Director laments over politicisation of State TV
Outspoken film and teledrama director Bermin Lylie Fernando, who returned to cinema with ‘Aga Pipi Mal’ after a long silence complained that the teledrama industry became one of the worst victims of politicisation of state television. Speaking to the TV Times this experinced director said at certain instances politicians and authorities had to be given bribes both financial and sexual to telecast a teledrama in state televisions. Although things have changed for the better under the new government, he still feels that the teledrama directors continue to suffer and face injustices.
Starting as early as 1969, Bermin was one of the first students of GDL Perera’s ‘Kala Pela’ which produced a large number of filmmakers actors and actresses like Nilanthi Peiris, Denawaka Hamine and Leoni Kotelawela. He made his first short film ‘Sanathana Getuma’ in which Douglas Ranasinghe played the lead role. This followed a number of films including ‘Walampuri’ (1981) and ‘Situwarayakuge Kathawa’ (1982) a documentary film on a businessman Charles Henry de Soysa.
Mainly due to constant power failure and advancing and changing of show times in cinemas “Walampuri” did not become a commercial success as expected. “I decided to give up cinema and started making teledramas in 1989” said Bermin describing his entry to television.
Since then Bermin has made 46 teledrama becoming one of the director who had made large number of teledramas. His teledramas became hits and for Sri Lanka Rupavahini Corporation along he had produced 16 teledramas.
“There was a time when all five channels telecast my teledramas,” Bermin said in a contended note. He produced some of the ever popular teledrama like ‘Ganga saha Nissanka’, ‘Sura Asura’, ‘Guru Geethaya’, ‘Sanda Maddahana’, ‘Kula Kumariya’ and ‘Bodima’ an unforgettable comedy teledramas ever made in Sri Lanka.
But lately Bermin was disappointed that the teledrama industry was manipulated by politicians and political appointed authorities specially in the state television stations.
“There was a relative of a minister who was involved in this. May be the higher up in the political system in the previous government would not have been aware about this. But it did happen,” Bermin charged.
The director said due to his political standpoint he was continually harassed during the previous government and teledramas he directed were telecast without his title. “Producers who had spent on teledramas begged that the teledramas I have directed be telecast with somebody else’s directorial title. I had no option but to say yes as the producers were finding it difficult to get back their money,” the director complained.
“My two teledramas ‘Sandatharu’ and ‘Akunu Sera’ were telecast in Rupavahini without my name being mentioned. However now ‘Akunu Sera’ is being telecast on Siyatha TV with my title” Bermin spoke about the tragedy that befell the teledrama industry.
“Once one of my teledramas ‘Wasanthaya Nimaviya’ was stopped after four episodes were telecast. This was after having been realised by then authorities in a state television channel that it was directed by me,” Bermin said.
However Bermin is not satisfied with regard to what the new government had done for teledrama industry. “On January 25 last year I threatened a self immolation in front of Rupavahini Corporation. This was mainly because of the injustices that had been taking place.” With regard to another teledrama I had to complain to the Human Rights Commission.
A teledrama was not telecast in a state television just because Ranjan Ramanayake the actor-turned-politician was playing a role there, he said.
“But the tragedy is that we cannot telecast that teledrama even now,”
“ We don’t have to give bribes to officials to telecast teledramas in state television but there are still problems in the system” Bermin lamented.