Wimal Kumara de Costa (4 July 1948 – 20 November 2016 as විමල් කුමාර ද කොස්තා inhala was an actor in Sri Lankan cinema. One of the most popular comedy artists in 1980s and 1990s, he started cinema career with character roles in art films where he later moved to comedy roles in cinema. He is cited as the pioneer of Sri Lanka mime industry.

Personal life

Wimal Kumara De Costa was born on 4 July, 1948 in

Kelaniya Kelaniya ( si, කැලණිය ta, களனி) is a suburb of Colombo in the Western Province, Sri Lanka. It is known for the Buddhist temple built on the banks of the Kelani River, which divides the suburb from Colombo District. The templ ...

, and he completed his education from Gurukula College, Kelaniya.

Career

Early days

Before entering popular art, he acted many regional stage shows like ''Andare'', ''Yakage Kamhala'', ''Sith Peraliya'' and ''Diyasena''. Costa began his mainstream acting career while attending Gurukula College with a role in the play ''Godo Enakath'' directed by A.J Selvaduray. Subsequently, he performed in plays such as ''Dunna Dunna Gamuwe'', ''Hitha Hondha Ammandi'', ''Puttu'', ''Kavuruth Yan Ne'', ''Kora Saha Andhaya'' and ''Nattukarayo'' by W. Jayasiri,

Sugathapala de Silva Sugathapala De Silva (4 August 1928 – 28 October 2002) was an acclaimed Sri Lankan dramatist and novelist, translator, radio play producer, and Sinhala Radio Play writer. Biography Early life Sugathapala De Silva was born on 4 August 1928 M ...

and others. His first experience with film came with a role in

Dharmasena Pathiraja Pathiraja Navaratne Wanninayake Mudiyanselage Ranjith Dharmasena (28 March 1943 – 28 January 2018) was a Sri Lankan film director and screenwriter. He has been referred to as a 'rebel with a cause', an ‘''enfant terrible'' of the '70s', and ...

's short ''Sathuro'' (1969). His first feature was also a Pathiraja film, ''Ves Gaththo'', released the next year. The Pathiraja collaboration would continue through the rest of the 1970s and early 1980s, yielding some of Wimal's most famous roles such as the socialist in ''

Bambaru Awith ''Bambaru Avith (The Wasps are Here)'' ( si, italic=yes, බඹරු ඇවිත්) is a 1978 Sri Lankan Sinhala drama film directed by Dharmasena Pathiraja and produced by director himself with Thilak Godamanne for Saranga Salaroo. It explo ...

'' (1978), the abusive youth in ''Eya Dan Loku Lamayek'' (1977) and the disaffected youth of ''Ahas Gauwa'' (1974). Costa won the Award for the Best actor at 1963 Theatre Drama Festival for the acting in ''Dunna Dunna Gamuwe''.

Mime art

Costa is highlighted as the pioneer of Sri Lankan mime art. His most notable miming acts are ''Pemwathaa'', ''Chaaya Roopa Shilpiya'', ''Charlie Chaplin'', ''Inimaga'', ''Magiyek'' and ''Adare Wedana''. These acts were made by dramatists like

Gamini Haththotuwegama Kala Keerthi Dr. Gamini Kalyanadarsha Haththotuwegama (born 29 November 1939 – died 30 October 2009 as ගාමිණී හත්තොටුවේගම) was a Sri Lankan playwright, director, actor, critic and educator. He was widely known ...

, Sarath Kallepotha and

Bandula Vithanage Bandula de Silva Vithanage (born 11 September 1940 – died 1 September 2014 as බන්දුල විතානගේ) inhala was an actor and director in Sri Lankan cinema, stage drama and television as well as a translator, director, play ...

Gaining Popularity

His critically acclaimed performances in these films led to him becoming a much sought after actor for character roles by other art directors. Sunil Ariyaratne too used him as a whiskey seller in ''Sarungale'' (1979) among other roles.

Gamini Fonseka Kala Keerthi Sembuge Gamini Shelton Fonseka () (21 March 1936 - 30 September 2004 as ගාමිණී ෆොන්සේකා), was a Sri Lankan film actor, film director and politician. Often considered as the Greatest Actor in the Sinhal ...

featured him in most of his directorial work such as ''Sagarayek Meda'' (1981). In the 1980s, de Costa began to take lighter roles which he had occasionally done in the 1970s to a much smaller extent. This would be the period he began to get lead roles in such films as ''Silva'' and ''Jivithayen Jivithayak''. From the 1990s on he had done mainly small comedic roles in B-movies.

Death

De Costa attended Colombo South General (Teaching) Hospital on 19 November 2016, where he died next day by intense respiratory difficulties.

Filmography

* No. denotes the Number of Sri Lankan film in the Sri Lankan cinema. De Costa has acted in more than 100 films ranging from drama, action, and comedy roles.

References

External links

Sri Lanka Sinhala Films Database - Wimal Kumara de Costa
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Costa, Wimal Kumara de 1948 births 2016 deaths Sri Lankan Roman Catholics Sinhalese male actors Sri Lankan male film actors