In the lime light

Dasun Madusanka:

The film Suriya Arana and this young actor are synonymous with each other. One of the reasons this film became so popular was his acting. Likewise, he became a household name due to his role in Suriya Arana.

All of us can remember that memorable character of the young samanera; at one moment playful, the next moment advising his friend; displaying loyalty to his ‘Guru’ and next, a devoted follower of the Buddha. Although we have seen many characters of novice monks in films, Dasun Madusanka managed to capture the hearts of all Sri Lankans with his role in Suriya Arana; he managed to bring alive the character of the little samanera.

Suriya Arana was not his first film, but it was through this film that we all got to know his talents. Like most others in the acting arena, he started on the school stage and his teacher was none other than Tissa Gunawardene of of Prince of Wales College, Moratuwa (whom we have already featured in this page). He acted in a few stage dramas like Path Iruwa, Sihina Charika, Paduru Maligawa and Mal Mal Sadaya, and later, with the help of artiste Rukmal Nirosh, he got his first opportunity to take part in a film named Sudu Kalu Saha Alu.

A grade 10 student of Prince of Wales, Moratuwa, Dasun, as he is known by everybody, resides in Keselwatta, Panadura. He is the second son in the family, with an elder and younger brother.

When he acted in his first film, he was only eight years old. Then he acted in a teledrama and went on to do Suriya Arana; after that he acted in the movie Samanala Thatu. Out of all his teledramas, the role of Anuhas in Anuhas Vijithaya is still memorable. Then we saw him in different roles in films and teledramas such as Leader, Machan, Sudu Samanaliyak, Kiripabalu Vila and the film Prabhakaran. He still likes the role he played in the teledrama Sudu Samanaliyak because to him, it was a very sensitive character.

Dasun has a few role models from the field of acting. They are Raveendra Randeniya, Gamini Fonseka and Vijaya Kumarathunga; he hopes to be a famous artiste like them. For that he gets all the support from his family and especially from his father. Also, he gets support and guidance from his schoolteachers and others around him.

He related a lot of interesting incidents he had faced in his acting career. In the film Suriya Arana, he has faced many unforgettable incidents. One was the releasing of the wild boar and the quarrel between himself (the young samanera) an aadivasi boy,(Sajitha Anuththara) which followed it. “When we were to act out that quarrel, in real life too we were a bit angry after a little quarrel. So we could act out the quarrel in a very realistic fashion and that scene came out very well.”

He related another memorable incident: “While shooting the song ‘Iren handen’ for this film, we faced this incident. We were hanging above the water and had to slip into the water. When this scene was being shot, we didn’t know that there was a deep spot in the water. So, after falling into the water, I sank about 30-35 feet; fortunately, I managed to reach the surface quickly.”

For the film Prabhakaran, Dasun had to undergo weapons training as well. He still remembers the time he spent in the Punani army camp during filming of this movie.

So far in his acting career, Dasun had got a lot of characters which suited him; many of those are exemplary such as the role in Anuhas Vijithaya. He is very happy about that role and says he would like to be offered such roles in future.

Dasun is good at his studies too. Although he is an artiste, he likes science out of all the subjects he studies and is a member of his school’s new inventors’ club. He entertained the idea of becoming a doctor, when he was younger, but now he seems to have changed his mind. Dasun likes computer games and reading. In addition to all these, he likes to enjoy himself with his friends in his free time.

He says that all human beings have special abilities that they themselves have to develop. Sometimes, these abilities are identified well by teachers or parents, as it happened to him. He says that we have to develop our talents and abilities and go forward.

He is happy about his entrance to the field of arts and expresses satisfaction about the distance he has come so far. As a word of advice to those children who may hope to enter the arts field, Dasun says, “Learn the field and work hard on developing your abilities. Never forget the importance of a good education.”

Asha Senevirathne Pix: Saman Sri Wedage