Mimicry – defined in the dictionary as “the action or art of imitating someone or something, typically in order to entertain or ridicule”. He virtually introduced this art form to Sri Lanka.
Growing up with Rupavahini and ITN in the 80s, there is one programme or slot that I still remember vividly.
ITN had a Friday night Sinhala movie and I somehow stayed up to watch it to the end. All the films were black and white – and it did not matter one bit because our TV set was black and white anyway.
Out of all the actors from Vijaya Kumaratunga to Joe Abeywickrama that I saw in those well known Sinhala movies, one name – and one face – stood apart in my memory more than the others. Wimal Kumara de Costa is that name. Here was an actor who was equally at home in both serious and comedy roles. He could match the best of ‘serious actors’ as well as the comedy actors and those days, they were top notch performers like D.R. Nanayakkara, Don Sirisena, Freddie Silva and Anthony C Perera. Matching or even exceeding the acting prowess of these giants on both sides of the silver screen was no easy task. And it was a task that Wimal relished.
Defined
He will also be remembered for something else – mimicry – defined in the dictionary as “the action or art of imitating someone or something, typically in order to entertain or ridicule”.
He virtually introduced this art form to Sri Lanka. Ridicule was not in Wimal’s vocabulary, but entertaining certainly was. It came naturally to him and he used elements of it in some of his movies and stage plays. Unfortinately, I have not seen a live mimicry performance by Wimal, but I saw him on TV doing it once and it made a lasting impression.
Naturally, he was a great fit to the stage. In fact, that is where he began his long acting journey. Like the erstwhile Vijaya Nandasiri who passed away recently, Wimal too continued to act in stage dramas almost till the day he passed away at the age of 68.
His most recent stage performance was in the hit drama “Kawruwath Yanne Ne” in which he played the role of a politician with consummate ease. This drama also marked a new turning point for Wimal – he performs songs in this drama for the very first time in his varied career. Hithahonda Ammandi, Nettukkari, Kora Saha Andaya, Malakolan and Dunna Dunugamuwe (for which he won the Best Actor award) are among the stage plays that he starred in.
“In my acting life of nearly 50 years I was involved in cinema. We came to the world of acting from the stage, and we must never forget our birth place. That is why I made up my mind to join this drama. I would advise all artists in this field to gain the experience of being involved in stage drama. That is the school for all actors,” the veteran actor said on his role in “Kawruwath Yanne Ne” during a recent newspaper interview.
Career
Born on July 4, 1968 and an old boy of Gurukula Vidyalaya, Kelaniya, his acting career began to take shape while he was still at school. He played a role in the drama Godot Enakan (Waiting for Godot), a Sinhala adaptation of Samuel Beckett’s famous play. His first movie was a short film (Sathuro/Enemies) by Dharmasena Pathiraja who was also the director of his first feature length movie Wes Gaththo (The Masked).
The duo would go on to make several great movies together including the critically acclaimed Bambaru Awith.
Along with Vijaya Kumaratunga, Wimal Kumara de Costa was one of Pathiraja’s favourite actors. Incidentally, both of them began their film careers in 1969.
Bambaru Ewith, Eya then Loku Lamayek, Sarungale, Ek Tem Ge, Ahas Gawwa, Silva, Sagarika, Sarungale, Maruwa Samaga Waase, Jeewithayen Jeewithayak, Sathara Diganthaya, Sagarayak Meda, Paara Dige, Sayuru Thera, Chanchala Rekha, Sudu Maama, Karadiya Walalla, Sikuru Liya, Mayurige Kathawa, Major Sir, Samanala Sihina and Umayangana are among his most well known movies.
He acted in over 100 movies. His last movie was Lantin Singho in 2015. Many of his movie roles were critically praised as being realistic portrayals of characters that exist in real life. Top directors were eager to cast him in their movies and some roles were especially written with him in mind. On stage and film, Wimal excelled in every role that he was asked to perform. Wimal’s departure is a great loss to the world of arts in Sri Lanka.