A dramatist attempts to make a silent revolution

Scriptwriter, actor and drama director Sarath Dikkumbura has to think beyond the art circle and even entertain thoughts of concern expressed by close associates. Recently a close friend of his had said, “Sarath, you brought all the other drama directors to your show Kataragama Prema and dashed them on the ground”. What this person had meant was that Kataragama Prema broke the bubble in which other dramas made as comedy productions were existing in. Dikkumbura told the Daily Mirror that dramas made to remember a catastrophe afford an opportunity to the public to take a ‘thought’ home. 

Dikkumbura focusing on tragedy as his line of thinking can even nudge the government with his productions. There have been so many dramatists and drama and film directors in this island who got into the bad books of the government. At least one of them was bumped off. Several others were harassed. 

This writer met Dikkumbura recently at a pub in Borella where the ambience was calm and quiet for a chit chat about the drama scene. His making of sensitive dramas and their successes remind him that he shouldn’t get cocky. He recalled early in the interview he had with this writer about what had happened to Nihal Silva of ‘Sergeant Nallathambi’ fame. Silva was shot dead when he chose to drive past a checkpoint while ignoring a command by state security officials to pull over and stop his vehicle. Silva by then was well established in the drama circle and also well connected with a few very powerful individuals in the political scene. Dikkumbura’s latest drama is so sensitive that he had to get clearance from the Public Performances Board and also make a trip to the CID to prove that his drama was within the boundaries of acceptance. More than anything else, he had to show that his drama wasn’t produced to topple this regime. 

Powerful people
However, despite all these developments and concerns, he affirmed that dramatists are powerful people. But he also warns that they have to walk a tightrope so as to keep off trouble. 

He was an employee of Sri Lanka Railways before retiring a bit prematurely. Even while serving this state institute he had been engaged in stage dramas and films. In his latest drama he plays the role of Major Ranabahu. He also invests much time in organising his shows and negotiating deals with his sponsors who want his production. “I’m a little tired of playing the organizer’s role and prefer someone else to do it for me, so that I can concentrate on my acting and script writing,” he said. 

The show Kataragama Prema has been booked for August 11 at the Hanwella Rajasinghe Maha Vidyalaya and on the 19th (August) at Sangamiththa Balika School in Galle. And these shows have been sponsored by individuals from the diaspora. The show in Hanwella has been paid for by Sanjaya Rodrigo who resides in Japan. “There are many Sri Lankans living overseas who have seen my productions and have been impressed; hence their wish to sponsor my shows. We as drama directors mustn’t scrape members of the diaspora just because they are eager to pump money into Sri Lankan theatre,” he said.   

“A good number of Sri Lankans living abroad have a certain notion about present Sri Lanka and their opinions tally with mine. This is why I entertain such people because these are also days where it is hard to find sponsors residing in Sri Lanka for my shows,” said Dikkumbura. Just for the record, his show ‘Kataragama Prema’ was initially funded by Premadasa Jayakody who resides overseas.  

After the protest (Aragalaya) in 2022 failed, he had entertained the thought of making a drama about Premawathie Manamperi, the beauty queen from Kataragama who was brutally shot dead during the insurgency in the early 1970s. “I never advocate violent revolts against the regime. I do recommend a system change, but it must start with a difference in how people think. For example one can observe so many strikes and protests in the health and education sectors inconveniencing patients and students. This is a tragedy. There were so many protests by railway workers during my tenure in this institute. But I never joined anyone of them because I thought that the railways is a service that must operate 24 hours of the day and work mustn’t be disrupted under any circumstance. People who strike don’t understand that if others don’t keep the department going there won’t be a workplace for agitators to return to. I have been given certificates of appreciation for not joining strikes and choosing to work instead, but all what I did in good faith went against me when promotions were due,” he said. Dikkumbura’s thoughts to give priority to the smooth flow of work at the railways during a strike can be rated as an executive level decision taken by him. But sadly, he was never promoted to the executive cadre. He served the railways for 39 years. 

He is the administrative secretary of the Shakespeare Centre Sri Lanka and offers his valuable advice to budding actors and also veterans who are stagnated in their acting careers. He said that Kataragama Prema has also served this purpose. His latest show has also created the platform for some of the veterans in the industry to relaunch their careers on the stage after a hiatus.