Bot at 09:52, 28 October 2022

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{{Multiple issues|
{{COI|date=March 2017}}
{{BLP primary sources|date=August 2015}}
}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2020}}
{{Infobox person
| honorific_prefix =
| name = Antonythasan Jesuthasan
| honorific_suffix =
| native_name = அந்தோனிதாசன் யேசுதாசன்
| native_name_lang = ta
| image = Antonythasan Jesuthasan. Exposition "QRpedia Sevran, mémoire digitale urbaine" du 17 au 22 septembre 2018 au Centre commercial BeauSevran 2.jpg
| alt =
| caption = Jesuthasan in September 2018
| birth_name =
| birth_date = {{Birth year and age|1967}}
| birth_place =
| death_date =
| death_place =
| nationality =
| other_names = Shobasakthi
| citizenship =
| education =
| alma_mater =
| occupation = Author, actor
| spouse =
| partner =
| children =
| parents =
| relatives =
| signature =
| signature_alt =
| signature_size =
| website = {{Url|shobasakthi.com}}
| footnotes =
}}
'''Antonythasan Jesuthasan''' ({{lang-ta|அந்தோனிதாசன் யேசுதாசன்}}; born 1967), also known by the pseudonym '''Shobasakthi''' ({{lang-ta|ஷோபா சக்தி}}), is a [[Sri Lankan Tamil people|Sri Lankan Tamil]] author and actor.

==Early life and family==
Jesuthasan was born in 1967.<ref name=DFT060615>{{cite news|last1=Jeyaraj|first1=D. B. S.|authorlink1=|title=Cannes award-winning ‘Dheepan’ arouses much interest in Sri Lanka|url=http://www.ft.lk/article/429779/Cannes-award-winning-%E2%80%98Dheepan%E2%80%99-arouses-much-interest-in-Sri-Lanka|work=[[Daily FT]]|date=6 June 2015}}</ref> He is originally from the village of [[Allaipiddy]] on the island of [[Velanaitivu]] in northern [[Sri Lanka]].<ref name=DFT060615/><ref name=Open130811>{{cite news|last1=Ravindran|first1=Shruti|title=The Near Distance|url=http://www.openthemagazine.com/article/nation/the-near-distance|work=[[Open (Indian magazine)|OPEN]]|date=13 August 2011}}</ref> Appalled by the [[Black July]] anti-Tamil riots, Jesuthasan joined the [[Sri Lankan Tamil militant groups|militant]] [[Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam]] (LTTE) as a "helper" when he was around 15 or 16.<ref name=DFT060615/><ref name=Elle0508>{{cite news|title=No Man's Land|url=http://www.shobasakthi.com/shobasakthi/?p=131|work=[[Elle (India)]]|date=May 2008}}</ref><ref name=F24250515>{{cite news|last1=Cole|first1=Deborah|title=Cannes winner stars Sri Lankan former child soldier|url=http://www.france24.com/en/20150524-cannes-winner-stars-sri-lankan-former-child-soldier|agency=[[Agence France-Presse]]|work=[[France 24]]|date=25 May 2015}}</ref><ref name=TI250515>{{cite news|last1=Aftab|first1=Kaleem|title=Dheepan, film review: Palme d'Or prize goes to radical and astonishing film that turns conventional thinking about immigrants on its head|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/reviews/dheepan-film-review-palme-dor-goes-to-radical-and-astonishing-film-that-turns-conventional-thinking-about-immigrants-on-its-head-10273801.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220507/https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/reviews/dheepan-film-review-palme-dor-goes-to-radical-and-astonishing-film-that-turns-conventional-thinking-about-immigrants-on-its-head-10273801.html |archive-date=7 May 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|work=[[The Independent]]|date=25 May 2015}}</ref> He became a full-time member of the LTTE in 1984, receiving training locally and taking on the [[noms de guerre]] "Thasan" and "Buckle".<ref name=DFT060615/> A natural artist, Jesuthasan took part in the LTTE's 1985 street drama ''Vidduthalaikaali'' (Liberation [[Kali]]).<ref name=DFT060615/>

