beyondbrics

Sri Lanka showed the warmth its people are known for when one of the biggest Bollywood extravaganzas, the International Indian Film Academy awards, came to town at the weekend.

Keen to repair an image battered by the country’s 25-year civil war, including allegations the military committed war crimes as the conflict drew to a close 12 months ago, the government pulled out all the stops for the awards.

The first lady, Shiranthi Rajapaksa, presided over several of the functions in the three-day event, which included a fashion show, a celebrity cricket match and the awards ceremony itself on Saturday night.

The government spared no expense. The stadium at which the awards were held was renovated at a cost of millions of rupees, according to local media. Colombo was decked out in lights for the event. Colourful decorations from a festival last month to mark Buddha’s birthday were kept in place to help maintain the festive appearance.

The audience at the made-for-TV awards event were treated to all the glitz of Bollywood, with one of the industry’s biggest stars, Salman Khan, opening the dance routines followed by diva Bipasha Basu, who rode into the stadium on a motorbike.

For the after-party, Colombo turned over its best hotel, the Cinnamon Grand, to the revellers.

But in spite of the goodwill, there were signs of tensions between Sri Lanka and its glamorous guests.
As former Indian deputy foreign minister Shashi Tharoor said in his opening remarks at the awards, Bollywood represents the “soft power” of India, the expanding cultural reach of its emergent economy. As such, Sri Lanka’s love of Bollywood films is tempered only by its distrust of its giant big brother across the Palk Strait.

The barbed relationship between the two neighbours was underlined by the absence at the weekend of the event’s “brand ambassador”, Amitabh Bachchan, and his superstar son and daughter-in-law, Abishek and Aishwarya Bachchan. They did not show up for the awards after threats one of their films would be boycotted in south India.

Tamils in south India allege Colombo indiscriminately killed civilians in the last days of the war. Mr Rajapaksa and the government dismiss such claims, saying they did not use heavy ordnance on civilians.

Peace activists said no matter who is right, the awards represented a lost opportunity to highlight the plight of those displaced by the war. The government could have dedicated some of the awards night’s proceeds to the north and east for rehabilitation or asked the film stars to hold more events to endorse charity activities.

There were also mutterings in the Sri Lankan press about the vast expense of the event, the inconvenience to people in Colombo (roads were cut off to allow through celebrity convoys), and the fact that ordinary people could not afford the ticket prices.

With President Rajapaksa due to visit New Delhi this week, the tensions over the awards are a prelude to nervousness in Sri Lanka about a proposed free trade pact with India. Local businesses fear it could put them at a disadvantage to their far larger rivals in India.

But all of that is just show business. And in the show business of international politics, the awards served their purpose for Sri Lanka. They showed the country is safe enough again to host large numbers of high-profile visitors from abroad.

With Visit Sri Lanka 2011 looming and Sri Lanka due to host some World Cup cricket matches next year, the government will be pleased with the picture it has projected onto the international stage.