- Yasu-e Karunaratne Edussuriya on her short film ‘Ralla’
Rage.lk is a youth organisation founded by Yasu-e Karunaratne Edussuriya and Dr. Taveesh Edussuriya with an aim of sharing knowledge on ragging and other forms of harassment and providing pro bono legal support to those who have been ragged or harassed. Yasu-e Karunaratne Edussuriya is a lawyer and economist, while her husband Dr. Taveesh Edussuriya is a medical professional.
The organisation recently released a short film titled ‘Ralla’, directed and written by Yasu-e. The film, starring Udeshika Dissanayake, Dinul Senanayake, and Chiran Gunasekara, was produced by Dhisal Kapuge and Dr. Taveesh Edussuriya.
Others involved in its production include Saalihah Mohideen (casting director), Chinthaka Jayakody (director of photography), Saleemah Mohideen (productions manager), Thayyibah Mohideen (make-up and props manager), and Tami-e Karunaratne (backstage).
The Daily Morning Brunch had the opportunity to speak with Yasu-e Karunaratne Edussuriya, who told us what led to the production and what they hope to achieve through it.
Following are excerpts from the interview:
Rage.lk recently released the short film ‘Ralla’. As its director and writer, what made you choose filmmaking as a medium to raise awareness about ragging and its impact on students?
‘Ralla’ was originally written as a coping mechanism during my first year at university while going through the rag. It started as a three-part play, not intended for the stage or to be a film, but as a way to express my emotions and live through characters who were stronger than I felt at the time. The second act of that play became the short film ‘Ralla’.
The transition from a play to a film was suggested by Dhisal Kapuge (our producer and a filmmaker by profession) and Taveesh, my husband and Rage.lk co-founder. A film can reach a wider audience and exist longer than a one-time play, which is why we decided to make it into a film. We believe that art and stories can have a more profound impact than just presenting facts and figures. Through this medium, we hope to start meaningful conversations and show the harsh realities of ragging, aiming to create awareness and eventually eradicate it.
I originally wrote the three acts in the following way:
- The first act: It featured a dialogue or rather two parallel monologues between a university lecturer and the rag leader, where the audience would be first-year students; the lecturer dressed in white and the rag leader dressed in black. These two characters never directly interact, but their words are intertwined, creating a yin-yang dynamic. I felt as a first-year student they both had the power to stop the rag and even start the rag. At times the characters say the same lines, such as: “As a batch, you must be united.” And they also at times unknowingly have conversations, such as: the lecturer will say, “Only you can stand up against the rag,” while the rag leader will answer, “Try and stand up against the rag.”
- The second act: This became the basis for ‘Ralla’, and delved into the personal suffering of students. It emphasised the toxic mentality where seniors justify their abusive behaviour by claiming they endured worse, thereby perpetuating a cycle of violence and humiliation. This act highlighted not only the pain caused by ragging but also the deeper issue in our society where past suffering is used to justify ongoing wrongs, holding back true progress.
- The third act: This tackled the communal divisions exacerbated by ragging. In many universities, ragging rituals are often split along ethnic and religious lines, further dividing students rather than uniting them. The play highlights the hypocrisy of the ragging culture, which claims to break down barriers while actually reinforcing them. It also contrasts this with more positive communal activities, like sports, which naturally bring students together without the need for fear or violence.
Therefore, unlike a play, which is fleeting and can only be seen by a limited audience, a film has the potential to be shared widely, reaching students, educators, and policymakers across the country.
However, to truly make an impact across all communities in Sri Lanka, we aim to dub ‘Ralla’ in Sinhala and Tamil, as well as provide subtitles in these languages. This would ensure that the film’s message is accessible to all students. Unfortunately, this ambition requires additional funding and resources that we currently lack. We are actively seeking support to make this a reality. Right now, our organisation is completely volunteer funded. We believe that reaching a wider audience is crucial for fostering the collective awareness needed to drive meaningful change.
Since the screening of the short film, have you received any feedback about ‘Ralla’? Have more people reached out to rage.lk seeking its services?
Yes, we have received feedback since the initial screening of ‘Ralla’. Although we have only done one public screening so far, it has already made an impact. We’ve had several past graduates reach out to us. Many of them shared that they had dropped out of university due to ragging. One postgraduate student told us about her harrowing experience, where she was told by others that what she was enduring was not a big deal because “they had it worse.” This led her to drop out, but she was fortunate enough to continue her studies at a private university abroad. However, she noted that not all are that fortunate to afford private universities.
Ragging doesn’t just harm students; it drives some of our brightest minds away. Many who face ragging end up dropping out or leaving the country, taking their talents with them. Meanwhile, the raggers often stick around, sometimes for the full seven years, taking advantage of the system. It’s a selfish act that puts a few people’s twisted sense of power above the wellbeing and future of so many others, hurting not just individuals but the whole country.
What we really want is for more current students to reach out to us so that we can provide our services, including pro bono legal support. We are already handling a few pro bono cases, and increased awareness of our organisation would help us reach and support even more students.
How do you hope to expand your reach and help create safer university environments?
We have an ambitious vision for expanding our reach and creating safer university environments. Our goal is to screen ‘Ralla’ in all faculties every year. We also hope to film the other acts of the play and even organise competitions with anti-ragging themes to encourage more discussion and awareness among students.
In addition, we are developing a help kit in all three languages – Sinhala, Tamil, and English – which will be distributed to first-year students. This kit will contain simplified information about their rights against ragging, who to contact, and how to access services, including our own contact information. The help kit will initially be available online, with plans to print and distribute it every year.
Our most ambitious goal is to establish ‘rage units’ in every faculty across the country. These units would be led by students and lecturers trained by our organisation to conduct seminars and provide support on issues like ragging, harassment, bullying, and more. This decentralised approach would ensure that every university has a dedicated group to monitor and combat ragging, and it would create a sustainable system of support and prevention. Further, each rage unit can contact us directly when they need pro bono legal support.
–---------------–----------------------------------
‘Ralla’ shows how ragging is justified and also allowed to continue, batch after batch, even by academic staff. When asked how this worsens the problem and makes it difficult for students to seek help, Rage.lk co-founder Dr. Taveesh Edussuriya said the main problem was the way ragging is deeply ingrained in the so called ‘university subculture’. Many have a mentality of “we suffered before, so now our juniors must suffer”.
“It’s so deeply ingrained, it’s seen in a professional context as well. A good example is the Sri Lankan medical internship system. The main problem students face is who the point of first contact is. As an organisation, that is a problem we are trying to tackle. Our aim is to provide a structured system that includes multidisciplinary care such as psychological care and medical opinion,” he said.
–---------------–----------------------------------
–---------------–----------------------------------
Dhisal Kapuge is a filmmaker by profession. He is also the producer of ‘Ralla’, which held a screening recently. At the event, the audience was addressed by Wimala Perera, the mother of Samantha Vithanage, who was murdered during an anti-ragging discussion in 2002. We asked Kapuge how real-life stories, like that of Samantha Vithanage, help take their message forward.
“Real-life stories are more like precedent and reasons as to why this movement was born in the first place. The horrific acts and hearing about those incidents are important to understand the true gravity of this situation and to understand how deep it can go. Therefore, as an artiste, when discussing a topic like this, references and inspiration from real-life incidents play a critical role in grounding the issue,” he said.
However, Kapuge pointed out that such real-life stories must be handled with care so as not to sensationalise them or exploit them to the point where it could adversely affect the victim or their loved ones. “It’s a very thin line, but if respectfully handled, reference to real-life stories definitely aid in taking the message across more effectively,” he said.
–---------------–----------------------------------