Sri Lanka's celebrated film couple Malini Fonseka and Lucky Dias, speak to Kavitha S. Daniel


Sri Lanka's celebrated film couple Malini Fonseka and Lucky Dias are an institution in their country. She's been in the film industry for 35 years, having bagged plenty of awards including two international awards at the New Delhi International Film Festival, the Moscow International Film Festival and in Sri Lanka, the Sarasaviya, OCIC and President's awards. Malini Fonseka, who has completed nearly 45 films loves acting in films because it gives her an opportunity to get into another person's body and soul. Seated at the cafe in the Novotel Centre Hotel in Abu Dhabi for an interview with Tabloid, a jean-clad Malini explains her love for acting. "I love studying people and their behaviour. And, I find it great to live the lives of so many people, is it not fulfilling to live many lives in just one lifetime," expresses this artiste, a regular in the internationally-acclaimed Sri Lankan filmmaker Lester James Peiris's films including his yet to be released, Wekanda Walawwa.

Her husband Lucky Dias, a former advertising executive, entered films 17 years ago
guided by his mentor, a former Sri Lankan parliament speaker. Today, this actor producer, who has produced five films including the prestigious Anthima Reya (the opening movie at the film festival in Abu Dhabi), has picked up the baton to direct a television series. His wife Malini has directed four of his productions. The couple have been married for 16 long years and seem to have survived working as top film stars in the surreal world of movies.

Lucky Dias:

I used to watch her movies as a schoolboy. Malini and her co-star Gamini Fonseka were household names. I used to be fascinated and admire her as an actress of beauty and exceptional talent. To me, she's one woman who's more feminine than any other woman I've known.

She's the only Sri Lankan actress who manages to straddle commercial and art movies well. In her heydays in the 1970s, she could dance and run around trees better than any Hindi film actress of her time.

But the adulation I felt for Malini as a fan differed from what my generation and I felt for glamorous Hindi film actresses such as Saira Banu. All of us wanted girlfriends like Saira Banu, but it was more admiration of Malini.

She's the only actress who's capable of moving me to tears. I'm not an emotional person, but her performances, especially in Aradhana - where she loses her infant- stirred me deeply and made me cry.

When I first met Malini I was struck by her simplicity and she seemed like an ordinary person. Obviously, I had no clue at that time, I will end up marrying her. I went through many relationships before deciding she's the one for me, in fact.

We are not a typical husband and wife couple for sure. Sometimes, for weeks on end we don't eat together because she will be at a film shoot in one location, while I am in another. The only conversations we have during the day would be me telling her something is not alright at home. But at the same time, we are like any normal Sri Lankan couple celebrating occasions like the Sinhala new year. We are home together and there's perfect harmony as we light the auspicious lamp and pray.

Apart from a common love for music, we love cricket too. If there's a Sri Lanka match, we cancel our shootings and we stay in our room glued to the television for the entire day. We enjoy travelling because we can shed our inhibitions and be ourselves. At home, we cannot step out for fear of being interrupted for an autograph or dine out for the fear of laughing out loud and being misconstrued as arrogant.

I believe the success of a marriage lies in understanding the other person's weakness and not to play or dwell on it. You can ruin the marriage if you continue to labour over your partner's weaknesses. It's better to ignore it.

There's one quality in my wife I cannot comprehend however. She's a waster, in all aspects, be it in her life, money or opportunities. I remember the legend, Satyajit Ray, had asked her to star in his film, as did the Bollywood stars of yesteryears, the late Sanjeev Kumar and Manoj Kumar. But, she was shy and failed to grasp the opportunity, if it had been any other ambitious actress she might have grabbed the offer. I cannot put my finger on why she fails to seize opportunities.

But luckily, Malini and I did not have to struggle very hard or do anything against our conscience to reach the top. I'm a Buddhist by birth and believe what you do, you must do well today and not crave for tomorrow.

Factors like working in films or being a couple of years younger then her did not affect our marriage. Of course, we have to be modern in our thinking, or else we would have fallen prey to stories made up about us while she's working elsewhere. We don't bring this home. We just ignore it. For the future, I just see us making movies because there's no life beyond cinema for us.

Malini Fonseka:

Lucky was not an actor when I met him, but my first impression was that he was smart, good looking and had a taste for good clothes. A quality I admire in him is his homely nature.We are both intensely family oriented, I think that's the bond we share. We lost our fathers earlier on but we cherish our mothers and they are a major priority in our lives today.

I think you need patience and an ability to understand the other person to make a good marriage. In most of my movies, I've portrayed the wife in a typical Sri Lankan family. But, I'm not a puritan who's dependent and clings to her husband. I am a very independent person, something which he likes about me. We have to be modern in our thinking or else we will be swayed by even a sniff of scandal printed about either of us in the newspapers.

Apart from a passion for cinema, we love music. We listen to all kinds of music be it Arabic or Chinese, it should be just good music.

We watch cricket together too, a game we enjoy immensely. Travelling to new and foreign countries is another interest we share together because we feel free to shed our inhibitions and be ourselves.

I've acted and directed films produced by him. I've especially enjoyed working in Siri Medura with him where we had lots of fun with the unit. There's Anthima Reya too. Sometimes, he can be very stubborn as a director and want to do something his way. After arguing with him, I always give in. But we don't have any major differences and realise we are after all working towards making a good movie at the end.

We've received plenty of laurels for our films and that does make me experience a sense of achievement. We love what we do. In which profession do you have people appreciating you openly, recognising you wherever you go, touching and blessing you with affection?

But, there's one crucial thing about us, we don't take our films home and we live like normal people. I know the people in the Sri Lankan film industry who breathe, live, wake up and sleep discussing films. Really, we don't feel we are film personalities or celebrities.

I guess this is another trait we share.We are both very matter-of fact about our fame. I treat all people in the same way and in fact, I have to really convince myself I am good since others consi