Director Prasanna Vithanage Probes Emotional Depths in "Akasa Kusum"

Kaushalya Fernando, Jayani Senanayake, Malani Fonseka and Dilhani Ekanayake fleshed out their roles as Prasanna Vithanage probed the depths of the characters they play, reaching deep into the emotional core of "Akasa Kusum."

Kaushalya Fernando, who braved incessant rain, an 8-hour road trip and divergent schedules to arrive on the Homagma location of "Akasa Kusum" to begin work on her role as Mallika, proved once again to be an actress of startling range and depth, delivering a subtle, nuanced performance. On her first day, Fernando arrived a tad late on the set, tired but determined to work after a trip from Habarana, where she was shooting on Vimukthi Jayasundara's sophomore film, "Fallen From The Sky." Although lighting conditions did not permit her to finish her scene on day one, she nailed it in one take on day two, and continued in much the same stride from there on.

Fonseka also proved she still had the acting chops to pull off a scene, delivering a tour de force as director Vithanage directed her in a powerful, emotionally demanding scene. Her scenes saw the emotional journey of Sandhya Rani given full flight, making her motivations and actions clearer. Dilhani Ekanayake too played her role as Shalika around the other characters populating Rani's house.

Jayani Senanayake played Leela, Rani's domestic helper, again with subtlety and great understanding, never once giving in to over-playing or scene stealing. Vithanage is directing her on film for the first time, having worked with her previously on his hit play, "Horu Samaga Heluwen". Commenting on one scene featuring Fonseka, Ekanayake and Fernando, director Vithanage said it was the finest scene he had the pleasure of directing in his career so far.

Shooting at the Homagama location concludes today, with the last scenes taking place at Rani's house being lensed by cast and crew. Joining the cast on the final day at Rani's house are Mohamed 'Adam' Adamaly, an acclaimed actor from the English Theatre, and the experienced Sinhala theatre actor Dayadeva Edirisinghe.