Sinhala Movie "Father" Accused of Violating the NATA Act

From TobaccoUnmasked

Summary

  • "Father" is a Sinhala movie released in 2026 that is accused of violating the National Authority on Tobacco and Alcohol (NATA) Act.
  • Directed by Chaminda Jayasuriya, the movie portrayed repeated instances of smoking and alcohol use by many of the supporting actors.

Background

The Sinhala movie ’’’Father: The Judgement is Inconclusive’’’, released on 9 January 2026, was directed by Chaminda Jayasuriya and produced by Dr. Shantha Geethadeva for Emika Productions.[1][2] This was Chaminda Jayasuriya’s first movie and he also is an actor and a journalist.[3]

The storyline is based on a series of real-life events that occurred between 1976 and 1991. It portrays the life of a young man named Osmond Gunasekara, whose life becomes entangled with political violence, criminal networks, and family tragedy during a turbulent period in Sri Lanka’s history. In the movie, the main character is named ‘Desmond’.[4][5]

The cast included Poojana Dandeniya, Saumya Liyanage, Bimal Jayakody, Dilhani Ekanayake, Anushki Premachandra, Jagath Manuwarna, Shyam Fernando, Chandani Seneviratne, Sarath Kothalawala, Sanath Wimalasiri, Suraj Mapa, Anjana Premaratne, and Xavier Kanishka.[6]

Direct and Indirect Promotions of Tobacco Smoking in The Movie

The promotional flyers and posters of the movie distributed via social media featured supporting actors Bimal Jayakody and Jagath Manuwarna depicting tobacco smoking. Gallery:

  • Gallery

  • Image 1 : Father movie flyer from Father - ෆාදර් Sinhala Movie Facebook page [7]

  • Image 2 : Father movie flyer celebrating 75 days on screen from and cover image of Father - ෆාදර් Sinhala Movie Facebook page[8]

This movie contained multiple scenes depicting tobacco smoking by many of the supporting actors including Bimal Jayakody, Jagath Manuwarna, and Anjana Premaratne. Gallery: Bimal Jayakody depicting tobacco smoking in the movie.

  • Gallery

  • Image 3 : Screengrab from “’Father’’ movie trailer [9]

  • Image 4 : Screengrab from “Father’’ movie trailer [9]

Gallery: Jagath Manuwarna depicting tobacco smoking in the movie.

  • Gallery

  • Image 5 : Screengrab from “Father” movie trailer [9]

  • Image 6 : Screengrab from “Father” movie trailer [9]

  • Image 7 : Screengrab from “Father” movie

Gallery: Anjana Premaratne depicting tobacco smoking in the movie.

  • Gallery

  • Image 8 : Screengrab from “Father” movie

  • Image 9 : Screengrab from “Father” movie

Direct and Indirect Promotions of Alcohol Use in The Movie

This movie contained multiple scenes depicting alcohol use by many of the supporting actors. Gallery:

  • Gallery

  • Image 10 : Screengrab from “Father” movie

  • Image 11 : Screengrab from “Father” movie

  • Image 12 : Screengrab from “Father” movie

  • Image 13 : Screengrab from “Father” movie

  • Image 14 : Screengrab from “Father” movie trailer [9]

  • Image 14 : Screengrab from “Father” movie trailer [9]

Complaints on Violating the National Authority on Tobacco and Alcohol (NATA) Act and Actions Taken

The Tobacco Unmasked Hotspots (TUHS) website received several reports on several scenes from this movie that promote tobacco and alcohol use. They have been forwarded to National Authority on Tobacco and Alcohol (NATA). The images shown on this page are from the reports received by the The Tobacco Unmasked Hotspots (TUHS) website.

Implications

Scientific evidence reveals that youth exposed to tobacco advertising and promotion hold positive attitudes towards tobacco use, increasing their risk of initiation and sustenance of the habit. Thus, Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) recommends complete ban on tobacco advertisements, promotion, and sponsorship. You can read more on our page FCTC Article 13: Tobacco Advertising, Promotion and Sponsorship.

National Authority on Tobacco and Alcohol (NATA) Act, the main legal framework on tobacco and alcohol, prohibits direct and indirect advertisements on tobacco and alcohol. According to the Article 35.1 of NATA Act: “A person shall not publish or cause to be published, or authorize the publication of, tobacco advertisement or an alcohol advertisement.”

According to the NATA Act, “tobacco advertisement” is “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.”

Tobacco Unmasked Resources

The local language translations

TobaccoUnmasked_Sinhala
TobaccoUnmasked_Tamil



Notes

  1. ↑ Sarasaviya. විනිශ්චය අවි- නිශ්චිතය !, 25 September 2025, accessed May 2026
  2. ↑ Mirrorarts.lk. ‘ෆාදර්’ චිත්‍රපටයට චරිත තේරුවේ වේදිකාවට මුල් තැන දීලා : සිනමා අධ්‍යක්ෂක චමින්ද ජයසූරිය, 22 August 2025, accessed May 2026
  3. ↑ SBS Australia. තරුෂි එක්ක තරු කතා: සත්‍ය සිදුවීමක් ඇසුරෙන් හදපු නිසා මේ චිත්‍රපටයට වැඩි බරක් තියෙනවා - චමින්ද ජයසූරිය, 2026, accessed May 2026
  4. ↑ Sarawita.lk. ගම්පහ ඔස්මන්ඩ්ගේ පැටිකිරිය එළියට, 1 January 2026, accessed May 2026
  5. ↑ Sarasaviya. Father චිත්‍රපටයේ නිල පෝස්ටරය එළිදකී, 31 July 2025, accessed May 2026
  6. ↑ Mirrorarts.lk. චමින්ද ජයසූරියගේ "Father - ෆාදර්” හැදුන හැටි!, 7 January 2025, accessed May 2026
  7. ↑ Father - ෆාදර් Sinhala Movie. Facebook, 24 Septamber 2025, accessed May 2026
  8. ↑ Father - ෆාදර් Sinhala Movie. Facebook, 25 March 2026, accessed May 2026
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 9.4 9.5 Father Sinhala Movie. Father ( ෆාදර් ) - Official Movie Trailer | Saumya | Poojana | Dilhani | Jagath, Youtube, 5 Septamber 2025, accessed May 2026
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