Tony, yesterday and tomorrow

A modest hero of the Sinhala silver screen, Tony Ranasinghe has never let that get in the way of going for the gold. What immediately struck me about Tony was his simple mannerisms coupled with his craggy good looks that must have gained an enthusiastic response from the fairer sex during his days as one of the most sought after actors in Sri Lanka. Time has not detracted from his glamorous charm that is still there and he possesses a sense of humor that emerges unexpectedly. Reminiscences of Gold met with Tony Ranasinghe who is still very much the man the camera loved during his heyday.

“I was born in Modera, Colombo 15. In 1942 we shifted to Wattala because of the Japanese air raid. At the end of the war we came back to Modera in 1945. I studied at a Sinhala school called St. John’s Mixed School and subsequently at De La Salle College, Mutwal. It was a college run by Christian brothers and the school atmosphere had a strong emphasis on discipline. I think that discipline served me well. Discipline in any field of activity is very essential. The brothers were very strict not only in studies but also in other areas such as your personal appearance, how you dress and how you behave. So they wanted us to do something good and useful for society after we leave school. I think I have done well in my chosen profession,” said Tony Ranasinghe.

Acting career

After leaving school, he studied short hand and typing and started working as an English Stenographer attached to the Department of Government Electrical Undertakings (DGEU) at McCallum Road. However, fate had other plans for him. “I used to watch a lot of Bollywood and English movies and I was bitten by the acting bug. So I wanted to break into movies. I met a veteran Sinhala film producer and director called Sirisena Wimalaweera, and he immediately gave me a role in one of his movies. Unfortunately for me, the film could not be completed as Mr. Wimalaweera suddenly passed away. That was in 1959.”

It was only a temporary setback to his acting career as he was able to find another field where he could make a name as a stage actor. By that time he had met Sugathapala De Silva who gave him a role in his stage play called Boarding Karayo. Tony played the role of Sirisoma in this play which soon became very popular. His role in Ran Thodu in 1963 won him the Governor General’s Award for Best Stage Actor. He carved a niche as a stage actor for the roles he played in several other plays such as Thattu Gewal, Harima Badu Hayak, Virupa Rupa, Nil Katrolu Mal, Waguru Bima, Doloswana Rathriya, and Julius Caesar.

He did not have to wait too long to realize his dream of becoming a movie actor. He made his debut in cinema with Gam Peraliya. He played only a minor role in Gam Peraliya but Lester James Peiris offered him a lead role in Delovak Atara. He was awarded the Best Supporting Actor Sarasaviya Award in 1966 for his role in Parasathu Mal. Subsequently he won Best Actor Awards for Hanthane Kathawa (1969), Duhulu Malak (1976) and Ahasin Polawata (1979). Saptha Kanya (1993) won him Best Actor Awards from Sarasaviya, Swarna Sanka, Presidential and OCIC.

With his increasingly busy life with movies and stage plays, he had to say good bye to his career in the Public Service. “It became increasingly difficult for me to continue my work in the government department. When a producer requires about ten days of work at a stretch, it is difficult to take leave for a long period. Sometimes I had to go on no-pay leave as well. Finally, I decided to leave the government service and become a full time actor. Thanks to God and my luck, I have not gone back to any other job and I remained in the acting career. I had various ups and downs like in any business. So I weathered the storm anyway.”

Good movies

He acted simultaneously on stage as well as in movies. Is acting on stage very different from acting in cinema? As he explained: “I started as a stage actor. On the stage, we make sure that our voices are heard not only by people close to us but also by people far away from us. Even the people in the last row should be able to hear us very clearly. Similarly, our facial expressions and subtle movements should be seen by everybody in the audience. So we have to exaggerate ourselves. But it is different on the screen. The camera can do wonders with your image by intensifying its visual effects. In a close up the camera can magnify your image several times. So you have to change yourself depending on the medium. There is no difficulty when you know the difference - how to play for the camera and how to play for a large audience. That was a particular detail which I had to learn through experience. Of course directors like Lester James Peiris, Gamini Fonseka and several others helped me to get over that problem at the initial stage and after that I had no problem.”

Tony has done well over 100 movies but he is very modest and realistic in assessing his contribution. “But I must stress I didn’t do over 100 leading roles. I was featured in various guest roles including villain roles and small roles. Together it might exceed even 110. If you select the number of so-called good movies out of that lot, I don’t think it will amount to the fingers of both hands. Because good movies were few and far between. But we should understand that for the movies to succeed there should be an industry. Without commercial films, the film industry cannot sustain itself. That is a necessity. There are of course artistic films but they come once in a way. If you wait for arty films without accepting commercial films, that is not professional.”

Script writer

Besides acting, Tony has also been successful as a writer. He has translated a couple of Shakespearean plays. “I translated Julius Caesar and produced a play with Gamini Fonseka as Brutus, Ravindra Randeniya as Mark Antony, and myself playing Julius Caesar. I did another Shakespearean play called the Twelfth Night where I played the role of Malvolio. I adapted a Midsummer Nights Dream to Sinhala, which was produced by Mrs. Helena Lehmatig, a Belgian lady. For the screen I have written a lot of screen plays. My big break came when Gamini Fonseka asked me to write a movie script and I am eternally grateful to him. There I started as a script writer. The title of the movie was Koti Waligaya and it was a huge success.

Then I wrote for Lester Peiris a movie called ‘Avaragira’ (sunset) and then I have written for Mrs. Sumithra Peiris two scripts. Apart from that I have written about 15 tele-dramas. But I don’t take the television very seriously. That is just for the entertainment of the people.” He has won Sarasaviya Awards for the screenplays he wrote for Koti Waligaya, Keli Mandala, Awaragira and Pavuru Walalu.

Tony is a man of many interests. He is an avowed cricket fan and recently he published a book titled: Loka Cricket Kusalaana Puraanaya 1975-2011 (Chronicle of World Cup Cricket 1975-2011). Explaining his interest in cricket, he said: “ I never played cricket at any level. I played cricket on the village green. But I loved the game very much. At that time I was very fond of collecting pictures of cricket greats during that time like Donald Bradman and Len Hutton. I wrote this book to provide the general public with some factual information about the World Cup matches played so far and to inspire our youngsters to play for the country one day.”