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Tony the Titan : Stenographer to Stardom
For last five decades Tony Ranasinghe has excelled as an actor-on stage, on screen as well as the small screen. Tony showed his talent as a writer when he did the film script of 'Koti Waligaya' following up with the Sinhala version of 'Twelfth Night', 'Merchant of Venice' and 'Julius Caesar for the stage and many scripts for the miniscreen.
He has shows that he is a gifted author and translator with the Sinhala version of Indian journalist Bunny Reuben's 'Dilip Kumar-The Definitive Biography'. TV Times visiting Tony the titan to speak about his journey in to the stardom met with the words "the noble profession of acting can not be taught but was a gift from God". Second in the family of eight Ranasinghe Hettiarachchige Ignatius Tony Ranasinghe was brought up by his aunt and uncle who had no children. They lived just a stone's throw away in Modera. ‘My parents were devout Catholics. They led the church choir and they attended daily masses. I as a young churchgoer was an altar boy then," says Tony reminiscing his childhood. "At one point I hoped to join a seminary and become a priest, but later gave up the idea realizing that I was not suitable’. Tony studied at De LaSalle College, Modera. During this time he was crazy at watching movies first Hindi and then Cowboy film. Leaving College, Tony started life as a public servant attached to the Ministry of Information. Asked as to who influenced him to join the movies, Tony said it was his brother Ralex Ranasinghe who was a staff photographer for the then Daily Mirror newspaper. "He was always behind me encouraging and insisting that I should take up acting." "A young stenographer attached to the Ministry of Information, the movie bug bit me severely making me crazy to join the film scene" said Tony recalling his entry to cinema. But soon this young man realised making an appearance in the big screen was not an easy task. Tony Ranasinghe's first role was a lead in Sirisena Wimalaweera's 'Punchi Amma' in 1957. But the film was not completed. His second attempt to act in 'Rodi Kella' too became a failure. ‘So my two attempts in cinema failed and what do you think Putha, a young man with a driving ambition would do next?," questioned the experienced actor. "I went to Lester James Peries, who was then doing 'Gamperaliya' but returned empty handed as the casting was completed. Then Ranasinghe received an invitation to join the stage by well-known dramatist Sugathapala de Silva, who was getting ready for his 'Bodingkarayo'. It was this drama that gave Tony the much needed boost to join the cinema. "One day when we were practicing the play Lester walked in. Seeing us rehearsing the play Lester offered me the role of Baladasa in Gamperaliya" Since then Tony's journey in Sri Lankan cinema was history. Film offers started coming on his way and Tony then a young family man had to give up his permanent job as a government servant, which was a real risk then. "Helping me to make that decision while assuring me to find my future with films the people who gave great gesture of encouragement were Dr. Peries and Gamini Fonseka," says Tony with gratitude. "There isn't anything called small roles and big roles in cinema. And every film is important as long as it carries a good, simple, straightforward story without crossword puzzles," says Tony whose acting talent has been recognized for the last fifty years. It was not only obtaining acting roles but also in his attempts at script writing for Tony was awarded began with repeated failures. On the invitation of Gamini Fonseka the script he wrote for 'Angulimala' based on the Jathaka story and this followed a script for "Sayuru Thera". The film made on these script was never completed. The thrust for writing became a success when Tony Ranasinghe wrote the scripts for Gamini Fonseka's "Koti Waligaya". This was followed by Dr. Lester James Peries' 'Avaragira', D. B., Nihalsinghe's 'Kelimadala', Sumithra Peris's 'Duwata Mawaka Misa', Sudath Devapriya's 'Tharanaya' and Prasanna Vithanage's internationally acclaimed direction "Pawuru Walalu". "The unique feature of these films was that almost in all the films the lead female roles received awards in the festival both locally and internationally," the award winning script writer said in a confident tone. "Was their any amusing memories in your long and colourful journey?" I asked. "The whole of my life in movies had been one of amusing scenes. I was a dead rope king then. Except for a few sad incidents I had a smooth sailing in a stormy sea," said Tony. "I had the opportunity in playing along with well-known names in Sri Lankan cinema like Rukmani Devi, Clarice de Silva, Rita Ratnayake, Jeewarani, Sandaya Kumari and Vijith Mallika. As I was leaving his residence at Diyawanna Udyanaya Mawatha, Pelawatta, this giant of the Sinhala cinema said ‘I personally happy that liquor and smoking are to be banned, These are vices that ruin your life. I have wasted lot of time which I should have used for reading and studying more. My advice to the younger generation is to read and study in any field you are involved in’
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