Dulani reigns as Kuveni

Amalshan GUNERATHNE

Not many have gained instant success at the highest level of acting as she has. Showcasing her versatile talents and gaining immense critical acclaim for her first-ever performance on the silver screen, she captured many hearts through her role in Jackson Anthony’s cinematic venture ‘Aba’.

Kuveni being attacked by the Yakka tribe members

Vijaya and Kuveni surrounded by their army in a moment of victory

Kuveni and her children flee from Vijaya’s clan

Stepping into an unknown territory as a newcomer, she surprised many with her strong performance and went on to win the Best Actress Award at the Sarasaviya Film Awards.

Her second appearance also comes in a film of similar magnitude. Portraying the role of the legendary Kuveni, she is back with yet another arresting wide screen performance that could put her in contention for another award. Multi-talented Dulani Anuradha discussed her formula of success in Sugath Samarakoon’s ‘Vijaya Kuveni’ which is unspooling in cinemas these days.

Q: How challenging was it to portray a tough character like ‘Kuveni’?

A: Kuveni ends up being a tough person only because of her upbringing and the difficulties that she had to undergo. Yet deep down, she is a soft-hearted person with genuine feminine emotions. Portraying those varied emotions of Kuveni’s character made it a very demanding and challenging role for me. We always try our best to do full justice to whatever roles that we get but it is up to the viewers to decide whether we are successful or not.

Q: You have acted in two major big-budget films: ‘Aba’ and ‘Vijaya Kuveni’. Could you share your experiences about the workload and the effort that are put in to make such projects?

A: Both ‘Aba’ and ‘Vijaya Kuveni’ are grand projects. I was fortunate that my first film was such a magnificent project. Working on such a movie is a huge process. The director and the crew had to put in a tremendous effort to see that all the aspects are in place to make it work.

Everything has to be captured meticulously. Special attention was given to costumes and make-up. The fight scenes were very detailed. There was a strong bond between the cast and crew. If not for that bond, it would have been difficult to make it work. Both films were done after doing extreme research.

Both Anthony and Samarakoon have put in lots of effort and thought into the productions. They started working on it years before filming started.

Q: Starting from ‘Aba’, many films were made in recent-times which revolve around historical themes. Do you see it as a trend? Do you feel that there is enough variety in the current cinema trends to sustain the viewer-ship?

A: Yes, it is an obvious trend. But I don’t think people are still fed-up of it. The interest is still there. The appetite towards such historical films has not died down. As long as directors and actors do a good job, there will be an audience.

Cinema is a visual medium. If the director and cast can make full use of the visual medium and come up with strong and arresting creations the viewers will still like it. Having said that, everything dies down with time, like in fashion industry where certain trends last for a particular period and diminishes with time.

Q: You were able to work alongside some of the greats in local cinema industry at the very early stages of your acting career. How much did that help you to progress as an actress?

A: Working alongside some of the thespians in the cinema field has been a great opportunity for me. When I was doing ‘Aba’, seniors like Ravindra Randeniya, Sabeetha Perera and Malini Fonseka were there to guide me. I had lot to learn from them and how they go about doing their work.

Even during ‘Vijaya Kuveni’, I got the chance to act alongside Roger Senevirathne, Cletus Mendis and Buddhadasa Vithanachchi. They helped to harness my acting talents.

Q: Within a short-span of time, you were able to win great critical acclaim and fan support for your performances in cinema, how was your initial upbringing and your acting background?

A: I am still very new to the film industry. I didn’t have any experience at all when I first burst in to the scene. I have studied dancing in university and I have acted in some stage-dramas during school days but that was it.

So when I first came to the scene, Jackson Anthony made me rehearse continuously. He was searching for the right actress to portray the main role for so long that he wanted to get it perfect. I had to go through varied acting exercises because he wanted to make sure that I have the acting capacity to portray the varied emotions that were expected of my character.

Q: So far viewers have only seen you perform similar type of roles in similar genre of movies in ‘Aba’ and ‘Vijaya Kuveni’. Don’t you think that such prejudices would restrict your acting scope?

A: No, I have portrayed varied roles in other films, but those films have not been released yet. After ‘Aba’ I did two films called ‘Sangili’ and ‘Paravarthna’. Both films are yet to be released. I don’t like to restrict myself to particular type of roles. For instance, after I played ‘Pabalu’s role in the ‘Vahinna Muthu Vassak’ teledrama, I got invitations to act in similar type of roles. I refused them. I like to have a sense of variety in my work.

Q: You have acted in few teledramas as well. Share your thoughts on current teledrama trends.

A: People consider lengthy teledramas as a threat but the problem is not in length of the teledrama. We used to love long teledramas such as ‘Duduruwo’, ‘Nedayo’ and ‘Oshin’.

