BAHUCHITHAWADIYA- CINEMATIC DISCOURSE BEYOND 'TOIYA' AND 'BAIYA'

A key element of the political discourse on social media during the lead-up to the 2015 presidential election was the emergence of a classification of two groups who participated in this discourse: Toiya' and 'Baiya'.

- By Prof. Nirmal Ranjith Dewasiri

This dichotomy was invented by the self-identified Toiya'. While 'Baiya' was initially a derogatory label assigned by Toiya', the term was gradually embraced by those it targeted, albeit with Irony.

Although this classification fails to encompass the multifaceted nature of the contemporary political discursive space, I propose that the Baiya/Toiya divide offers an interesting window to look into Malaka Dewapriya's film Bahuchithawadiya (The Undecided).

One could say that a 'Baiya' is a 'patriot'. Defining the 'patriot' through some of the self-proposed characteristics of those who identify as such allows one to avoid going into the complexities in definitions. Out of these, a key characteristic of a 'Baiya' is that they love the country while their 'Toiya' counterpart does not.

The film's young protagonist, Sasitha, is singularly focused on leaving Sri Lanka by any means. In one scene, he illustrates the hierarchy of his 'overseas dream' to his 'formal' girlfriend, Kanchana. At the top of his list is Europe, followed by the United States of America, Australia and Japan in that order. Kanchana responds, "For me, anywhere is better than Lanka. Even India is okay."

One could say that a 'Baiya' is a 'patriot'. Defining the 'patriot' through some of the self-proposed characteristics of those who identify as such allows one to avoid going into the complexities in definitions. Out of these, a key characteristic of a 'Baiya' is that they love the country while their Toiya' counterpart does not

This exchange echoes a common sentiment associated with the 'Toiya' perspective: that "there is something wrong with Sri Lanka". In this sense, Sasitha and Kanchana may appear as archetypal representations of the 'Toiya' state of mind.