He just couldn’t give up on filmmaking. His first four features flopped, but he kept on making them. One day his ‘not giving up’ nature rewarded him.  Today he is the record braking blockbuster producer in the Sri Lankan cinema.

Sunil T, is he just another businessman who only cares about his numbers and collections?

Nope. I m a person who have enjoyed, and enjoy my life to its fullest. What if I keep on collecting all the luxury and comforts in life and die tomorrow? Simpler the life is, easier it is to live. When doing business, I look for happiness more than money.

Yet the word around is that you have terrorized our industry…

I am a producer. I make films, I own theatres, I sell DVDs and import films too. They may be saying that because I’m the only person who does all of this. I’d love to see other people working like me you know. I’ll be even supporting them. So far, I have produced up to 65 films. Five more films are yet to be released. I have a target of making a century. As an entrepreneur films is just one segment in my career.

What other businesses do you own?

I own wine stores, restaurants, the ‘Ricky White House’ bungalow in Bolgoda and the ‘luxury apartments complex’ getting built up in Moratuwa.

Would you consider to keep on running them all as a ‘family business’ in future?

If my son Ricky had been alive, I would have kept my film business in the same way. However, there is nobody in the family to do films after me. My daughter has no interest in any of these. She wants to become a chef. I would only look out for her interests in the future.

If I ask what is the style of you doing business?

I prefer producing medium budget films. Ajasaththa and Thanha Rathi Ranga were made with heavy budgets. They both flopped though. 64 Mayam, my latest release to date did well at the boxoffice. In Sri Lanka it is always safer to invest in medium budget films.

So what is your management style then?

I always look out for my workers. I would always attend their weddings, funerals etc. Whatever said and done problems must reach me at the end. If workers have issues they must get them solved by their appropriate bosses. I’m one hundred percent active in all my businesses. Yet I remain at a distance without getting involved too much.

How could only you become successful in the country where people have lost their houses and other properties attempting to make films?

Even though I approached cinema with my father’s money, even though I was crazy into making films I had the perfect plan, perhaps my thought process was different to other people. Centralising film business, I invested in other enterprises too.

When 12 lakhs of people visited theatres to see my Ho Gana Pokuna, upto 8 lakhs of people purchased the film in DVD format. Only 3 lakhs have seen Sinhalaya in the theatres. Yet 4 lakhs bought the DVD. Eventhough my collections were poor with the theatrical releases, I still managed to cover that up by selling DVDs. For an average family of four to see a movie in a theatre it would cost about Rs. 2000. But a DVD costs only Rs. 120. I just look out for the urgency. That is my style.

Success is achieved only by people who take risks. Justify this with your story.

In the beginning I owned a casino. It drained out all my money. Had to shut it down. Perhaps I’m the only person in the world who have ended up in a loss running a casino. I went into trades which were out of my expertise level or interest just to make quick money. I was wrong. Another time I imported two containers of sugar and foreign onion into the country. Pirates attacked the ship that carried my goods before it reached the port. Somehow they landed up in the country, but not in good conditions. Oh dear! we had to feed the pigs with them at a pig farm near the port. That was another idiotic thing I wasted my money on. But the lessons I have learned making those mistakes, impeccable!

Your father must have crushed you to the ground?

Nope. My father used to take bigger risks than me all his life. If not I don’t think he would have pledged his house for a son like me who have sucked so much in his life to keep on making more films. One must lose to win.

What is the turning point in your life?

Ricky’s death. He was also a very good looking boy who looked exactly like his mother. I only had him for a son. He left us when he was nine. My wife was hoping that he would come back to life at his burial. I changed completely after his death.

What difference do we see in you now to then?

I felt that about 50 of my previous films had no meaning to them. I was on a fast track. I decided to slow down. Doni, Daruwane, Ho Gana Pokuna and Heena Hoyana Samanallu which is yet to be released were films I made afterwards. They were all children’s films. Not even that. I even started sponsoring 15 kids of Ricky’s age that time for their upbringing and education. Now they are learning GCSEs. If Ricky had been alive today, he would’ve been in the same year as them.

How was your childhood?

I was a smart boy. I had made numerous records in school as an athlete, as a cricketer and also in basketball. I studied Business Studies as my main subject for A Levels. I wanted to become like my father. Infact my elder brother and both the sisters, we all ended up becoming entrepreneurs in different trades.

Have you ever lacked luxury during your upbringing?

My father owns the Valentine Hotel & Bakery in Moratuwa. Even though my father was a rich man he made me and my brother always use public transport. Infact we used to cycle from school to home.

What is the greatest gift you have received from your parents?

Normally fathers say, ‘you must do this, you must not do that’; blah blah blah! to their children. But my father always gave me the right freedom and encouragement to achieve my goals. Knowing that I had massively failed in films he still ended up writing me the last piece of land he owned saying “son, go and  do what you gotta do and show us what you are capable of doing”. He always told me not to give up. My mother just kept giving us ample love. That much of love, you can never receive from anybody. She passed away when I was 21. She just left all of us without a reason. To live a good life, that is what I’ve learned from my mother.

What were your dreams and ambitions as a child?

I wanted to become a big rich man. Well, in the beginning I was fond of becoming a famous cricketer. But I gave up on that later.

Howcome?

