Anantha Rathriya

Anantha Rathriya

Year: 1996

Runtime: 82 mins

Language: Sinhalese, Sinhala

Director: Prasanna Vithanage

Drama

Suwisal, now forty, drifts through life as a forgetful businessman and philanderer, indifferent even to his young fiancée. A visit to his childhood home awakens memories that surface when he serves on a jury for a murder trial. The defendant, Piyum, is the servant he seduced and abandoned twenty years earlier, now a prostitute facing the charge.

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Timeline & Setting – Anantha Rathriya (1996)

Explore the full timeline and setting of Anantha Rathriya (1996). Follow every major event in chronological order and see how the environment shapes the story, characters, and dramatic tension.

Time period

The narrative moves between a late-night sequence at the ancestral home and flashbacks spanning decades. It follows Suwisal's youth and his university-era research on rural disillusionment and the impact of education policy, while the present unfolds through a courtroom drama and a jail visit. The time shifts reveal how past actions ripple into the present, shaping guilt and responsibility.

Location

Old Family House, Village, City

The story centers on an old family house in a rural village, a setting dense with memory and secrets. It contrasts quiet village life with the tension of the present courtroom and jail visit. The house acts as a memory chamber where past decisions echo into the present.

🏠 Old family house 🌾 Village life 🏙️ City backdrop

Last Updated: October 04, 2025 at 16:28

Main Characters – Anantha Rathriya (1996)

Meet the key characters of Anantha Rathriya (1996), with detailed profiles, motivations, and roles in the plot. Understand their emotional journeys and what they reveal about the film’s deeper themes.

Suwisal (Ravindra Randeniya)

A reflective, morally complex academic who revisits his past as he confronts a murder trial. He is torn between loyalty to family and hidden memories of a relationship that altered his life. He grapples with guilt, responsibility, and the pull of truth.

🧠 Introspective 😔 Guilty 📜 Intellectual

Piyum (Swarna Mallawarachchi)

Former servant and defendant in the murder case, a woman marked by hardship and social stigma. Her silence about recognition during the trial hides a deeper history with Suwisal, complicating the jury’s verdict. Her later revelation of a child who lived briefly underscores the fragility of life and the weight of secrets.

💃 Complex ⚖️ Justice 🕊️ Resilience

Vicky (Tony Ranasinghe)

Suwisal's lawyer friend who advises caution and restraint; pragmatic and ethically aware, yet entangled in long-buried truths. He pushes Suwisal to stay quiet, testing their friendship and his own sense of justice. His perspective frames the moral tensions in the courtroom scenes.

⚖️ Legal mind 🤔 Pragmatic 🗨️ Honest

Aunt

The matriarch of the family who owns the ancestral home; a memory anchor that embodies tradition and the quiet weight of family history. She helps to anchor the past within the present setting, reminding Suwisal of what was left behind.

🏠 Family matriarch 🕰️ Memory keeper 👀 Watchful

Last Updated: October 04, 2025 at 16:28

Major Themes – Anantha Rathriya (1996)

Explore the central themes of Anantha Rathriya (1996), from psychological, social, and emotional dimensions to philosophical messages. Understand what the film is really saying beneath the surface.

🕯️ Guilt

Suwisal's life is reshaped by a past romance and a decision to stay silent when secrets risk exposure. His guilt grows as the trial unfolds, revealing the connection between his youthful actions and present consequences. The film uses his inner conflict to examine how memory can distort identity and influence choices. Tension between personal desire and social duty drives the narrative.

⏳ Memory

Memory functions as both motive and obstacle, shaping what is known and what is concealed. The courtroom and jail visit force Suwisal to confront how past decisions ripple into the present. Truth becomes a contested, fragile thing filtered through guilt and stigma. The theme shows that understanding depends on whose memory is trusted.

💔 Forbidden Love

A hidden romance between Suwisal and the servant woman becomes a central hinge of the story, influencing later judgments and relationships. The pregnancy and separation illustrate the heavy cost of private choices in a public world. The film ties intimate longing to social judgment, showing how love and secrecy shape moral conflict. Love is presented as a catalyst for consequence rather than redemption.

Last Updated: October 04, 2025 at 16:28

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Anantha Rathriya Summary

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Anantha Rathriya Timeline

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Anantha Rathriya Timeline

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Anantha Rathriya Spoiler-Free Summary

More About Anantha Rathriya

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