Entertainment industry to get a boost from Canada
Plugging into a global chain of entertainment and bringing that over to Sri Lanka, from a far flung place like Canada involves a mountain of work.
Kumar Jeyakumaran
That is exactly the dream that Kumar Jeyakumaran cherishes. Mr. Jeyakumaran is the Chairman of Platinum Promotions, a Canadian based entertainment company that specialises in promoting entertainment in other countries. He is a Sri Lankan and a Canadian citizen domiciled in Canada for many decades. He has a grandiose plan to bring down entertainment from the Northern hemisphere to Sri Lanka because he feels that there is a lacuna where night life and entertainment in Sri Lanka is concerned. “Most Sri Lankans who have lived abroad are accustomed to lifestyles in the West that include music entertainment as well. Such people also have different palates when it comes to sampling of food and drink, etc,” he says.
The epitome of modern city living is the vision that he envisions that include music and entertainment. He says that Sri Lanka does not have a suitable place in the first instance for people to relax for entertainment purposes at the end of the day.
“What I mean is that Sri Lanka does not have large spacious halls to accommodate 20,000 -30,000 people when hosting musical and other entertainment shows.
We have plans to bring in big stars from the West when the climate is conducive here. It is going to cost us millions of dollars and to recover that money the project has to be feasible. We need bigger space.”
To overcome this impasse his company has made a proposal to the government and is awaiting a response. He firmly believes that entertainment and music is not the monopoly of the elites but should be made available for everybody else.
Another issue that he harped upon was that of meetings with high level government officials who do not respond quickly when a business proposal is made to them.
They move at a snail’s pace to respond and foreign businessmen who do not stay in Sri Lanka that long are sent into a tail spin as they do not know the outcome.
There are many investors who leave the country owing to bribery and corruption. State officials accept bribes but the job is not done even after a lapse of one to two years. “This was the experience that many other businessmen have had to face on earlier occasions. Fortunately I have not come across any such situation so far.
The government officials should act honestly for the sake of the country for it to develop.”
Mr. Jeyakumaran is of the view that some mechanism should be in place to fast-track investment proposals as investors do not stay in Sri Lanka for long periods of time. Officials who dilly –dally when an investment proposal is made are the ones who expect a bribe under the table.
Referring to entertainment, he said he plans to bring down big concerts to Sri Lanka.” It can be English, Tamil or Sinhalese concerts for that matter. I want to give something unique to people here. People crave for such things but nobody is giving them that.
Concerts may prove a template for other things to come over here.” In addition to entertainment, Platinum Promotions also does property management and fund management. “There are lots of properties here that are not utilised. We are looking at condominiums and service apartments. We are also looking at the possibility of setting up a theme park here as there is no proper theme park in Sri Lanka.”
Meanwhile, Platinum Promotions has many projects in their pipeline. Most of the projects will be set up in the metropolis. “Sri Lanka will also be a platform for other countries where entertainment is concerned,” he said. Platinum Promotions has offices in Dubai, India, China and Canada.