Jesuthasan became disillusioned with the LTTE and left the organisation in December 1986 for which he received the customary punishment.<ref name=DFT060615/> After the [[Indo-Lanka Accord]] was signed in July 1987 Jesuthasan moved to the capital [[Colombo]].<ref name=DFT060615/> However, when [[Indian intervention in the Sri Lankan Civil War|war]] broke out between the LTTE and the [[Indian Peace Keeping Force]], Jesuthasan was arrested in Colombo for being a LTTE member.<ref name=DFT060615/> He was released once the peace talks between the LTTE and the [[Premadasa cabinet|Premadasa government]] started.<ref name=DFT060615/>

In 1988 Jesuthasan, aged 19, travelled to [[Hong Kong]], the only place he could go to without a [[Visa (document)|visa]].<ref name=SCMP250515>{{cite news|last1=Tsui|first1=Clarence|title=Hong Kong was refuge for star of Cannes Palme d'Or winner Dheepan|url=http://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/film-tv/article/1808451/hong-kong-was-refuge-star-cannes-palme-dor-winner-dheepan|work=[[South China Morning Post]]|date=25 May 2015}}</ref> He stayed at the [[Chungking Mansions]] for six months before moving to [[Thailand]] with the help of the [[UNHCR]], living as a [[refugee]] in a suburb of [[Bangkok]].<ref name=Elle0508/><ref name=F24250515/><ref name=SCMP250515/> Unable to find fake British or Canadian passports, Jesuthasan, his brother and sister obtained fake French passports from a Frenchman and travelled to France in 1993 where they were granted [[Right of asylum|political asylum]].<ref name=Open130811/><ref name=F24250515/><ref name=TI250515/><ref name=SCMP250515/>

In August 1990 the [[Sri Lanka Army]] invaded Allaipiddy as they tried to recapture [[Jaffna Fort]].<ref name=Elle0508/> Around 85 youths were rounded up by the army and never heard of again.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Vella|first1=Danielle|title=Parish priest urges respect for civilian lives|url=http://www.asianews.it/news-en/Parish-priest-urges-respect-for-civilian-lives-6313.html|work=[[AsiaNews]]|date=30 May 2006}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last1=Akkara|first1=Anto|title=Sri Lankan priest, companion disappear amid fighting|url=http://www.catholicnews.com/data/stories/cns/0604802.htm|work=[[Catholic News Service]]|date=23 August 2006}}</ref> According to Jesuthasan amongst them were 23 of his relatives who were killed by the army and their bodies thrown into a [[Water well|well]].<ref name=Elle0508/> Jesuthasan's parents fled by boat to [[Madras]], India in 1990 after the [[Sri Lanka Navy]] took over Allaipiddy and turned it into a naval base.<ref name=Open130811/>

==Career==
Jesuthasan had various low-paid jobs in [[Paris]] including stacking shelves in supermarkets, cooking, dish washing, street sweeping, hefting boxes around, construction work and working as a [[bellhop]] at [[Euro Disney]].<ref name=Open130811/><ref name=Elle0508/><ref name=SCMP250515/> He became involved in left-wing politics, joining the Revolutionary Communist Organization of which he was a member for four years.<ref name=SCMP250515/><ref name=BS300308>{{cite news|last1=Raote|first1=Rrishi|title=Buried in a shallow grave|url=http://www.business-standard.com/article/beyond-business/buried-in-a-shallow-grave-108033001002_1.html|work=[[Business Standard]]|date=30 March 2008}}</ref> He severed all connections with the LTTE and started campaigning, along with his leftist friends, against the [[Sri Lankan Civil War]] and the numerous [[Alleged war crimes during the final stages of the Sri Lankan Civil War|atrocities]] and [[Human rights in Sri Lanka|human rights abuses]] committed by the [[Sri Lankan government]] and the LTTE.<ref name=BS300308/>

