Miyuri Samarasinghe

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

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.

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.

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.