakinna’ was organised by the Sri Lanka National Association of Artistes.
Veteran actor Ravindra Randeniya invited the Tamil Nadu actors to come and see the situation for themselves, before staging any anti-Sri Lanka propaganda. Jaffna-born actress Ranjani Rajmohan said that, even though life was very hard in the North during the 30-year-old war, it is not so now. “I went to Jaffna a couple of weeks ago, the situation there is pretty good now, I don’t see any reason for them (the South Indians) to make such a big issue out of this” she said.
This pooja was organised after leading actors from the Tamil film industry, including superstar Rajinikanth, Kamal Haasan, Sarath Kumar, Sivakumar, Ajith Kumar, Suriya, Sathiyaraj, Dhanush, ‘Jeyam’ Ravi, Nalini, Urvashi participated in a day-long fast in Chennai, demanding a probe into alleged wartime abuses by Sri Lanka.
Earlier this week, Ravana Balaya, a Buddhist nationalist group, staged a protest, demanding a halt to the screening of Tamil films in Sri Lanka. However, the local film stars were not in favour of Ravana Balaya’s proposal. Ravana Balaya members gathered outside the Public Performance Board (PPB) and theatres to press for a ban on Tamil movies from South India.
Actor Ravindra Randeniya stated this was a simple attempt to divide the country again, adding that South Indian films were the main entertainment for local Tamils as well as the Sinhalese. “We cannot deprive them of their right to enjoy films; it will affect the reconciliation process. It will be like saying that they are not even allowed to watch a movie in their mother tongue,” he said.
Meanwhile PPB Chairman Gamini Sumanasekera had said that the Board was powerless in the matter, and that. it was the decision of the National Film Corporation and the Government.
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