The holding of the Indian International Film Academy awards in Colombo over the past weekend was an important occasion for the government to project its message of peace and normalcy to an international audience. In a world that has become increasingly vulnerable to terrorism of different kinds, the hosting of this international event without any security glitch would strengthen the country’s position of being a safe haven for tourists. With Indian cinema being a worldwide phenomenon, and Bollywood rivaling Hollywood, the hosting of the event could be considered as a major diplomatic and political success for the government in projecting a positive image of the country.

President Mahinda Rajapaksa addressed a business forum organized jointly by the Indian and Sri Lankan Chambers of Commerce to coincide with the film awards. He used the opportunity to give his audience some facts and figures about the economy. Despite a measure of skepticism about the actual progress in the country over the past several years, the President pointed out that the country had posted a growth rate of over six percent over the past four years. The President also gave statistics that showed the level of unemployment to be 5.7 percent, which he said was one of the lowest in the world, and a per capita income that had doubled to USD 2000 over the past five years and promised a further doubling in the next four years.

It is not only the international audience who would have been dazzled by the glamour of the event and impressed by the magnitude of the President’s promise. There was extensive coverage of the arrival of the Indian celebrities and their movements and interviews were closely covered by the media. Most Sri Lankans are followers of Indian cinema and for them the fact that a galaxy of Indian superstars had descended upon Sri Lanka would have confirmed their own impressions of progress in the country. The tickets to most events were extraordinarily expensive, with cut rate offers amounting to Rs 25,000 which made them unaffordable to the average Sri Lankan citizen. This put attendance at the events out of popular range, but television brought it all home.

There will be questions asked whether the cost of the exercise was worth it when the government is finding it difficult to find enough funds to pay for its war-displaced citizens, and there will be other questions whether the future stream of economic returns will justify the cost. It is reported that the government spent several hundreds of millions of rupees on the IIFA event, to upgrade facilities and to advertise and organize the programmes. The national airline which is currently making phenomenal losses is reported to have given a large number of business class tickets free to the Indian participants as part of the incentive package to woo them to Sri Lanka. The government has justified the expenditures incurred on the programme by pointing to the gains that could accrue to the country through the boost to tourism and business opportunities.

CRITICISMS

The decision of the organizers of the IIFA to have the event in Sri Lanka was itself fraught with controversy, mostly in India. There was a high degree of political opposition in South India to the decision to have the awards ceremony in Sri Lanka. This was due to pro-Tamil activists criticizing the treatment of Tamils by the Sri Lankan government during the period of the war and its aftermath. The South Indian Film Chamber of Commerce, Film Employees Federation of South India, Tamil Nadu Theatre Owners Association and Tamil Nadu Producers Council are some of the associations that are reported to have opposed the holding of the event in Colombo and demanded its postponement and a venue change.

In addition, these associations have threatened to boycott the movies of the film stars who attended the IIFA in Colombo. Media reports indicate that some of the more prominent Indian celebrities finally decided not to visit Sri Lanka to attend the event on this account. There is also doubt as to why most of those Indian celebrities who did come to Sri Lanka failed to attend the mid-morning brunch hosted by President Rajapaksa. The President in turn failed to attend the gala prize distribution which he was billed to attend.

In these circumstances it is not surprising that the IIFA event would have its share of Sri Lankan critics. The Leader of the Opposition, Ranil Wickremesinghe has said he will be seeking answers from the government with regard to the actual financial outlays incurred by the government. He has argued that even the economic benefits from hosting the event in Colombo are doubtful because hotels were requested to offer concessionary terms to the visiting Indian celebrities. On the other hand, the government has taken the position that hosting the IIFA was in the nature of an economic investment that will yield a future stream of income due to an anticipated increase in the number of tourists and business investments from India.

CONTROVERSY

A criticism that is likely to be more controversial is the one leveled against the manner in which the IIFA was held. Opposition parliamentarian Rosy Senanayake, herself a former international celebrity, was critical of the lost opportunity to fully capitalize on the event due to opposition it generated within India. She said that the absence of the most famous of Indian celebrities showed the problem facing Sri Lanka which the government’s claim of peace and normalcy was glossing over. According to a news report Ms Senanayake said the absence of the legendary Amithabh Bachchan and other leading Indian filmstars at the IIFA ceremony in Colombo had indicated the seriousness of the problems confronting Sri Lanka. This view is not likely to be a popular view.

IoeHoweHohHt is not only the government that would hold to the position that there is today peace and normalcy in the country as a result of the end of the war and terrorism. Many of Sri Lanka’s own superstars and perhaps a substantial majority of people would also subscribe to the belief that the end of the war has restored peace and normalcy to the country. There is no doubt that the defeat of the LTTE and elimination of terrorism and war is a boon to the country. The problem is what has occurred after the end of the war, and the slow pace of change in improving the lives of the victims of the war or in addressing the causes of the war. As Ms Senanayake pointed out no one should be under an illusion that the end of the war meant that the causes for a three decade of conflict would simply vanish. The political problems of the Tamil people remain.

The government has been taking the position that the end of the war occurred only a little more than a year ago and that the effects of 30 years of war cannot be reversed in such a short period. At the same time the government asserts that it is rebuilding the war destroyed North and East and there is considerable publicity to that effect. But on the ground it is clear that the government does not have the resources required to cater to either the housing needs of the displaced in the last year of war, or to reconstruct the irrigation systems without which the people cannot resume their farming and agriculture-based lifestyles. After the Tsunami of December 2004 the country got a massive inflow of international assistance that went a long way to meet the people’s needs at that time. International aid on a similar scale is required today to reconstruct the North and East.

The presence of the Indian film stars in Sri Lanka could have been utilized to draw attention to the needs of the war affected people. Many of them might have been prepared to emulate Bollywood star Vivek Oberoi who was reported to visit Vavuniya in the North of the country to donate the cost of repair to a school in the area. The government could have made it known that a part of the funds raised through the IIFA would be utilized for the war affected people. It could also have arranged programmes of community service for the Indian celebrities in the war affected areas to obtain their support in India and internationally for more generous donations to uplift the lives of the war affected people. Such a programme might even have induced those Indian celebrities who stayed away due to opposition in India to come to Sri Lanka to participate in an event that went beyond the glamour and excitement of the celebrity stage to include a charitable cause.