The 27th installment of one of Sri Lanka’s popular television award ceremonies, the Sumathi Awards ceremony 2023, took place on February 9 at the Water’s Edge Hotel in Colombo.
While this year’s ceremony gave away awards to shows that were telecast in 2020 and 2021, it was a fabulous night filled with film stars.
Talented actor Dasun Pathirana was honoured with the Best actor award for his performance in ‘Giridevi’.
Pathirana is an actor in cinema, theatre and television and is known for his roles in ‘motocycle’,‘frangipani’, ‘husma’ and ‘maatha’ among many others. Dasun studied at Carey College, Colombo and went on to pursue his passion in drama under Mahendra Perera’s academy for drama in 2004.
He began acting at the age of 19 and has since won many awards for his performances such as at the Indie Fest 2014 as best actor in a leading role, and a Sarasaviya award in 2018.
This week we reached out to Dasun to talk about his win, his experience as an actor so far and his plans for the future.
Q: Did you expect to win?
A: I did not act anticipating awards. I did my best with the role I was cast in and I had fun doing it. I am extremely grateful for the win. These recognitions give me the motivation I need to carry on.
Q: What is your experience with ‘Giridevi’?
A: We shot this during the Covid peak. So it was a difficult experience for all of us.But it was very rewarding, the entire cast worked really hard and I learnt so much and I had a good time.
Q: Out of all the movies and television shows you have acted in so far, do you have a favourite?
A: I have enjoyed every piece of art I have being on so far. I do not choose movies and television shows out of a whim, I only select stories that resonate with me and if I believe I can do justice to those roles.
So every project has been a very unique adventure. However if I had to say something I am most proud of it would be the movie ‘Maria’. The entirety of this movie was shot in the middle of the ocean and it was a surreal experience.
Q: What are your plans for this year?
A: I have a lot of exciting projects coming up this year. ‘Gaja man’ is being shown in theatres. Another movie ‘Seeruven’ that I did with Jackson Anthony will come out this year. There are several television shows I am working on and there is also a youtube mini-series that I am working on. It will be a busy year but I am looking forward to it.
Q: What are your thoughts on the cinema industry of Sri Lanka?
A: I believe there is not much of an industry value in our cinema industry. The cinema industry does not consume people like it does in other countries. I believe we need to provide entertainment with reason and understanding which will produce sensible and high quality products that will put people’s faith in our cinema industry.
Q: How do you feel about your journey as an actor so far?
A: Cinema is my life. I haven’t done any other job since I started in 2004 and I am frankly proud of where I am. I have done projects I liked, I have worked hard and I have been nominated for awards and have won awards. However, I am aware that I have a long way to go.
If I were to compare myself to veteran actors like Mahendra Perera, who is also one of my mentors, I think I am still in square one. But I am determined to work hard, do my best and support Sri Lankan Cinema to the best of my abilities.
Q: What are your thoughts on award shows?
A: I am aware that some of these award shows may have hidden agendas. But they help the industry, make people aware of movies and talented individuals and also most of all,give us the motivation we need to keep going.
The situation in the country is not great right now and it appears that it is rapidly detetiorating. There are moments that even I have felt that I want to leave this country and that there is no point in trying.
But then these recognitions and these awards make me believe that I am entertaining my people and that I am recognized for the art I create and honestly it makes me feel validated and motivated to stay in my motherland and do what I can do.
Q: Are there any directors you haven’t worked with and would like to work with in the future?
A: I would like to work with veteran directors like Ashok Handagama and PrasanneVithanage.
Q: You have being part of various controversial projects, how has this affected your recognition as an actor?
A: I don’t do movies thinking about how people will receive it. I have being asked if I only do adult films and I say to this, I do movies for adults to understand and not for children. Like I said earlier, I select the movies I do very carefully based on how passionate the story is, based on the social context and how well I can play the role given to me.
For example when I did ‘frangipani’, there were people who thought I shouldn’t do it because it would affect my ‘loverboy’ persona. I didn’t really care about any persona and I loved that script too much so I did it anyway.
I have been extremely satisfied with the work I have done so far and I do not maintain social media or in the habit of reading hate comments or negative reviews, so they do not bother me.