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| Sunday, 3 April 2005 |
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Yashodha and Sangeetha : Different strokes by Rikaza Hassan Yashodha Wimaladharma and Sangeetha Weeraratne: two opposing personalities and two very good friends. While the former is calm, quiet and collected, the latter is bubbly, talkative and full of life.
Since Maruthaya where they played two sisters, Jayantha Chandrasiri's Geurilla Marketing, to be released on the 13th of May is the first time in over a decade that they're playing leading roles in a Sri Lankan movie. A serious film about culture, politics and advertising, it also has a dose of hilarity thrown in for good measure. Here is an inside scoop on what the two pals think about each other. Sangeetha on Yashodha
Q: Tell us about her I met her as an actress because I met her for a film, way back in 1990. I've known her since then and I've known her to be a lovely, very sensitive kind of person, a good actress, a very private, closed person who keeps things close to her. She doesn't reveal anything of herself, what she's doing or who she is. She bears everything on her own. I think all the experiences that she has faced in her life and all that she has had to undergo as a person has helped her extremely. Q: What's her best and worst quality? Her best quality is the person that she is. You can't differentiate that she is nice because of this particular reason, but her whole personality makes her a very nice person. The quality that I don't like in her is that she keeps things to herself. We don't live alone in this world and you have to share your sadness and happiness. If its sadness, more or less you have to share it because keeping it in makes you suffer so much and as a friend I'd know she's going through a bad time and not telling you. I mean, why am I a friend if she's not going to tell me her problems?
Q: What kind of friendship do you guys share? In this profession you can't have basic friendships where you go out to the movies, shopping together. When I'm free she's not, when she's free I'm not, or when we're both free we might not want to do it. We can't have the friendships that normal people do but we kind of have the understanding where I can call her up at one in the morning and bug her, make plans for the next day. You know you can talk to her any time you want. Q: You guys are very different. How has that affected your friendship? If we'd been the same we'd have been at each other all the time. We've had our ups and downs like any other relationship but it's been pretty nice so far. Q: How did it feel working together very closely after so many years? I think I did Geurilla Marketing because of her. I had other reasons for getting out of the film. I mean I loved the script and I was looking forward to working with Jayantha. I had heard he was very good, an artiste director who got in to the characters and experiences he wanted you to portray. But I had other problems and wanted to drop the film. But she called me and asked me to reconsider. She was quite frank with what she had to say and that was why I did it. Q: Any wedding plans on the horizon for the bachelorette? I keep pestering her to get married and she takes it very seriously to scold me back. I try to encourage her to get married because it's such a beautiful thing. I think she needs to get married. I think she should get married to the right person. I don't set her up or anything but I strongly believe she should get married. Q: What do you think about Roshantha (Sangeetha's husband)? He's been very supportive, supportive enough not to interfere with my work. What you need in my kind of work is mental freedom. You're involved in characters in your mind and you need the freedom in your mind to get into the characters. It your mind's occupied, if you keep on thinking, what's he going to say, is he going to scold me when I get home, is he eating, is he drinking, you can't perform. That freedom of trust and understanding has been given to me by my husband and that's all I need. It's a very difficult thing for a person to give. Q: What does she look best in? I like to see her with her hair down. She had lovely long hair upto her knees. I love her hair, it's so beautiful. Yashodha on Sangeetha Q: Tell us about her The first day I met her was at the dentist's where we had to get some dental work done for Maruthaya and the first thing she asked me was 'How do you keep your figure?' I was much more trimmer than this and I said something like 'It's my nature.' We stayed at Hikkaduwa to shoot the film and we had a lovely 52 days together. We played hell and she was such a lovely person, always bubbly. Then, she was even more bubbly because she was so young. She's outgoing and says whatever she has to say straight to your face. I really liked her and it was a great experience. When I worked with her, I realised how good and dedicated she is to her work. Q: What's her best and worst quality? Her best quality is that she's so friendly, outgoing and she doesn't keep things to her heart. We've had our downs as well and she always comes out with it. There are people who'd keep it in and then it develops into something worse. I think that's the quality that I like best in her. Her worst quality I think is that she talks too much. Q: What kind of friendship do you guys share? We used to go to the movies and go shopping together but now we can't do that anymore. But since Maruthaya we've met at a few films though we didn't really work together until Guerilla Marketing last year. I've enjoyed working with her. I think we're close friends, close enough to do anything together. Q: You guys are very different. How has that affected your friendship? She's a very bubbly person, friendly and I think it's helped our friendship. Like she said we've had our ups and downs of course. Q: How did it feel working together very closely after so many years? I told her very frankly after reading the script that I didn't see any actress who could do that role in current Sri Lankan cinema. She has been a person I've worked with. We have a good professional relationship and she's someone I'd love to work with. So I told her she was missing out on a good role as well and that if she didn't come I'd be missing out on a good partner as well because you can't act alone, you need other people. Q: Any wedding plans on the horizon for the bachelorette? I have no wedding plans as yet, first I have to find a man. I still haven't found someone whom I'd feel is the man I'm going to spend the rest of my life. Maybe it's strange, but I'm not surprised also. I think I've gone through a lot experience-wise and it's not easy being a star. The person should understand and accept who I am. Fortunately or unfortunately I still haven't come across that person. Q: What do you think about Roshantha (Sangeetha's husband)? I was happy for her when she got married. I was even more happier for her that it was Roshantha, because I think that she got the right person. Because I know how it is to be an actress, how the real life is. And for an outsider to understand that is a great thing as without that understanding I don't think a relationship can go a long way. Being in the limelight requires a lot of understanding and compromises from your partner. I think she met the right person for her. Q: What does she look best in? I think she looks best in a Kandyan saree. It brings out the femininity and real beauty in her. She looks good in all attire but I personally like her best in that. |
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Their
manifest excellence in the Thespian profession may perhaps be all the
common ground they share, yet their quirky friendship is only made
stronger by the difference in their ways. 
