Malani Fonseka returns to "Akasa Kusum"

Malani Fonseka returned to the set of "Akasa Kusum" this week, as the third shooting schedule of Prasanna Vithanage's new film continued on location in Homagama. Fonseka will be essaying the bulk of her scenes as the film's main protagonist, bygone film star Sandhya Rani.

Fonseka has just returned from a six-week tour of the US, where she was felicitated across six states by the Sri Lankan diaspora for her contribution to Sri Lankan film. Her tour kicked off in late January, where she appeared as chief guest for "Ranwan Reyak", a performance show in Los Angeles organized by the Sri Lanka America Foundation. The show featured US-based Lankans performing to tunes made popular in Sinhala films across half a decade of Sri Lankan cinema. Fonseka, who herself performed in the similar"Ridee Reyak" in Colombo several times, met with her fans and friends at the event, which also honoured her for 40 years in Sinhala cinema. She then travelled for a series of felicitation events in Pittsburgh, Ohio, New York, Boston and Washington DC. She returned to the island on Friday.

Director Vithanage took time to engage his actors in nuance and subtlety, with Dilhani Asokamala and Pubudu Prabath playing opposite Fonseka in scenes set in the house of Sandhya Rani. Samanalee Fonseka also featured in a scene with her famous aunt - where Bunty arrives unannounced to deliver a package to Rani. Shooting of crucial scenes in Rani's house continue this week.

Shooting on the third schedule will continue until the end of March, after which Vithanage will edit and oversee sound designing in India, and dub voices in Sri Lanka. He hopes to have a first cut of "Akasa Kusum" ready by June.