Bathiya & Santhush (), also known as BnS, are a Sri Lankan pop duo consisting of Bathiya Jayakody (born on 22 December 1976) and Santhush Weeraman (born on 5 September 1977), who met at a scout jamboree in Colombo. Both were born in Colombo, Sri Lanka. They have been one of the most commercially successful music acts in Sri Lanka in the last two decades.*
Bathiya Jayakody was educated at Ananda College, Colombo while Santhush Weeraman was educated at Royal College, Colombo.
Since the inception of their act in 1998, they have over 50 number-one hit singles, six platinum selling mainstream albums, four commercially successful EPs and countless movie soundtracks. BNS are one of the biggest musical acts to hit the Sri Lankan musical scene since the 1990s, mixing Sinhala, Tamil, and English rap verses in their originals, while they have also mixed Hindi rap verses in their folkhop remixes,. BNS became the only Sri Lankan hip hop act to feature Indian singers, namely Hariharan (in the song "Yalpaname"), Asha Bhosle (in the song "Dedunna Sedi") and Sonu Nigam (in the song "Aa Chale").
Having performed in concerts in Sri Lanka and abroad,https://island.lk/great-demandoverseas/ BnS marked significant success with their own concert tour series "Neththara Live" with 120 concerts (2005–2008), "Shaheena Live" 40 concerts (2009–2011), "Sarasihina Live" 150 concerts (2011–2014), "BNS Up Close & Personal" 50 Concerts (2015–2018) and "Oba Nisa – Celebrating 20 Years of Music", which was launched in 2019.
Career Academic career Bathiya started his education in Holloway Primary School in India and upon return in 1984, he entered Isipathana College, Colombo for a brief period. In 1988, he joined Ananda College, Colombo, Santhush studied at Royal College, Colombo. Both of them were scouts and they met in 1992 at Viharamahadevi Park in Colombo during a scouting jamboree, where they both sang.
Early musical journey While studying western classical music privately, Bathiya was a member of the first Ananda College Senior Brass Band where he played the alto saxophone and occasionally filled in for the percussion section. He was also a pianist with the western music society. He was a founding member and a lead vocalist of the school band. Winning many awards at inter school competitions, Bathiya soon became a known figure in the school's music circuit as a college musician during the mid-90s. He later started learning the music technology with the Sri Lankan music artist Dilup Gabadamudalige. He also joined the Marry Anne Singers Colombo. Bathiya and Santhush studied opera, jazz and Broadway singing under the Mary Anne David School of Vocal Music. During the late 90s, Bathiya worked as a freelance vocalist singing for radio jingles and commercials together with Ranga Dassanayake. During this period, Bathiya Jayakody and Santhush Weeraman collaborated on a few projects, which led to the formation of BnS.
In 2002, Universal Music signed a contract with them.
Brand ambassadors In 2007, they remained as ambassadors with Dialog after their contract was renewed. From 2008 to 2015, they were ambassadors for HNB Assurance. They were the ambassadors of the 2012 Sri Lanka Premier League and were one of the performers of the team anthem. In 2015, they were apponited as brand ambassadors for McDonalds' McDelivery service and Maliban Lemon Puff. In 2018, they were appointed as ambassadors for Sony's audio products. In 2026, they partnered with Prime Group.https://dailynews.lk/2026/06/10/business/1008108/prime-group-partners-bns-two-legends-one-vision/
In 2021, a company affiliated with them was accused of intellectual property theft in relation to a song from the film Address Na (2015). Composer Rohana Weerasinghe and lyricist Sunil Ariyaratne demanded that they pay a one million rupee compensation, which they reportedly did not pay.
They are co-owners of Charcoal Tandoor Fire Grill in Colombo, which opened in 2026.
Personal life Santhush married Chanchala on 21 December 2008 at the Cinnamon Grand Colombo.
Discography Year Title Label 1998 Vasanthaye ~ A New Beginning Torana Music 2000 Life Torana Music 2002 Tharunyaye Maharaja Entertainments 2005 Neththara Project 4 Maharaja Entertainments 2006 Hiripoda Wassa (Movie OST) SGMTunes 2007 Ayubowan Universal Music Asai Man Piyabanna (Film OST) SGMTunes2008 Shaheena SGMTunes Adaraye Namayen (Film OST) 2009 Rosa Kale (Movie OST) SGMTunes Sri Lanka Matha SGMTunes Dancing Star (Movie OST) Maharaja Entertainments2010 Sara Sihina SGMTunes 2014 Resvihidena SGMTunes 2016 Pravegaya (Movie OST) SGMTunes 2019 Oba Nisa [White Edition] SGMTunes
Other work Bathiya worked as an executive producer, helped with the mixing, and sang for Ashanthi De Alwis's album Sandawathuren.
Awards and nominations Year Award Category Recipient(s) and nominee(s) Result 2006 Male Icons 2006 Entertainment Industry Award Bathiya and Santhush 2010 Derana Music Video Awards Most Popular Music Video of the Year Sri Lanka Matha Silver 2011 Most Popular International Collaboration of the Year Bathiya and Santhush and Asha Bhosle for Dedunna Sedi 2023 Derana - Lux Film Awards 2023 Most Popular Song "Sewwandi Paya" from Adaraneeya Prarthana 2026Calin Popular Awards Most Popular Singing Duo Bathiya and Santhush
References
External links BnS official site