More into directing than acting
by Ruwini Jayawardana
Young actress Suranga Ranawaka
may have gained a fair share of applause for her performance as the LTTE
cadre in Chandran Rutnam’s ‘Alimankada’ but she says that she would
rather continue her spell with movies behind the cameras.The energetic
young woman had dabbled with directing and had made a couple of short
films and documentaries before she had made it big in the movie
adaptation of Nihal de Silva’s Gratiaen Award winning novel ‘The Road
From Elephant Pass’.
 However she reveals that it is not her first moment in front of the
camera.
She had previously portrayed a minor role in Prasanna Vithanage’s
‘Ira Madiyama’ (August Sun). “I was very disappointed with my acting
skills. I could not even perform my small part with ease. That made me
realize that acting for a short film is poles apart from taking on a
role in a movie,” the dedicated actress commented.
This comes as a surprise for those who had seen her power-packed
performance in ‘Alimankada’. Her innate talents had emerged with years
of experience of studying and mastering the techniques. She had joined
Asoka Handagama’s team of professionals for ‘Aksharaya’. Later, after
taking part in projects like Deepa Mehta’s ‘Water’ and Kevin Connor’s
‘Mother Theresa’ while working at Film Location Services, Suranga was
able to fine-tune her craft.
“I didn’t know that Rutnam had me in mind for the lead role when he
handed me the script. I was working as a receptionist at the company.
The project was not mentioned for some time. I was engaged in short film
and documentary making when Rutnam contacted me again.
He informed me that I possess Kamala’s features and mannerism,” she
explained. She had studied the ‘83 riots to understand Kamala’s
emotions. She made her way to Jaffna to merge with the Tamils who had a
mite to add to her growing image of how Kamala’s character should
emerge. Her last stop was on the web, scrutinizing clips of female LTTE
cadres in action.
“I cannot forget the scene in which I had to roll down a steep sandy
dune with deserters hot on my trail,” she recalled. Though she feared
getting in deep waters she did all the scenes by her own, without the
aid of a stunt. Suranga had begun her stint as a director in 2005 with
the opening chapter of Charlotte Bronte’s ‘Jane Eyre’. She had followed
this up with another short film, ‘To be Filled’, projecting a story
about women who are forced into prostitution to feed themselves.
Then followed three documentaries: the ‘83 riots, lifestyle of the
slum children in the city and student culture in the Oluvil University.
She is portraying yet another role of a Tamil girl in Boodee
Keerthisena’s ‘Nimnayaka Hudakalawa’ (Solitude in a Valley).
However she was quick to add that the role was offered to her before
she was selected for ‘Alimankada’. “The role is quite different to
Kamala. I am glad I was given an opportunity to act opposite a versatile
actor like Saumya Liyanage,” she said adding that Ashan Dias, her
co-star in ‘Alimankada’ had given her a lot of backup. |
