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Jatila Karawita
Geetha Kumarasinghe, well-known in the film industry for her
forthright and outspoken views, in an interview with Panorama, said that
she is all for helping the Security Forces, but will never give her
consent to any venture which uses the brave and noble soldiers’ name, to
fatten personal wallets.
She said that having come to know of one such project recently, the
veteran actress had almost been taken for a ride, but upon realising
that that particular exercise had lacked transparency as regards
monetary issues, the star had the courage to opt out of it in the nick
of time.
 She called on the public to be vigilant and be wary of organisations
and artistes who would use her photographs and images to collect money,
and stressed if she is involved in any project or venture to help the
security forces, the people will be officially notified through the
media and it will be transparent to the masses.
The award-winning actress who counts over 30-years of experience in
the cinema industry, said that having faced a nasty incident, she would
be mindful of her involvement in questionable projects as she doesn’t
want to besmirch the reputation, she has built up among her legion of
fans both here and overseas over the years.
However, the no-nonsense actress added that she has her own plans of
helping the Security Forces by building a cinema museum staging musical
shows at home and abroad and channelling its proceeds towards the
welfare of soldiers in the three Armed Forces and the Police.
“I cannot condone any venture that is used to sell the good name of
the scores of soldiers who laid down their lives to save the country
from the LTTE these past 30-years, for anyone’s personal gain”, asserted
Geetha who left the country on Sunday (May 17) to visit her daughter
Tharaka studying in the United States.
Geetha holds out hope that the Sinhala cinema will flourish
countrywide, including the North-East after the tremendous success of
the ‘humanitarian operations’ there, under the steadfast leadership of
President Mahinda Rajapaksa, Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa and
the three Armed Forces and the Police.
She says being able to screen films in the North-East, will be a good
opportunity for the Sinhala cinema and is confident of its success in
the future.
The actress who made her cinematic debut in a film titled ‘Lassana
Kella’ back in the 1970s, last appeared in her production titled
‘Randiya Dahara’ in 2005.
She said during the last four years she has received up to eight
scripts to act in, but had rejected them all, due to the sub-standard
themes that were used and the likelihood of all those films failing at
the box office.
Kumarasinghe speaking her mind out, pointed out that in principle she
does not value the small-screen over the silver screen.
She described the tube (television) as an `entertainment soap opera’
while explaining that the world of cinema was more noble in its ability
to entertain masses.The actress urged newcomers to the field, to further
enhance their knowledge by reading and by constantly watching films from
different cultures, and advised the public not to look down upon foreign
stars appearing in local movies. |
