Creative whiz
The Possible's slow fuse is lit, By
the Imagination. - Emily Dickinson
Ruwini JAYAWARDANA
Creativity is his forte and one which took him places. He is the
maker behind sensational productions like Derana Veet Miss Sri Lanka,
Fair and Lovely Diriya Sihinaya and Derana Real Leader.
|
Kumar Hewage |
A member of the Derana television team, Executive Producer Kumar
Hewage had been the livewire behind many of Derana's successful
programmes. However he relates that Sri Lankan reality shows do not
embody the true ingredients of a quality reality programme.
"I realized this after taking part in Amazing Race Asia. The
participants go on head to head, taking on mental, physical and
emotional challenges. Suspense is at its height. There are many nail
biting episodes. There is so mush tension and excitement in the air. It
takes your breath away," he said.
Two episodes of the Asian adaptation of the four time Emmy Award
winning reality competition series, Amazing Race was shot in Sri Lanka.
A Sri Lankan group worked together to lay out the obstacles related to
the event. Kumar was their locations manager.
"Derana Real Leader was a time consuming project. You have to be
really dedicated to the programme for it to run smoothly. The crew was
with the participants throughout the show. We even camped with them. At
times we were hit by thunder showers but we never left the locations. We
managed to capture the true essence of the atmosphere," he related.
Having graduated from Colombo University after following geography
and journalism Kumar was a trainee at Young Asia Television. He produced
his maiden television show Mihisara during this era. His next stop was
Power House productions before venturing onto Derana.
Tasting success with the magazine programme Viyamana which bagged the
State Literary Award in 2006 Kumar then went on to explore his creative
capacity producing a host of successful television programmes. One such
production is the weekly Derana Dream Star Academy.
Speaking about his career Kumar said that an executive producer's
role is similar to that of a director's.
"You cannot hand the reins to anyone else because you call the shots
on the sets. It is team work but you need to monitor every aspect to see
that things run smoothly. Since it is a very demanding job you have to
readily available at any time. My personal life mingles with my
profession at all times," he explained.
Another interesting aspect in Kumar's life was representing the
country at the World's Toughest Off-road Challenge in 2006 and 2007. He
was the only Sri Lankan media representative to take part in the event.
Recalling his Derana Real Leader experiences, the dynamic individual
says that Sri Lanka embodies the perfect settings for adventure reality
shows.
"Very few locations in the world possess this type of natural
landscape. It is naturally made to shoot adventure programmes. My dream
is to bring the international reality show Survivor to Sri Lanka," he
added with a smile. |
