Shesha Palihakkara- the indefatigable actor

By Jayampathy JAYASINGHE

I remember quite vividly an old man with a bald head seated at the verandah of the Fort YMBA hostel on most evenings and reading an English novel or the Reader’s Digest Magazine. He was so deeply engrossed and did not bother even to look up at those who came in and left the hostel. As a matter of fact few persons read English novels at the YMBA except Old Eddie who had been a lodger for many years. Anyway I was curious to find out who this gentleman was.

Shesha Palihakkara ; actor, director and producer

As months rolled by I came to know him as Shesha Palihakkara, the famous actor of yesteryear of the popular Sinhalese movies. My encounter with Shesha took place almost seven years ago before we all moved out of the premises. His sudden death came as a shock to many of us who knew him closely. I remember him working for the National Film Corporation as a Consultant during the tenure of Chairman Tissa Abeysekera.

Shesha Palihakkara was a consummate person. He had a fine command of the Queen’s English with a polished diction. I enjoyed listening to some of his anecdotes in the film world. He shot into limelight after his role in the Sinhala film ‘Mathalang’. He had been a popular actor ever since he acted in “Mathalan”. Shesha said it was the craziest movie that he acted and never believed that it would achieve box office status. ‘Mathalang’ was an unforgettable movie with Shesha playing a double role. It left an indelible mark in the minds of Sri Lankan film goers. Older folk still remember ‘Mathalan’ and the songs are still popular among both the young and the old. Shesha acted both as a despotic king and as his son in that film. The king was a sadist who took revenge from his wife after she gave birth to a son.

I remember viewing this film as a kid in Badulla. Shesha was a versatile person. He was an actor, a reputed film director and a producer. ‘Ranmuthuduwa, Getawarayo’ and ‘Sarawita’ were some of the award winning popular Sinhala films that he was associated with. Shesha hails from Ruppagoda a village in Kadawatte in the Gampaha district. He was a product of St. Benedict’s College, Kotahena and at St. Joseph’s, College Colombo. His contemporaries at St. Joseph’s dormitory were Dr. Lester James Peries’s younger brother Noel Peries, he said.

One day while travelling by train from Ragama to Colombo he saw a poster on a wall at the Kelaniya railway station. The poster had the picture of Lord Nadarajah and below was a picture of Chitrasena. It was a ballet titled ‘Vidura’ to be staged at the Vidyalankara Pirivena, Kelaniya. That was in 1943. That was the turning point in Shesh’s life. Shesha was then a 14-year-old lad and was simply fascinated seeing the poster. He was determined to see this ballet anyhow. He was a movie fan too and patronised cinema halls in Colombo. The cinema halls then were Gamini theatre, the New Olympia, Elphinistone, Empire and Tower theatres. He saw 3-4 films during the week, including Tamil films that provided a lot of entertainment. He had no notion about dancing until he saw Chitrasena’s Vidrura ballet. The dance captivated the young lad. He then made up his mind to meet Chitrasena and learn dancing. He wrote to Chitrasena and was thrilled to receive a letter in Chitrasena’s handwriting. He met Chitrasena at his Pamankade residence and enroled for class. “After learning dancing for about six months Chitrasena told me that there was further room for improvement.”

By then he was studying for his Senior School Certificate (S.S.C.) but was not interested in studies. But he was keen to learn dancing at any cost. Meanwhile, Shesha got to know that Chitrasena was leaving for Shanthi-Nikkethan on a scholarship for further studies. Later Shesha too applied and was successful in getting admitted to the Shanthi-Nikkethana. But he had to face the wrath of his parents. They did not like the idea but was able to convince them later.

He finally left for Shantha-Nikkethan that was 95 miles away from Calcutta. He said Shantha-Nikkethan had a university atmosphere with aesthetic subjects being taught there. The subjects included music, dancing, painting and sculpture. It was a historic place where Mahatma Gandhi and Nehru used to meet. “The place was active with politics and nobody spoke of unleashing violence. It was the period when Mahatmah-Gandhi’s non- violence campaign was at its height,” Shesha said.

Having studied at Shanthi-Nikethan for two and a half years he enroled himself at the Institute of Kalashethra in South India to learn dancing. The scholarship he anticipated at Shanthi-Nikethan was awarded to another person and he was bitter about it. He was later admitted to the Kala-Shsethra in Adyar, located about nine miles away from Madras. Kala-Shesthra was launched by Rukmani - Arul Dev the wife of Dr. Arul Dev, the President of the Theosophical Society in India.

Kala-Shesthra’s president during this period was one Jinendradasa, a Sri Lankan. He joined the Kalashesthra and worked hard under two renowned traditional teachers of dancing for a year. There he got to know another student named Mohan Kokar from Punjab. Mohan Kokar is an authority on traditional forms of Indian dance. “We spoke to each other in English and learnt dancing. Language wasn’t a problem at Kalashesthra as we spoke in English,” he said. While at Kala-Shesthra, Shesha took three month’s leave and visited South Indian temples. The purpose was to learn more about dancing.

Shesha wound up studies and came to Sri Lanka in 1948 to take part in the Pageant. It was a cultural event organised by a committee of artists including P. Saravanamuthu during the first Independence Day celebrations. Chitrasena too organised a ballet in which he played the role of Ravana. Rama was played by Premakumar and Seetha was played by Irangani Meedeniya. Shesha played the role of Lakshmana in that play.

By then Shesha made up his mind to stay back in Sri Lanka. He taught for a while at the Chitrasena’s School of Dancing. Meanwhile, the famous Indian dancer Ramagopal visited Sri Lanka in 1948. He performed at the Tower Hall. Ramagopal and Udayar Shankar were the two leading dancers from India. “I met Ramagopal and he told me to dance before him. He asked me whether it was possible to join him in his London tour of 1949,” Shesha said.

Meanwhile, it was the late Reggie Candappa who introduced Shesha to the famous showman Donavan Andree. After an audition, Donavan had invited him to perform at the Silver Fawn, a top class Cabaret Club and a restaurant in Colombo. Silver Fawn was located behind the Empire Theatre and the artists who performed there were mostly foreigners. “Donavan was a lavish entertainer and paid his workers handsomely,” Shesha said. Having performed at the Silver Fawn for a few months he left for England. A tourist class passage was Rs. 1,350 during those days. The passage to England took three weeks and he finally arrived in Southampton. “I celebrated my 21st birthday in London, “ he said.

While in London he met an English woman and signed up a contract with her. He later met Ramgopal and with his troupe he toured London Edinburgh, Wales, Scotland, and Ireland. It was a gruelling schedule working five days a week. “I learnt stage craft and became a theatrical artist. “But I felt home sick and returned after one year, “ he said. He then set up a school for dancing at Borella. “There were talented people who came to learn dancing,” he said.

Meanwhile, film producer Nayagam asked him to direct a dance sequence for ‘Ahankara Isthri’, a Sinhala film. Nayagam had produced popular films like the ‘Kadawuna Porronduwa’ (Broken Promise). He even started the Sri Murugan Mavakala at Kandana. After working with him in the film ‘Ahankara Isthri’he found it interesting. “ After directing dancing sequences in ‘Ahankara Isthri’ and ‘Puduma Leli’ director Nagarajah had asked him to act in a Sinhala film called ‘Matalang’. Shesha was selected to play the main role in ‘Matalang’ after an audition. Thereafter the entire troupe left for Madras in 1953.

It took a year to produce ‘Mathalang’ in India.