The queen of Sri Lankan cinema, Malani Fonseka, who was voted by CNN as among Asia’s best 25 actors of all time, is to be felicitated with a big show on her birthday, April 30.
The felicitation at the newly constructed cinema hall at the BMICH will be held amidst a large number of cinema artistes and film lovers while President Mahinda Rajapaksa is to be the chief guest.
Selecting the experienced actress CNN noted that in the history of the Academy Awards only two Asians have ever taken home a Best Actor or Actress statue. Yet Asia has produced incredibly talented thespians that have changed the course of their nation’s cinematic history. In anticipation of Oscar night, CNN narrowed the list of greats to 25.
Apart from from Malini, India’s leading actor Amitabh Bachchan and late actress Nargis are among the best 25.
Meanwhile last week, Malani was also nominated for the Best Actress award at the Asia Pacific Film Awards ceremony by the Asia Pacific Cinema Academy, for her role as Sandhya Rani in Prasanna Vithanage’s recent film ‘Akasa Kusum’.
The Asia Pacific Film Awards ceremony jointly organised by the UNESCO, International Film Producers´ Congress and the CNN Go Television channel will be held in Australia on November 26. Altogether 210 films from 43 countries gained entry to the ceremony and 37 films from 16 countries received nominations for various categories.
Starting with her moving performance in 1968’s “Punchi Baba,”, Malani was the first Sri Lankan actress to reach international heights, winning awards at the Moscow International Film Festival in 1975 and New Delhi Film Festival in 1977.
Her role in Dr. Lester James Peries’ all time classic ‘Nidhanaya’ (1972) which is also known as one of the best works in Sri Lanka’s cinematic history, is a landmark in Malani’s career in which she played a guileless lady who meets a man and stumbles into tragedy. |
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