ByD.B.S.Jeyaraj(This Article was written in 2018 after the demise of Maestro Lester James Peries on 29 April 2018. Pioneer Of Authentic Sinhala CinemaThe greatness of Lester James Peries however cannot be measured by the quantity of his output. Lester James Peries is acknowledged as the pioneer of authentic Sinhala cinema. Lester James Peries was born on April 5, 1919 in Dehiwela to Catholic parents from an affluent westernised background. India’s greatest film maker Satyajit Ray had burst upon the global film scene before Lester James Peries.