From Brad Pitt-George Clooney and Jay Z-Kanye in the entertainment industry to Lebron James-Dwayne Wade and Marco Rues-Mario Gotze in the sports arena, there’s some serious brotherly love going around. Sri Lanka also has its own “high profile” bromances going on and here are some that top our list.
Bathiya Jayakody and Santhush Weeraman
Bathiya and Santhush, more commonly known to fans as BNS, are both brilliant singers and the best of friends. And we’re talking about way back when they met at the Marie Anne David School for singing, as kids. This duo produces possibly the most innovative music in Sri Lanka and has been a household name since their inception in the late 1990’s.
What you might not know is that they are also extremely accomplished entrepreneurs with 4 companies, spreading over the fields of event management to digital audio productions and film production. After almost two decades BNS still top the charts of Sri Lanka and are considered one of the most successful musical acts of the modern Lankan era – and our best guess is that it’s this tight bond as friends that make them a force to be reckoned with.
Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara
We all know this one, but the list would just not be complete without this combo. Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara, fondly known as Mahela and Sanga, have been ruling the cricket world for over a decade now. The triumph seen by this bromance is unparalleled, as everything they touch seems to turn to gold.
Not only are they one of the most feared batting partnerships in the world, they are also the co-owners of the popular Ministry of Crab restaurant, in Colombo. Love them or hate them (this is not a choice, instead it’s love them or don’t call yourself a Lankan), we all wish, even just a little bit, that we could be as cool and successful as these two legends.
Suresh De Silva, Andrew Obeysekara and Tennyson Napolean
Three talented teenagers from St. Thomas’ College formed a band in the late 90’s. They all shared a passion – good heavy metal. Over a decade later, since they took off in 1999, Suresh de Silva, Andrew Obeysekara and Tennyson Napoleon (together with other members) have gone on to become arguably the greatest heavy metal act Sri Lanka has experienced- Stigmata! The line-up changes over the years never broke the bro-code shared by these three schoolmates as they remained the mainstays and the core of the band.
Word in the local rock scene is that these guys exposed our island to extreme heavy metal, similar to the musical styles of Judas Priest and Iron Maiden, which now has an unmistakable presence in the Sri Lankan music scene. Stigmata have played hundreds of gigs in Sri Lanka, in addition to appearances at overseas rock festivals in countries like India, Maldives and Australia. As the metal heads might say, may the mayhem continue!
Sunil Perera and Piyal Perera
Bromances not only breach all geographical boundaries but apparently age boundaries too! Sunil and Piyal are not just two tight-knit bro’s, they are biological bro’s, making this a brotherhood by blood. They are the two standing founders of the infamous Sri Lankan band, The Gypsies, who were on par with rice and curry as a household staple back in the day. If you don’t believe me, go ask your parents -or better yet, your grandparents.
Jamming together since the 70’s, the two brothers have seen and done it all. From award winning albums consisting of some very catchy tunes to jam packed arenas from Sri Lanka to the UK, the Perera brothers and The Gypsies have collectively seen multitudes of success over the years. Here’s to more good music and even more good times.
Mark Kross and Gem
These morning show pranksters hosts are undoubtedly one of the best radio relationships and are bound to brighten your day. After first meeting in 2000 at a training session at E FM, Gem’s path took a slight turn as he went on to study Recording Arts in Singapore only to return seven years later, in 2007, to find bleak hope of progressing in this costly industry. By then Mark had already ventured into radio to become the Programme Director but immediately got Gem onboard his morning show. And the rest, as they say, is history.
Matching humour and complementing personalities make them the best entertainment to get your day going, and for radio listeners island-wide, they never fail to deliver. Day after day of interesting conversation and brilliant pranks, this killer combo continues to draw more ‘showgrammers’ as they continue their 7 year journey.