It is a matter about whether the drama has the capacity to arouse the curiosity of the viewers and keep their interest levels going for a longer span. If they make teledramas with interesting storylines, people will still watch it.

Q: How do you select your roles?

A: I only take on one or two projects per year. Initially it all depends on the script. When you read the script, a certain idea gets to your head about the role that you are expected to perform.

It all depends on how it touches you. If the script is strong enough to capture people’s heart, I go for it. You also have to think about your role. Sometimes we get flawed scripts with strong characters in it.

SAARC unites filmmakers

Ishara JAYAWARDANE

The SAARC Film Festival 2012 kicked off in grand style and unfurled at the National Film Corporation from May 16 to 20. This was the second SAARC Film Festival to be held in the city. It showcased feature films and documentary films from Bangladesh, India, Maldives, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

Director K P Suveeran receives a Bronze Medal for the feature film ‘Biyari’ from India. Pictures by Sulochana Gamage

NFC Chairman Asoka Serasinghe receives the award for Best Feature Film ‘Akasa Kusum’ from Sri Lanka

Pakistani High Commissioner Seema Illahi Baloch collecting the Award for Best Documentary Film ‘Saving Face’. SAARC Cultural Centre director G L W Samarasinghe is also in the picture with Bangladeshi High Commissioner Mahabub Uz Zaman

“The SAARC Cultural Centre has been dedicated to promote distinctive arts in South Asia with the aim of bringing the people of South Asia closer through the crucial role of culture. South Asian countries are rich in cultural heritage and the SAARC Film Festival, organized by SAARC Cultural Centre, is one of the major cultural events to promote relations and understanding amongst the member states of SAARC,” SAARC Cultural Centre director G L W Samarasinghe stated at the festival inauguration.

Mass Media and Information Acting Minister and Economic Development Deputy Minister Lakshman Yapa Abeywardana who was also the chief guest of the event said that it is a pleasure to welcome cinematic personalities from the SAARC members.

“Culture and the Arts play an important role in the SAARC region. It is one of the most diverse regions in the world. SAARC film festival is also a means of recognizing and appreciating the diverse culture of the region and bringing the people of South Asia closer together,” he said.

Public Administration and Home Affairs Minister W D J Seneviratne was the Chief Guest at the SAARC Film Festival Award ceremony which was held on May 20. The Best Documentary Film award went to ‘Saving Face’ from Pakistan, directed by Daniel Junge and Sharmee Obaid Chinoy, for its brave exposition of a deep social problem about violence against women, and its shocking footage of both victims and perpetrators. An honourable mention was made of ‘The Great School Teacher’ from Sri Lanka, directed by Mayuri Wanaguru.

The Best Feature Film title was won by ‘Akasa Kusum’, from Sri Lanka, directed by Prasanna Vithanage, for its poetic evocation of a golden age of cinema, seen through the memories of love and loss of an ageing actress. The Silver Medal for the Best Feature Film was given to Pakistan for ‘Ram Chand Pakistani’, directed by Mehreen Jabbar, and the Bronze Medal for the Best Feature Film was given to ‘Biyari’, directed by K P Suveeran.

Certificates of Recognition were given to Morshedul Islam as Best Director and for the film ‘Khelaghor’ from Bangladesh. The Best Actor titles went to Manzar Sehbai and Rashid Farooqi for their roles in ‘Bol’ and ‘Ram Chand Pakistani’ and the Best Actress was Malini Fonseka for her role in ‘Akasa Kusum’. The Special Jury Certificate of Recognition went to Asoka Handagama for ‘Vidhu’.

‘Super Six’ smashes records on first week

Naking the box office by storm Udara Palliyaguruge’s maiden movie ‘Super Six’ brought in a whopping Rs 10.5 million in sales during its first week of screening. This figure ranks among the best achieved amount to date in Sinhala commercial cinema history.

The movie which stars Roshan Ranawana, Aruni Rajapaksa, Hemal Ranasinghe, Saranga Dissasekara, Pabodha Sandeepani and Mahika Sirisenage in lead roles premiered on May 17. Produced by R Sadesh Kumar and Srimathi Sadesh Kumar the movie scored another first by being simultaneously released in Sri Lanka and India with the latter being subtitled in Hindi.

The movie is also the highest budget Sinhala movie with Rs 99 million spent on its production alone. It has a cast of around 10 and was shot in Sri Lanka, India, Malaysia and the Andaman Islands. The movie is screening at Liberty cinema and other EAP theatres islandwide.

Liberty Lite celebrates first year anniversary

Liberty Lite cinema completed one year recently with a small get-together at the premises. Movie Works (Pvt) Ltd managing director Anura Priyantha Jasenthuliyana, and partner of the cinema Palitha Perera took part in the event. The theatre opened its doors to movie buffs on May 13, 2011, by screening ‘Fast 5’.