Shyam Fernando, Nilukshi Amanda Silva and Nilwala Vishwamali
SHYAM FERNANDO IN MANI RATNAM’S ‘PONNIYIN SELVAM’
Sri Lankan actor Shyam Fernando is famously known as the star who played Indian star Anjali Patil’s husband in Prasanna Withanage’s award-winning classic With You, Without You.
Shyam’s next film will be South Indian director Mani Ratnam’s mega-production Ponniyin Selvam.
Shyam, who won the best actor’s award at the first Hollywood Venus short film festival at the beginning of this year for One Blood says the shooting of Ratnam’s magnum opus is on hold due to Covid 19, and a few days are remaining in his shoot.
One Blood short film directed by Chathura Wimarsha Fernando won the top award at the US festival, beating around 1000 movies from 100 countries vying for the top honours.
Ponniyin Selvam, based on Kalki Krishamurthy’s period novel, stars a host of leading Indian actors Vikram, Karthi, Jayam Ravi, Aishawarya Rai, Trisha, Prabhu, and Aishwarya Lekshmi.
Sri Lankan star who started his career on stage says the Ponniyin Selvam makers may come to Sri Lanka to finish the rest of his shoot.
Talking about the Indian cinema, the award-winning actor says, “The only thing the talented Sri Lankan actors and the stars across the Palk Strait have in common is our talent. Everything else is incomparable. The Indian actors are richer than us and garner more public respect and popularity than us and have access to much more facilities than us.”
Shyam has appeared in several Sri Lankan films yet to be released. One notable film is Marine Drive made by four young directors, Channa Deshapriya’s Age Nama Rathi (Her name is Rathi) and Prasanna Withanage’s Gadhi, a remarkable film about the untouchable Rodi community in Sri Lanka.
NILUKSHI SRI LANKA’S TALLEST ACTRESS
Measuring six feet and nine inches, Nilukshi Amanda Silva is the tallest actress in a country where women’s average height is five feet 0.85 inches.
Nilukshi, who started her showbiz career on the catwalk as a model, has so far acted in one feature film (Selena) and a handful of television films but plans to carve out a career in movies.
She is beautiful and talented, and acting is in her blood. Her maternal grandfather, Piyadasa Wijekoon, was a popular villain in Sinhala films of the 60s and 70s.
Burly stunt actor Piyadasa who passed away in 2003, carved a 42-year film career with 140 films. The only positive role he played was as a police inspector in Siripala saha Ranmanike in 1977, trying to track down a real-life murderer.
She thanks Piyadasa’s son Priyantha Wijekoon who is in fashion designing for inspiring her to be a model.
Nilukshi was among the top five contestants at the Best Model World pageant 2010 held in Spain, winning the Best Body Award at the event. Four years later, she was among the top 15 contestants at the Miss Asia Pacific World representing her native country.
NILWALA’S DREAM COMES TRUE
Actress Nilwala Vishwamali considers the opportunity to play the lead role in veteran Jayantha Chandrasiri’s film, Miduna Wishwaya, a dream come true.
“It was a total surprise,” says the actress who trained to be a professional Kathak dancer. “I was planning to study acting in Jayantha Sir’s classes, but it was beyond belief when the call came for me to get ready for an audition for his next film,” she said.
Speaking to Colombo-based Aruna newspaper, the actress, who studied dance at the university, says she got through a tough audition.
“There is a dearth of acting schools in Sri Lanka, and the chance to work in Jayantha Sir’s movie was a golden opportunity for me to enrich my skills,” she says, adding that she learnt a lot from the way Jayantha coached his actors to get the best from them at the shooting.
The director uses unknown or little-known actors in his films. Some of the best examples are late Rebeca Nirmali who played the lead in the TV serial Weda Hamine, Uddika Premarathne in Samanla Sandwaniya (Butterfly Symphony) and Devnaka Porage and Kavindya Adikari in his last film Garasarapa.
Nilwala, who began her acting career on stage, has acted in three films directed by Lakmal Dharamrathne, Benet Rathnayake and Sanath Gunatilake.
She also laments the lack of opportunities for dancers in the country. Dancing was her passion from the school days, and opened a school to train aspiring dancers after graduating from the university, but the project derailed due to a lack of public interest in this area today.
With her stunning looks and rare talent that has come to a leading film maker’s attention, we are sure she will be a force to reckon with in the local film industry. – newstrails.com
