Gamini: Largest actor of our times

Prasad Gunewardene

Actor and politician

Gamini Fonseka

*Born: March 21, 1936

*Died: September 30, 2004 (aged 68)

* Fonseka was first on-screen in Rekava

*First credited acting role in Daiwa Yogaya (1959)

* Sandesaya (1960), Adata Wediya Heta Hondai, Ranmuthu Duwa, Getawarayo, Dheevarayo Gamperaliya (1964), Sorungeth Soru (1968), Nidhanaya (1970), Welikathara, Sarungale (1980)

* First anti-hero role in Chandiya

* Entered politics in 1989

*Elected to Parliament in 1989

*Appointed Deputy Speaker of Parliament

* Appointed North-East Province Governor

If great actors are large, Gamini Fonseka of this nation was larger than all other actors of our times. This doyen of the silver screen was always top of the charts as a super star. The larger sense was not in the size of this man but in his broader scope of acting that outsized many. The characters he played were largely and finely detailed into reality.

Gamini’s performances stunned the film industry and the fans with realism. The film industry will endorse that it is difficult to find another large actor like Gamini Fonseka. Dr Lester James Peris in a note to mark Gamini’s 50 years in the cinema wrote - Can we ever find a Gamini Fonseka in the future?-. Gamini Fonseka was the Method Acting God of Asia if Marlon Brando was that in the West.

Glamorous figure

Six years ago, on September 30, 2004 this large actor of our times silently bade goodbye to all, in his customary brief nap after breakfast at his Ja-ela residence. It was a shock and surprise to many. He was a man who took the country by storm. And the poignant nature of his silent demise is even more carved in our hearts, as he was a glamorous figure who kept the nation spellbound by his unlimited talents.

In him was not only an actor but a personality of many characters. The film industry and the nation always stood alert as they never knew what was coming next from this great man. In acting he did little rehearse or never, as he progressed into more complex textures and scripts. He just let things happen the way the character wanted from him. No doubt, Gamini Fonseka was the architect and mentor of the new Sri Lankan Film Order. The pinnacle of popularity was never at a distance to him in all fields. He was gifted with a natural authority to command respect and demand needs. He was never the confusion’s masterpiece even in characters he played on the silver screen.

Nostalgic memories

At his son, Dammith’s birthday party at Ratmalana, January this year, Swineetha Abeysekere who played the opposite role to Gamini in the film Hulawali recalled nostalgic memories with the legendary Gamini Fonseka before the camera. She said acting with Gamini was indeed a pleasure and very educative. “The way he addressed me with his stentorian tone of my character name (Subha Eki) instantly drove me to the life of that jungle woman,” Swineetha recalled with a sad face. Seated beside, Veena Jayakody who partnered Gamini in many opposite roles paid tribute saying - “Gamini Ayya was an unparalleled creation of nature for all times”.

The writer is Trustee-Gamini Fonseka Foundation

Gamini Fonseka knew the difference between Good and Evil. He maintained that a human being was always in the forefront of Good while a human animal was behind Evil. He always claimed there were twists and turns, backward and forward movements in life. As a strong believer in those forms of human life, Gamini was never under duress or pressure till the last.

Successful career

The volume of the depth of his convictions drew him closer to the causes of humanism because, he had unswerving confidence in himself and concern to mankind. Braveness and openness were the hallmarks of his successful career.

All types of transgressions were dealt by him fairly, firmly and justly. This man with a disarming smile was gifted with witticisms and brilliant repartees in a flash, be it the silver screen or outside. Gamini Fonseka dismissed incoherent statements like profusion of damp squibs falling from a lit candle like in the days Rome was burning.

Gamini Fonseka was a giant in the illustrious line of great and large actors of our South Asian region. He was my late father’s first cousin and I was privileged to have an uncle of that illustrious caliber. To him, I pay this tribute with gratitude and love.