During his time in the Revolutionary Communist Organization, Jesuthasan's friends introduced him to literature.<ref name=BS300308/> In the late 1990s Jesuthasan started writing, under the [[pseudonym]] Shobasakthi, short stories, plays, political essays and novels about his personal experiences during the civil war.<ref name=F24250515/><ref name=SCMP250515/> His first novel ''Gorilla'' (2001) was based in his own experience as a [[Militant use of children in Sri Lanka|child soldier]] in the LTTE.<ref name=SCMP250515/><ref name=Granta220713>{{cite news|last1=Ganeshananthan|first1=V. V.|title=Best Untranslated Writers: Shobasakthi|work=[[Granta]]|date=22 July 2013}}</ref> ''Gorilla'' was translated into English in 2008.<ref name=SCMP250515/> His second novel ''Traitor'' (2003) was based on the 1983 [[Welikada prison massacre|massacre]] of [[political prisoners]] in Sri Lanka.<ref name=SCMP250515/> ''Traitor'' was translated into English in 2010.<ref name=SCMP250515/>

Jesuthasan's acting career started in 2011 when he wrote and starred in ''[[Sengadal]]'' (The Dead Sea), a film about Tamil fishermen struggling to make a living in the largely abandoned village of [[Dhanushkodi]] in southern India.<ref name=TI250515/><ref name=Granta220713/><ref>{{cite news|title=Sengadal to put spotlight on Tamil fishermen|url=http://archive.indianexpress.com/news/sengadal-to-put-spotlight-on-tamil-fishermen/888179/|work=[[The Indian Express]]|agency=[[Press Trust of India]]|date=16 December 2011}}</ref> The film was initially banned in India after the Chennai Regional Censor Board refused to [[Motion picture rating system|rate]] the film.<ref name=TI250515/><ref>{{cite news|title=Sengadal: censor’s discomfort|url=http://www.tamilguardian.com/article.asp?articleid=2943|work=[[Tamil Guardian]]|date=12 January 2011}}</ref> After a legal battle the film was given an "Adult" rating by the censor.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Velayanikal|first1=Malavika|title=Leena Manimekalai: Broke but not broken|url=http://www.dnaindia.com/lifestyle/report-leena-manimekalai-broke-but-not-broken-1608142|work=[[Daily News and Analysis]]|date=6 November 2011}}</ref>

Jesuthasan starred in ''[[Dheepan]]'', which won the [[Palme d'Or]] at the [[2015 Cannes Film Festival]], in 2015.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Shoard|first1=Catherine|title=Jacques Audiard hopes Dheepan's Cannes win will help Europe's migrants|url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2015/may/24/jacques-audiard-dheepan-cannes-europe-migrant-workers|work=[[The Guardian]]|date=24 May 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=French immigrant drama 'Dheepan' wins Palme d'Or|url=http://www.dw.de/french-immigrant-drama-dheepan-wins-palme-dor/a-18473930|work=[[Deutsche Welle]]|date=24 May 2015}}</ref> The film tells the story of Dheepan (Jesuthasan), a former LTTE member, who claims political asylum in France by finding a woman and girl to pose as his wife and daughter.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Bhaskaran|first1=Gautaman|title=Cannes 2015: Dheepan, a riveting take on the life of former Tamil Tiger|url=http://www.hindustantimes.com/cannes2015/cannes-2015-dheepan-a-riveting-take-on-the-life-of-former-tamil-tiger/article1-1349918.aspx|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150524043807/http://www.hindustantimes.com/cannes2015/cannes-2015-dheepan-a-riveting-take-on-the-life-of-former-tamil-tiger/article1-1349918.aspx|url-status=dead|archive-date=24 May 2015|work=[[Hindustan Times]]|date=22 May 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last1=Sexton|first1=David|title=Dheepan, Cannes Film Festival, review: Intense thriller goes to heart of immigrant crisis|url=https://www.standard.co.uk/goingout/film/dheepan-cannes-film-festival-review-intense-thriller-goes-to-heart-of-immigrant-crisis-10266393.html|work=[[London Evening Standard]]|date=21 May 2015}}</ref> According to Jesuthasan the film was 50% autobiographical.<ref name=F24250515/><ref name=SCMP250515/><ref>{{cite news|title=Lanka welcomes Cannes award for refugee movie|url=http://www.gulf-times.com/sri%20lanka/251/details/440717/lanka-welcomes-cannes-award-for-refugee-movie|work=[[Gulf Times]]|agency=[[Agence France-Presse]]|date=26 May 2015}}</ref>