For the first big match after opening the ‘Tiron Fernando Stadium’ in 1979, my name was also there in the list of players for my collage. After hearing that I was selected to the team, my father even organised a massive party for his mates. My brother turned up with many of his friends to cheer me up on the day.  Alas I went into find out that my name has been crossed off from the list of players. I was shocked. On top of that police came and arrested me on that day. False accusations. Somebody had informed the police that I have hired people to assault the captain of my own team for crossing off my name.

I heard that you went to a different school after?

Yes, my father made me go to a different collage. I wasn’t feeling good at all. As a student who have received the highest grades for GCSEs in my year and have started A Levels at St Sebastian College, I wasn’t feeling comfortable at all in my new school. I quit education.

‘How you rise again than how you drop’ is what’s important. Didn’t you feel like that?

Yeah I felt like that. It was my father’s 50th b’day party in a few days after leaving college. Suddenly my father brings all of us together and asks, “I’m retiring. What do you all wanna to do.” I go to him father, I want to make films. “Films??” – he gets shocked. Yes I want to make films. That’s what I am interested in doing. Somehow he agreed to it. Later he started making all necessary arrangements for me to get into the industry. It was altogether a different trade to him. I rose again with films.

What made you want to do films in the first place?

I have first seen a film alone at Manel Theatre when I was 12 years old. There were huge cues of people waiting to collect tickets. It was called Hondata Hondai. Since then I was addicted to see films in theatres and used to visit them quite often. Tower Cinema and Emess Cinema were a couple of them. One day at school, for cricket team’s welfare fund I was asked to come up with ideas to raise money. I go to the teacher, lets screen a film at the main hall for students, sell tickets and make money. With my father’s support I screened Siril Malli. Wow! the crowd, we were amazed. We made so much money that day. Then we screened Deviyani Oba Koheda. Fantastic revenue. On that day I made a decision.  This is what I am good at and this is what I’m gonna be doing for the rest of my life.

You said Emess Cinema.. Today you own It right?

Yeah. When I was 15 I went to see an adults film at Emess. The manager caught me and he kicked me out through the doors. When I took over Emess he still used to work there. I never fired him.

Trust and confidence. What is your take on these?

Before even I was 18 my father bought me the theatre in Polgasowita. “You never even studied properly, I’m sure you are going to waste all this too!” He never even thought like that. He always saw the beast within me and gave his complete support to bring it out. Eventhough he gifted me the theatre, he only lended me money to screen films. Digiri Menika, Deyiyange Rate and Chandali. I have purchased all three films for Rs. 60,000 that time. I made good profits out of them. Returned dad’s money in three months.

You grew coz of the cinema. If somebody says so?

I have made millions because of films. I have lost huge amounts because of films too. You know in the beginning female actors used me. Then some of the directors, and various other people associated with the film business.

Women, do they still take advantage of you?

I don’t think so. Now I know what they are after as soon as they approach me. Some maybe thinking that they have deceived me. I don’t really care, let them think what they’d  like to think.

What was your first film?

Madduma Bandara, I collaborated with my father on this. Even though I produced it my father was the main financier of the film. Director was a joker. Infact he cut Madduma Bandara’s head three time. I learned cinema properly with the mistakes I did in this film. My father gave up after a certain point, so I had to complete it on my own. By that time I had already started my next film Chandi Patau. Putuni Mata Sama Wenna and Ko Hathuro were done afterwards. Unfortunately they all flopped.

Without seeing a future in the business after making four flop films, why did you not give up?

Insanity! The only thing I wanted to do was making films. Like I said with the first four I learned a lot. I met Sonia Disa afterwards. We made arrangements to make films together. Sonia pledged her house. I pledged mine. With that money we produced Jaya Apatai. That film made outrageous collections.

Sonia, had she been the best business partner in your life so far?

I wouldn’t say that. We both learned a lot from each other. We produced 18 films together. In 1992 I started my own company Sunil T Films.

Talking of ethics, would you say you have always fed your consumer with appropriate and useful content?

In any career till you reach a certain level of success or achievement it is harder to always stick to principles. Many would deny this, but that is the reality. But at a certain stage you would understand things better. You would be more experienced and can make better judgements or decisions. Then you get the chance to leave what was or is not right. This is more of a moral truth which is common to everybody I guess. I’d say now I’m in my second phase.

How old are you now?

I’m 55 years old. But I’ve done the work of a 80 year old man. I’ve created job opportunities for about 500 people in the country. Whatever has to be done as a man, I’ve done them all.

Anything left behind?

Only Ricky. When he was nine he made me an email address. Later he was hoping to make me a website too. He was good with all these computers and technical stuff. That was in 2010. He used to read a lot. There is a shelf of books in his room with up to 1500 English novels. Every evening I have to buy him two new books. He used to read even when he was at the hospital. I still don’t feel he’s gone. Same year my sister’s little son also passed away because of an accident. Both the kids, if I’ve really lost something till date its them two. Apart from that my money or luxury is nothing important.

What can we learn from you?

In the beginning I used to cycle. Then I had a motorcycle. Later used to drive a 12SRI (old corsa equivalent) and now I drive luxury cars.

I am a person who turns back only after reaching my destination. I make a goal for myself, then work hard for it. I chase it. When I fall I stand back with more power, more hope, more courage and more dedication. That’s what you all can learn from me.

Inoka Perera Bandara

Translation by Kasun Aravinda-mirrorarts