Asoka Handagama
Contents
Background
Asoka Handagama is a Sri Lankan filmmaker, screenwriter and an actor.[1] He was born on 11 December 1962 in the Southern Sri Lanka[2] He obtained his school education at St. Mary’s College, Kegalle.[3][4] He holds a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics from the University of Kelaniya and a Post Graduate Diploma and a Masters in Quantitative Development Economics from the University of Warwick, UK.[5]
Positions held
According to the website of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL), Handagama served there for 26 years in several departments, including Statistics, Banking Development, Secretariat, Communications, Training and Development, and Regional Development. He was the Director of the Regional Development Department, from 18th June 2016 until his early retirement in 2020. He has worked as an active member of the Working Group of National Small Enterprises Development (SME) Policy Framework. Handagama also represented CBSL as a member of the Organisation for National Unity and Reconciliation under the Presidential Secretariat of Maithripala Sirisena and the Sub- Committee on Economic Affairs under the Prime Minister's Office of Ranil Wickremasinghe.[5][6][7][8] Asoka Handagama began his creative career through theatre and television. He has received national and international awards for his work in stage plays, tele-dramas, and films.[9][10]
Asoka Handagama has directed a number of films that depicted numerous scenes of cigarette smoking and alcohol consumption. The following table presents details of his productions including such scenes.
Table 1: Films in which Asoka Handagama promoted tobacco smoking and alcohol use[12]
| Year | Name of production | Role of Asoka Handagama | Producer | Portrayed tobacco use | Portrayed alcohol use |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | තනි තටුවෙන් පියාඹන්න (Thani Thatuwen Piyabanna) | Director, writer | Upul Shantha Sannasgala | The lead female role portrayed smoking in many scenes and other male supporting characters also portrayed smoking | No |
| 2005 | අක්ෂරය (A Letter of Fire) | Director, writer | Iranthi Abeyasinghe and Laurent Aleonard | One of the main male characters portrayed smoking | No |
| 2012 | Ini Avan (Him, Here, After) | Director, writer | co-produced by Anura Fernando, Jagath Wellavaththa, Ravindra Pieris and Iranthi Abeyasinghe | No | One of a main male character portrayed alcohol use |
| 2020 | ඇල්කොහොල් නැති බියර් Beer without Alcohol (short film) | Director, writer | _ | No | All the characters in this short film portrayed alcohol use |
| 2021 | Alborada | Director, writer | Nimal Wijesiri, Kumuduni Dias Haputhanthri, Chandu Haputhanthri, Chandri Haputhanthri, Iranthi Abeyasinghe | The main male character and some other supporting characters portrayed smoking | The main male character and some other supporting characters portrayed alcohol use |
| 2025 | රානී (Rani) | Director | Subaskaran Allirajah, Trilan Shastri for Lyca Productions | The lead role was portrayed by a woman with numerous smoking scenes and other supporting characters also depicted smoking | The woman lead role portrayed numerous scenes of alcohol use and other supporting characters also depicted alcohol use |
Gallery
- Gallery
Image 2: Excerpt from ‘තනි තටුවෙන් පියාඹන්න (Thani Thatuwen Piyabanna)’ film[13]
Image 3: Excerpt from ‘තනි තටුවෙන් පියාඹන්න (Thani Thatuwen Piyabanna)’ film[13]
Image 4: Excerpt from ‘තනි තටුවෙන් පියාඹන්න (Thani Thatuwen Piyabanna)’ film[13]
Image 5: Excerpt from ‘තනි තටුවෙන් පියාඹන්න (Thani Thatuwen Piyabanna)’ film[13]
Image 6: Excerpt from ‘අක්ෂරය (Aksharaya)’ film[14]
Image 7: Excerpt from ‘අක්ෂරය (Aksharaya)’ film[15]
Image 8: Excerpt from ‘Ini Avan (Him, Here, After)’ film[16]
Image 9: Excerpt from ‘ඇල්කොහොල් නැති බියර් (Beer without Alcohol)’ short film[17]
Image 10: Excerpt from ‘ඇල්කොහොල් නැති බියර් (Beer without Alcohol)’ short film[18]
Image 11: Excerpt from ‘ඇල්කොහොල් නැති බියර් (Beer without Alcohol)’ short film[19]
Image 12: Excerpt from Alborada Official Trailer[20]
Image 13: Excerpt from Alborada Official Trailer[21]
Image 14: Excerpt from RANI film trailer[22]
Image 15: Excerpt from RANI film trailer[23]
Image 16: Excerpt from RANI film trailer[24]
Image 17: Excerpt from RANI film trailer[25]
Response of Asoka Handagama to allegations of liaising with the industry to promote tobacco
In an interview with The Sunday Times (a national newspaper in Sri Lanka), Asoka Handagama once refuted claims that his movies promote the idea of “women smoking”.[26] In addition, he publicly criticised these government regulations on tobacco and alcohol promotion in movies during an interview with Young Asia Television[27]
Implications
Multiple research studies have shown that exposure to portrayal of tobacco products or their use in television and in movies is associated with initiation of smoking among viewers, especially among adolescents and youth, and also with sustenance of smoking among current smokers.[28] A large body of evidence suggests that tobacco industry is known to have commissioned celebrities to promote tobacco and related products in media and through entertainment activities[29]
National Authority on Tobacco and Alcohol (NATA) Act No 27 of 2006 is the main legal framework for tobacco and alcohol control in Sri Lanka. Section 35 of the NATA Act prohibits tobacco and alcohol advertisements and promotion in media including ‘the internet’. NATA Act defines tobacco advertisements as, “any writing, still or moving picture, sign, symbol or distinctive colours or other visual image or any audible message or any combination of the aforesaid that promotes or is intended to promote – smoking, the purchase or use of a tobacco product, a trade mark registered in respect of a tobacco product or articles that include tobacco products, a brand name associated with a tobacco product, the name of the manufacturer of a tobacco product.” It is clear that portrayal of tobacco products and their use has a negative effect on tobacco control measures in the country while violating the NATA Act.
