Udari Warnakulasooriya (left) and French-born Marion Weththasinghe
Role in Jayantha Chandrasiri’s film is ‘good karma’
Sri Lankan star Udari Warnakulasooriya considers a leading role in iconic director Jayantha Chandrasiri’s next film is ‘good karma’.
The director has used new leading actors in all his films, and he is known as someone who explores different facets of love, says the star who emerged as this year’s most popular actress at the Derana awards festival.
“I am not prepared to rest on my laurels just yet. My dream is to become the best actress one day, but I think I have not reached that stage,” Udari says, stressing the need to up her game. Her goal doesn’t seem too distant for Udari who bagged her first most popular TV actress award at the Sumathi Tele Awards in 2011.
Udari’s debut was a film directed by Udayakantha Warnasuriya but she became famous after she played the lead in tele-serial called Bonda Meedum.
Apart from Chandrasiri’s film titled Midunu Wishwaya (Frozen Universe), she has bagged a leading role in a tele drama based on Simon Nawagathegama’s novel. She has completed three more films yet to be released – Jackson Anthony’s Eka Gei Sokari, V. Sivadasan’s Devana Yudhdhaya (Second Battle) and Sarath Weerasekera’s Sri Sidhdha.
Midunu Wishwaya is a page out of her life, says Udari in an interview with Colombo-based Aruna website. “The film is based on the life of a film star in the 50s who is striving hard to improve from her position as the most popular actress. Every year she emerges as the heartthrob of film fans but what she wants to win is the award for the best actress.”
Udari is full of praise for veteran Jackson Anthony for giving her the opportunity to work in his film Eka Gei Sokari. “Jackson Sir is a fountain of talent and I really value his guidance during the time I spent in Bibile shooting for the film for one whole month. My acting was praised even by Prof. Sunil Ariyaratne and I bagged the role in Jayantha Sir’s film mainly because Jackson’s movie.”
Describing her role in Midunu Wishwaya the biggest challenge in her career she says, describing it as a three dimensional character. “On one side I am extracting my own experience of wanting to be the best actress one day, while I have to bring to life the mentality of the failed actress of the 50s known as Rajini, bringing to the surface her longing to move away from her popular label. Thirdly, I have to portray the normal life led by the actress, heartbroken as her fans only see her beauty, not her skills.”
Udari’s next film will be based on a real-life story of a blind woman says she, adding that though she came to showbiz as a TV actress she feels that cinema is more challenging and rewarding than the small screen.
Marion Weththasinghe…singer turned actress
French-born Marion Weththasinghe playing a role of the femme fatale in Sunil Ariyaratne’s Vijayaba Kollaya has earned rave reviews. Marion who learned acting under film veteran Mahendra Perera, was a singer before venturing into films.
Marion says her singing paved the way for cinema, adding that she takes leave from her job in Paris to come on vacation and attend to her acting and singing in Sri Lanka.
She plays the role of villainous Queen Rupa in Sunil Ariyaratne-directed Vijayaba Kollaya (Rape of Vijayaba Kingdom). “I don’t think the wicked role of Queen Rupa will dent my popularity. On the other hand, it was a challenge to me. I had to fight, scream and do other physically taxing things on the screen but I enjoyed all that,” says the stunningly beautiful actress.
In response to a question whether acting is an ideal career for the girls in a traditional society like Sri Lanka, she says acting is a job to earn a living and it is wrong to judge people on what they do on screen.
“Actors deal with lot of emotions while on film sets disguising themselves as other people and sometimes their feelings exceed certain limits in their personal lives but people should not judge them solely on that. Actors are also people with feelings, and it is wrong to mix their private lives with their public personas.”
Twenty-four-year old Marion says she was introduced to cinema by Jayani Senanayake, the presenter of ‘Sihinayaki Re’ musical program in which she sang her original songs. (Partly based on articles on Aruna website) – newstrails.com
