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| Wednesday, 25 August 2004 |
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Manel leaves void in theatre by Anjana Gamage Manel Jayasena of "Hunuwataye Kathawa" fame has left a void in the Sinhala theatre by her untimely death. Her role as ' 'Grusha' in Henry Jayasena's version of the Chalk Circle endeared herself to many generations of theatre goers. Coming from a conservative family Manel made her debut in theatre after her marriage to actor Henry Jayasena in 1962. In the following year she was cast in the lead role of the popular play Kuweni. Her memorable lines "Sath siyak maya belen mama, Sath siyak bandana belen mama, Sath siyak sakwala soya mama, Genwu kumarun ada Ethe......" still reverberate in our ears. Her excellent performance won her the Best Actress Award at the State Drama Festival in 1963.
Manel was best known for her performance as Grusha in " Hunuwataye Kathawa" for well over 32 years. Having played the role of Grusha, the Palace kitchen maid in Hunuwataye Kathawa over 2,500 times within two decades, she created a record in the history of Sinhala theatre. Since then Manel became one of the best performers on stage in Sri Lanka. The drama became popular among the A\L students as the Hunuwataye Kathawa was a textbook for them. Manel's role as Grusha in Hunuwataye Kathawa was excellent and the Valpalame Geethaya "Hela gamburui puthuni balan Helavenakota Valpalama, Desa piyan bima nobalan Apata puthe magak nethe Me maga misa yaman puthe- Deviyo balai muhuna obe Umbawa raki yaman puthe..." became a hit among theatre goers. Her performance in a number of stage dramas "Thawath Udasanak" (1964), "Manawarjana Wedawarjana" (1965), "Ahas Maliga" (1966), "Hunuwataye Kathawa" (1967), "Apata Puthe Magak Nethe" (1968) "Diriya Mawa saha Ege Daruwo" (1972) and "Sarana Siyoth Se Puthuni Hamba Yana" (1975) produced by her husband Henry Jayasena depicted her histrionic abilities making her a role model to others. Meanwhile, Manel acted in three Sinhala films directed by Reggie Perera (Sadol Kandulu), D.B. Nihalsinghe (Ridee Nimnaya) and Udayakantha Warnasuriya (Maha Mera Usata). **** Back **** |
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