Jackson Anthony and Piumi Hansamali in India
Sri Lankan film stars Jackson Anthony and Piumi Hansamali are in the south Indian state of Kerala to act in a Malayalam language film.
Jackson played the lead role in Dharmayugaya, the Sinhala remake of Malayalam blockbuster Drishyam.
Puimi who made her debut this year in Sinhala film Wassanaye Sanda which was shot in Australia. She will play a lead role in the film titled Lucknow to be directed by Malayalam film director Anil Kumar.
In a Twitter post Piumi, who is also a model, describes the film as a dream come true. “Great respect goes to Beena Unnikrishnan, my lovely producer and director Anil Kumar,” she says adding that this is the second time that a Sri Lankan actress is going to play a leading role in a South Indian film after Yashoda Wimaladharma acted in Malayalam film Acharyan in 1992.
It was really Malini Fonseka who was the first Sri Lankan actress to appear in a South Indian film (Tamil) with late super star Shivaji Ganeshan in Pilot Premnath 1978.
Jaqueline Fernandez who is a celebrated Bollywood star is not seen as a true-blue Sri Lankan by local film fans as she is half Indian.
Piumi, considered to be a bold actress who has regular saucy chats with her fans on social media in addition to posing for provocative pictures in the media has only one film to her credit, Wassanaye Sanda, and a few music videos, some of them labelled in the press as controversial.
Piumi, a staunch supporter of former Sri Lankan president Mahinda Rajapakse, said in a press interview last October she is planning to enter politics.
Jackson, a very talented stage, TV and film actor, singer, director, will act in Lucknow as an elderly man married to a young woman, played by Piumi.
Lucknow will be made both in Malayalam and Tamil languages. Anil Kumar’s next release will be Maiya. He has directed about 20 films.
