The actress Rebecca Nirmali, who burst into stardom through her
breakthrough role in Jayantha Chandrasiri’s popular tele-drama ‘Vedahamine’,
says that she was at a loss for words, to express her feelings and
emotions, in the wake of the North being completely liberated by the
security forces, from the claws of LTTE terrorists last month.
She observed that veteran actress Malini Fonseka’s venture to build a
bridge between the North and South through ‘Uthuru Wasanthaya’, to
propagate arts media would receive a ‘huge boost’ as a result of the
liberation of North by the gallant soldiers.
Rebecca says that to have come under the influence of director
Chandrasiri in her maiden teledrama ‘Vedahamine’ has stood in good stead
in her career.
 The actress hailing from rural Anuradhapura, before ending up in the
metropolis, was of the view that having worked with numerous directors,
most had failed to get the best out of her inborn talents in acting.
Hence, she regards Jayantha Chandrasiri, as an exceptional director
who has the knack of getting the very best from his actors, looking back
19-years on Vedahamine was a ‘dream come true’.
Rebecca who has defied age to hold her own in the face of an influx
of newcomers to the sphere of tele-dramas, said that she was content
with her contribution to the industry thus far.
But, she was quick to add that of the two media (cinema and TV), not
all artistes were cut out to make a mark in both fields, however she has
no alternative but to work in both from a financial perspective.
However she insisted that her first love will always be teledramas.
She also cautioned that in the circuit of teledramas, people have
begun to churn them out like ‘instant noodles’, without proper
consideration for values and themes, unlike during her formative days in
the industry.
Nirmali argued that the current trend of producing dramas by every
Tom, Dick and Harry who has money, were to continue unabated, it could
endanger the whole industry in the long-term.
She also gave her thumbs down to the popular trend towards
mega-dramas emphasising that neither the artistes nor the viewing-public
can gain anything informative or valuable other than ‘cheap popularity’
as she put it.
Rebecca Nirmali, a mother of a 22-year-old daughter (Anne Niroshani)
was not unhappy that her off-spring had not followed in her footsteps.
But she emphasised that her daughter’s talent far exceeds that of her
mother, if she were to take up to acting seriously one-day.
The actress who has 10 tele-dramas and two films in the pipeline,
finally expressed her gratitude to Teleview boss Sunil Ratnayake and
veteran director Jayantha Chandrasiri for burnishing her career, which
has enabled her to remain in the spotlight for close-upon two decades
and to her dear fans, who have always been with her through thick and
thin.
- Jatila
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