Geetha’s formula to halt the decline of local cinema industry

Address the intelligence of man
 

by E.M.G Edirisinghe

“More arty films are made in Sri Lanka than in any other country in the world. There are over 4,000 international film festivals. What our people want is to despatch some thing to one of those festivals and win an award.

This madness is the cause of the decline in the local film industry. One should address the intellect of man as Lester and Tissa do,” said award winning film actress Geetha Kumarasinghe in an interview with the Artscope. Excerpts:

Question: How do you correlate the first time you won an award for the Best Actress and the award you won at the recent Sarasaviya film festival?

Answer: The first award I won for the Best Actress was in 1991 in recognition of my performance in Palama Yata. That day I was so happy, I was at a loss for words to express my emotions. I am equally happy about my performance and its recognition by an eminent jury this year too.

Every award has a value. A national award, however, is greater than an international award. Acting is like meditation, it gives emotional as well as spiritual satisfaction.

Q: You are an actress with total success on wide screen, but was never seen on stage or on television. Is there any special reason for it?

A: Yes, each of these forms of audio-visual art is different from one another. The stage is much more complex than the other two forms. There are no stars in theatre, but only in cinema and television. However, the star first appeared on the big screen. The stars are seen from a distance, and that is why they are called stars.

The cinema drives the viewer to a high sense of concentration whereas teledrama is light entertainment. I have got over 100 offers to act in teledramas, but I turned them down because I didn’t get a suitable character. Even an artiste with a large screen personality is made small in television which is not a good thing for a movie artiste.

Q: Gamini Fonseka, the most resourceful actor in Sinhala cinema, had said that an actor should be able to act in any role. What is your opinion about it?

A: Yes, it is true. However, the question is how far the performance could be effective. The age and appearance of the artiste could be a deciding factor. There is no question in an artiste entering into the spirit of a particular character.

Q: How did you embrace the character of Amali in Ran Diya Dahara? When you compare with other awards you have won, how do you differentiate it and the other characters you have breathed life into?

Audience sympathy

A: Yes, I have breathed life into a large number of characters in the movies each of which is different from the other. In Siribo Ayya I acted as a forty-two year old woman when in fact, I was only 18 years old. Each character I get in a film is special for me. Amali in Randiya Dahara is an uneducated and socially indiscipliend woman.

For an Asian woman, marriage is very important. Amali had got an illegitimate child and was planning to go abroad to avoid the insults and insinuations it brings to her. Then accidentally she gets a husband to fill the vacuum. And, finally she wins the sympathy of the audience.

Q: You joined the cinema as an artiste, in the ‘70s. Have you noticed any difference in the art of movie acting, then and now?

A: Yes; certainly it has changed. Acting is a very wide subject. The present is my best period in cinema, and to give my best, I must come under a good director. Acting talent is an asset which someone brings from his or her birth itself.

There is not much of a difference between ability and knowledge. I can understand a character in no time: yet, I am very selective in choosing characters for performance.

Q: Oscar Wilde says that the love that never changes is the love that one has towards oneself. As one who has performed the role of a lover over several dozens of times on screen, what is your reaction to it?

A: You must love without expecting love in return. The love that one bestows brings happiness to the giver. But, if someone does not return my love to him or to her, personally I will be furious. each person suffers to keep oneself happy. Naturally we love ourselves more. Artistes are emotional and childish; hence they become angry too, very quickly.

Real life

Q: Do you agree with the saying that only in real life that we can see one’s real acting?

A: I do not agree with it. Acting is fantasy and a cheat. I am honest to myself. Acting is a pretension. In a film you pretend, and that ends there. But when you pretend in real life it is to achieve an objective which takes you to a different place.

Q: When have you been most satisfied as an actress?

A: I am yet to achieve it. My best talent had not yet been unearthed. In order to realise this goal in my life, there should be the right suitable character and a clever director. I wish to do a serious role. For example, that of a psychologically moody character. But, it should not be too serious also.

Q: Lord Byron says, “For man, love and life are two different things. But, for a woman love is her total life.” What do you think of this saying?

A: I fully agree with him. I will do anything or sacrifice anything for love. When I say that it shows that I am too selfish.

Overnight popularity

Q: What advice can you give to the youngsters who take to the cinema?

A: There are classes all over the island to teach acting. But, one cannot learn anything in such so-called classes. One must go to the right teacher and learn the art both in theory and practice. These newcomers should not try to become popular overnight.

They should not look for short cuts to popularity. They must be honest and intelligent enough as not to allow anyone to exploit them. I have stopped calling myself an actress. There are thousands of them. I call myself an artiste and not an actress.

Q: What do you think of the future of Sinhala cinema?

A: More arty films are made in Sri Lanka than in any other country in the world. There are over 4,000 international film festivals.

What our people want is to despatch something to one of these festivals and win an award. This madness is the cause of the decline in the local film industry. One should address the intelligence of man as Lester and Tissa do.

Q: You have been a producer of several good movies. Do you have any plan to produce a film in the near future?

A: Yes, at the moment I have eight scripts with me. They are all written by well-known script-writers. But, none of them could catch my interest. Therefore the things stand at that at the moment. However, I do have an idea of doing another film.

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