Despite the civil war having ended in May 2009 with the military defeat of the LTTE, Jesuthasan does not feel it's safe for him to return to Sri Lanka because of the continuing "armed attacks against minorities" and unknown fate of LTTE members taken prisoner by the [[Sri Lankan military]].<ref name=F24250515/><ref>{{cite news|last1=Chakrabarti|first1=Sujata|title=I was a writer and dramatist even as a militant: Shobasakthi|url=http://www.dnaindia.com/lifestyle/report-i-was-a-writer-and-dramatist-even-as-a-militant-shobasakthi-1382972|work=[[Daily News and Analysis]]|date=14 May 2010}}</ref>

When Jesuthasan traveled to Canada for the [[Toronto International Film Festival]]'s screening of ''Dheepan'', he was questioned about his past with the Tamil Tigers.<ref name="Donadio">{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/24/movies/for-its-star-dheepan-was-therole-of-his-lifetime.html|title=For Its Star, ‘Dheepan’ Was the Role of His Lifetime|last=Donadio|first=Rachel|date=2016-04-20|newspaper=The New York Times|issn=0362-4331|access-date=2016-06-05}}</ref> He was allowed to attend the festival, but he said the authorities kept his travel document at the airport, handing it back only when he left.<ref name="Donadio"/>

==Works==
*''Gorilla'' (2001, Adaiyalam)<ref>{{cite web|title=கொரில்லா|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xntkAAAAMAAJ|publisher=[[Google Books]]}}</ref>
* ''Sanatharmabothini'' (2001, Adaiyalam) (co-author Sugan)<ref>{{cite web|title=Can̲atarumapōtin̲i|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YnYLAQAAMAAJ|publisher=[[Google Books]]}}</ref>
* ''Karuppu'' (Black) (2002, Adaiyalam) (co-author Sugan)<ref>{{cite web|title=கறுப்பு|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bp4LAQAAMAAJ|publisher=[[Google Books]]}}</ref>
* ''Thesthuroki'' (Traitor) (2003, Karuppu Piradhigal)<ref>{{cite web|title=Tēcatturōki|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XYQLAQAAMAAJ|publisher=[[Google Books]]}}</ref>
* ''IM'' (Hmm) (2004, Karuppu Piradhigal)<ref>{{cite web|title=M|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=J4QLAQAAMAAJ|publisher=[[Google Books]]}}</ref>
* ''Velaikarikalin Puthagam'' (The Book of the Maids) (2007, Karuppu Piradhigal)<ref>{{cite web|title=வேலைக்காரிகளின் புத்தகம்|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6MekYgEACAAJ|publisher=[[Google Books]]}}</ref>
* ''Gorilla'' (2008, Random House) (English translation by Anushiya Ramaswamy)
* ''M.G.R. Kolai Vazhakku'' (The MGR Murder Trail) (2009, Karuppu Piradhigal)
* ''Kolai Nilam'' (2009, Vadali) (co-author Thiyagu)
* ''Traitor'' (2010, Penguin) (English translation by Anushiya Ramaswamy)<ref>{{cite web|title=Traitor|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5OGp6ueQtEQC|publisher=[[Google Books]]}}</ref>
* ''Por Innum Oyavillai'' (2010, Karuppu Piradhigal)
* ''Nan Eppothu Adimayaiyirunthen'' (When I was a Slave) (2010, Karuppu Piradhigal)
* ''Panchathukku Puli'' (2011, Karuppu Piradhigal)
* ''Sengadal'' (The Dead Sea) (co-authors: C.Jerold - Leena Manimekalai)
* ''Inremakku Thevai Samathaaname)''
* ''The MGR Murder Trail'' (2014, Penguin) (English translation by Anushiya Ramaswamy)<ref>{{cite web|title=The MGR Murder Trail|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=L6UgBQAAQBAJ&|publisher=[[Google Books]]}}</ref>
* ''Muppathu Nira sol'' (2014, (co-author)
* ''Evaraluum Katpanai Seiya Mudiyatha Nan'' (No One Can Imagine) (2014, (Karuppu Piradhigal)
* ''Kandy Veeran'' (2014, Karuppu Piradhigal)<ref>{{cite web|title=கண்டி வீரன்|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gTj6rQEACAAJ|publisher=[[Google Books]]}}</ref>
* ''Box '' (2015, Karuppu Piradhigal)
* ''Ichaa '' (2019, Karuppu Piradhigal)
*''Shoba - Itinéraire d'un réfugié'' (co-author: Clémentine V, Baron) (2017, Le Livre De Poche)
* ''Friday et Friday'' (2018, Zulma) (French translation by Faustine Imbert-Vier, Élisabeth Sethupathy and Farhaan Wahab)

