Mohan Niyaz
Directing
Biography
Mohan Niyaz (born Seiyad Lebbe Mohammed Niyaz) is an acclaimed Sri Lankan film director, screenwriter, producer, and Attorney-at-Law, whose career spans over three decades. Raised in Peradeniya, Kandy, Niyaz was an introspective youth deeply influenced by the cinematic grammar of Alfred Hitchcock and Ritwik Ghatak. While studying law at the University of Peradeniya, his lifelong obsession with celluloid led him to shoot his first 35mm short film at just 18 years old. Niyaz broke into the national consciousness at age 21 with the massive television success of Man Nathi Da (starring Jayalath Manorathne). He consolidated his reputation as a visionary storyteller by tackling serious, contemporary themes across major teledramas, including Sihina Issawa, Unmadha Rathriya, and Sri Lanka's first English-language teledrama, Silk and Sapphire. His 2005 breakthrough hit Sihinayak Pata Patin, which adapted a popular 1970s picture story infused with his personal university experiences, became the most-watched teledrama of the year. In cinema, Niyaz made an unforgettable directorial debut with the blockbuster Yasoma (1994), which ran in theaters island-wide for over 100 days. He quickly became a pioneering figure in cross-cultural and genre cinema. His 1997 English-language period drama Blendings, a joint British-Sri Lankan venture set in the late-1800s plantation era, screened globally at the 49th Cairo International Film Festival and the Long Beach International Film Festival, ultimately winning the Special Jury Award at the Asian Film Center's Critics Film Festival. Throughout the late 90s and 2000s, Niyaz wrote and directed distinct, character-driven projects under his production banner, Cinemangani Films. These included the R-rated political thriller Sanda Yahanata (2000)—marking the cinema debut of Paboda Sandeepani—the international festival romance Kalu Sudu Mal (2002), and the vibrant musical Eka Malaka Pethi (2005). In 2014, he pushed artistic boundaries yet again by releasing Api Marenne Na, widely recognized as Sri Lanka’s first genuine black comedy feature. Fulfilling a lifelong dream inspired by his roots in the hill country, Niyaz helmed the grand historical epic Sri Wickrama (2023), a high-budget production chronicling the final king of Sri Lanka that featured some of the largest cinematic sets in the country's history. He followed this scale in 2024 with the action-romance-comedy Bambara Wasanthe. Known for his visual ambition, thematic versatility, and humanist lens, Mohan Niyaz remains one of Sri Lanka’s most distinct and enduring cinematic voices.
Known For
Ishara, the only beautiful young daughter of an elderly wealthy plantation owner, Clifford, is attacked by extortionists. Clifford has to pay ransom money to save his daughter. However, when the ransom is paid, the police intervene and try to catch the extortionists, but they run away. Meanwhile, three young men are recruited for new jobs in the tea plantation. A love affair develops between one of the young men, the handsome Sameera, and Clifford's daughter Ishara. Greshan, the estate superintendent, who is strict about this, objects to it. He maintains a secret relationship with Clifford's young wife Sherin. Soon Sherin gets murdered and Ishara and Sameera tries to uncover the secrets behind the murder but then unexpectedly, Ishara gets kidnapped again, and its upto Sameera to solve all the mystries and save Ishara.
Bambara Wasanthe
Sanda Yahanata (Sinhala: සඳ යහනට) is a 2000 Sri Lankan Sinhala adult drama film directed by Mohan Niyaz and produced by Anil Jayasooriya. It stars Sabeetha Perera and Sanath Gunathilake in lead roles along with Cletus Mendis and Palitha Silva. The film marked the debut cinema appearance of Paboda Sandeepani. Music composed by Sarath Wickrema. It is the 942nd Sri Lankan film in the Sinhala cinema.
Sanda Yahanata
A political comedy revolved around a three-wheel driver who is elected as the Colombo City mayor by unexpected circumstances.