By Kamanthi Wickramasinghe 
Pix by Waruna Wanniarachchi

In his upcoming comedy ‘The Leading Man’, veteran playwright and dramatist Indu Dharmasena will return to the stage as Premkumar, a silver screen heartthrob known for producing box office hits. But the vain and self-absorbed persona in him makes him go to any lengths to protect his image. He comes under the spotlight while being interviewed by a prominent investigative journalist, but unexpected visitors crash the interview, leading to melodramatic chaos.

The play was first written in 1995 during the pre-smartphone era. But this time around, Dharmasena has rewritten the script with incidents that happen in real time. Having written, directed and produced 65 plays in his lifetime, Dharmasena enjoys doing plays to entertain crowds. “I like to hear people’s laughter. Even though I have directed and been a part of plays that are quite serious, I think people need to sit back, have a good laugh and enjoy. So that’s why I’m quite happy with what I have done so far,” Dharmasena said in an interview with the Daily Mirror. 

Dharmasena has directed plays from The Merchant of Venice to musicals such as Camelot, My Fair Lady and The Beauty and the Beast to operettas and many other genres of plays. But what is quite a feat is that Dharmasena has been ‘the leading man’ in all of his satirical comedies, which have been absolute crowd favourites. The Tommiya series, for instance, has been a highlight in his productions in addition to Ray Cooney adaptations such as Run for Your Wife, It Runs in the Family and many more plays that have often been reflections of society and day-to-day characters one would meet. But irrespective of whether it is Ram Sewalagala, Tommiya, Dr. Premjith Suwadena or Kusal Kukulawala, Dharmasena has been able to keep crowds at the edge of their seats with each one of his character portrayals. 

Speaking about why his plays have been received well by the audience, Dharmasena said that perhaps it is because he writes about society and actual people. “I always listen to people and pick up on funny situations that happen to them. I think the audience can relate to the characters. I try very hard not to be rude, and it’s always written in a way that they don’t get upset. Having said that, there have been instances when people have said that I have been insensitive. Many people may relate to the same incident. Maybe the plot or something could be out of the ordinary. But the characters are people whom you would meet in society. This could be one of the reasons why people enjoy my plays,” he said. 

Reflecting on the role of Premkumar, he said that he had been fascinated by the Asian film industry, where an actor or actress who becomes popular would play the hero or heroine for decades. His inspiration to come up with the plot had been a famous person who had a similar real-life situation at the time. In addition to him, the cast includes Sanwada Dharmasena, Shemaiah Ratnayake, Michael Holsinger, Priyanka Holsinger, Michelle Herft and Anuruddha Fernando.

When asked about criticisms he had received for his plays, Dharmasena said that sometimes people have had issues interpreting the Tommiya series. “Some thought I was laughing at people who weren’t fluent in English. All I wanted to show was that when you make money, you don’t need to follow the so-called ‘high society’ or Colombo society, which is also not the best. This is more reason why people should learn English,” he added. 

Dharmasena has inspired many amateur thespians to explore the world of theatre. Many consider him a guru in the theatre scene for the simple reason that he quite subtly allows an amateur to bring out their talents, emotions and expressions to a live audience. Responding to a query on the future of the local theatre scene, Dharmasena said that it seems to be picking up, especially after COVID.

“The Shakespeare competition is where students step into the world of theatre. I believe that with more productions, the standards would improve. When we started doing plays, we had more time to spend rehearsing and working on a production, whereas now, with this rat race, children have to go for tuition, and they have other commitments. Some schools start rehearsals in the afternoon and continue past midnight. But actually, one or two hours of quality work would be sufficient,” he further said. 

When asked about improvements, he said that it is always good to have individuals with different talents participating in a play. “There is technology and everything around, but I feel that the actual characterisation is missing at the moment. A play becomes interesting when you have different people with different talents. Then there would be more diversity, which is quite interesting,” he said in conclusion, while inviting everyone to come, sit back and enjoy ‘The Leading Man’ coming up at the end of the month.