The face that launched many a smile
View(s):He was Sri Lanka’s quintessential funny guy. Vijaya Nandasiri who passed away on Monday was the country’s most popular comedian and brought comedy on television alive in living rooms with not only his wit but expressions and ways of saying it.
He was the Sri Lankan version of comedians like Norman Wisdom or Jerry Lewis and in an earlier era, Charlie Chaplin. Unlike many of today’s comedians, Vijaya could make you laugh your sides out without words or dialogue.
I am not a Sinhala film fan but I enjoy a good comedy, one of my favourites being the 1970s hit “Colombo Sanniya” and the part where Denewaka Hamine washes clothes in the toilet bowl saying “Aney meka andun hodanna maru” to Eddie Jayamaha, another delightful comedian. That was my all-time favourite Sinhala comedy until Vijaya’s antics came alive on the idiot box.
While Vijaya started in stage and drama and was a powerful actor (this medium is more difficult than TV or films), I first noticed him when he appeared in the popular series “Nonawaruni Mahathwaruni” and had an eye for the neighbour’s wife played by Kusum Renu. I waited for this weekly episode and never failed to watch it.
He had a string of successes on TV like “Yes Boss” and many others and his success as a comedian spread to the big screen with hits like “Suhada Koka” which I wanted to see but never got round to.
In recent months, when switching Dialog channels and finding boring stuff on HBO, etc, I turned to CITI HITZ, a local channel that shows many comedies, especially Vijaya’s popular ones. Great stuff!
Ironically on Monday August 8 at about 2 p.m. I had returned from office and switched on Dialog TV and then turned to CITI HITZ which unfortunately had another programme. I then switched on my computer and the first alert was that Vijaya had died. It was a sad day for the Sinhala film industry and for me personally.
I only knew him from TV and we never met face-to-face. But he enriched my life and removed the usual daily stress which disappeared watching his comic antics on TV.
- Feizal