TobaccoUnmasked Resources
The local language translations
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Notes
- ↑ MUBI. Asoka Handagama, undated, accessed February 2025
- ↑ Royal Taprobanian. මං ඒකිට හෙර ලියුම් 5000ක් ලිව්වා -අශෝක හඳගම, Youtube, 16 September 2024, accessed February 2025
- ↑ Wikipedia.org. St. Mary's College, Kegalle, 1 December 2024, accessed February 2025
- ↑ Asoka Handagama. Asoka Handagama, Facebook, undated, accessed February 2025
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 cbsl.gov.lk. Appointment of New Assistant Governors, 4 May 2016, accessed February 2025
- ↑ A. Kodagoda. Asoka Handagama: Navigating life’s twists and unveiling artistic resilience, Sunday Observer, 18 June2023, accessed February 2025
- ↑ onur.gov.lk. Office for the National Unity and Reconciliation,2023, accessed February 2025
- ↑ Wikipedia.org. Ranil Wickremesinghe, 21 March 2025, accessed February 2025
- ↑ lankainformation.lk. අශෝක හදගම, undated, accessed February 2025
- ↑ imdb.com. Asoka Handagama Awards, undated, accessed February 2025
- ↑ The Sunday Times. Handagama highlighted among Masters, 24 April 2016, accessed February 2025
- ↑ imdb.com, Asoka Handagama, undated, accessed February 2025
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 13.3 CineRoo, Thani Thatuwen Piyambanna (2002) - Part 01 | Sinhala Movie | Flying with One Wing | English Subtitles, Dailymotion,14 September 2021, accessed February 2025
- ↑ sugawasa. Aksharaya film 05, Youtube,10 September 2007, accessed February 2025
- ↑ sugawasa. Aksharaya film 05, Youtube,10 September 2007, accessed February 2025
- ↑ iniavanfilm. Ini Avan | Iniyawan TV Promo_Tamil_01, Youtube,9 December 2012, accessed February 2025
- ↑ Rukmal Nirosh. Beer without Alcohol, Youtube,10 May 2020, accessed February 2025
- ↑ Rukmal Nirosh. Beer without Alcohol, Youtube,10 May 2020, accessed February 2025
- ↑ Rukmal Nirosh. Beer without Alcohol, Youtube,10 May 2020, accessed February 2025
- ↑ Sarasavi Ciner. Alborada Official Trailer (2021), Youtube,27 September 2021, accessed February 2025
- ↑ Sarasavi Ciner. Alborada Official Trailer (2021), Youtube,27 September 2021, accessed February 2025
- ↑ Asoka Handagama. RANI film trailer, Youtube,22 November 2024, accessed February 2025
- ↑ Asoka Handagama. RANI film trailer, Youtube,22 November 2024, accessed February 2025
- ↑ Asoka Handagama. RANI film trailer, Youtube,22 November 2024, accessed February 2025
- ↑ Asoka Handagama. RANI film trailer, Youtube,22 November 2024, accessed February 2025
- ↑ R.Warnasuriya, P. Ranawaka. Lured by the fag, Sunday Times, 2001, accessed February 2025
- ↑ Chaminda Weerawardhana. Freedom to create, censorship and the future of Sri Lankan cinema: an anecdote, Growndviews, 7/1/2010, accessed February 2025
- ↑ M. Bennett, C.H. Elizabeth, M. Liu, L. Pitzer, J.M. Rath, D.M. Vallone, Exposure to tobacco content in episodic programs and tobacco and E-cigarette initiation. [1], Preventive Medicine, October 2020, accessed February 2025
- ↑ A.Charlesworth, S.A.Glantz, Tobacco and the Movie Industry. [2], Clin Occup Environ Med, 2006, accessed February 2025