==Filmography==
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Year !! Title !! class="unsortable"|Role
|-
| 2011 || ''[[Sengadal]]'' || Sivanandhan
|-
| 2015 || ''[[Dheepan]]'' || Dheepan
|-
| 2017 || ''[[Roobha]]'' || Antony
|-
| 2017 || ''Unlock'' (short film) || Appa
|-
| 2017 || ''Little Jaffna'' (short film) || Sathya
|-
| 2017 || ''Threesome'' (short film) || Shoba
|-
| 2018 || '' L'Amour Est Une Fête'' || Hakim
|-
| 2018 || '' Friday And Friday'' || Friday
|-
| 2018 || '' A Private War'' || Thamilselvan
|-
| 2018 || '' Dernier amour'' || Jarba
|-
| 2018 || '' Paris métèque''(Clip) || Rose seller
|-
| 2019 || '' The Loyal man'' (short film) || Iya
|-
| 2020 || '' {{ill|Bac Nord|fr}}'' || Srilankan
|-
| 2021 || '' Coyotes'' || (TV Series) Amine
|-
| 2022 || '' {{ill|Notre-Dame brûle|fr}}'' || Jonas
|-
| 2022 || '' Woman at sea'' || Jesus
|-
| 2022 || '' TEHU'' || Kumail
|-
| 2022 || '' DILEMNE DILEMME'' (short film)|| Indian
|-
| 2022 || '' MEN IN BLUE'' || Vijayan
|-
| 2022 || '' APPA'' (short film)|| Appa
|}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Antonythasan Jesuthasan}}
* {{Url|shobasakthi.com}}
* {{IMDb name|7316147|Jesuthasan Antonythasan}}
* {{IMDb name|3971642|Shoba Sakthi}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jesuthasan, Antonythasan}}
[[Category:1967 births]]
[[Category:French people of Sri Lankan Tamil descent]]
[[Category:Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam members]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:People from Northern Province, Sri Lanka]]
[[Category:Sri Lankan Tamil actors]]
[[Category:Sri Lankan Tamil writers]]
[[Category:Indian Peace Keeping Force]]

Antonythasan Jesuthasan - Revision history

Bot at 09:52, 28 October 2022