- How Dulan Manjula Liyanage made it into the cutthroat field of film and TV
Starring in the lead role of Ashan Susuripala in renowned director Sunil Costa’s Can You Hear Me is the talented up-and-coming actor Dulan Manjula Liyanage, who captured the hearts of many from his appearance on the show.
Hailing from a small town in Galle, Liyanage always dreamt of walking amongst the stars – acting was a passion that he desperately wanted to pursue. But, living in the real world, his dreams had to be shelved for some time as he got a job as a quantity surveyor in the construction sector.
In conversation with Brunch, Liyanage told us that he had little to no interest in the job, claiming that his heart always longed to be on the big screen. One fateful day, a good friend excitedly told him of an audition happening for roles in Western Sky directed by Chamara Janaranjit, where he received a minor role.
In 2017, he took part in a screen test for another teledrama by award-winning Sunil Costa. Liyanage’s acting skills were ahead of his time and so polished that he was granted the lead role out of 200 auditioners for the teledrama Sudu Andagena Kalu Awidin (2019). It was Liyanage’s first teledrama starring as a main character. That was his big break into stardom and since then, he quit his day job and moved into acting full-time.
“My parents – my mother especially – weren’t too happy about me quitting my job. She thought acting was a useless venture and had her doubts about it being a money-making industry,” he told us. However, over the last few years he gained recognition for playing the leading roles of Pencha in the television series Sudu Andagena Kalu Awidin (2019) and Ashan in Can You Hear Me (ongoing). For his outstanding performances, he was also nominated twice at the Raigam Tele’es Awards (2019) and at the Sumathi Awards (2020) for Best Emerging Actor of the Year.
“Now, my parents and my extended family have all seen my potential and understand that acting is a lucrative market, and all love and support me in pursuing my dreams,” he added.
We asked him about his role in Can You Hear Me since it played a major part in establishing him as a recognised actor in the field. “I think the reason my character Ashan was so well received is because he is very relatable to people,” he told us, adding that the character has many problems in life with no real solutions, which is something we can all understand and relate to. In the show, Ashan is shown to be surrounded by many friends and is a generally popular character, but when it comes down to it, none of his so-called friends want to help him out with his problems and no one wants to listen to his pain, which Liyanage thinks is a good depiction of today’s society.
“Many sympathised with my character, and loved him because they understood what he was going through. We have all been in Ashan’s shoes, so that is why he was the most loved character on the show,” he added. He also told us that the response to the show and his character was so overwhelmingly positive that it reinforced his love for the field and encouraged him to pursue acting more seriously.
When choosing roles, he always looks for the character’s potential to leave a message with the audience. “There are not many dramas or films that actually highlight important issues or send a message to society, which is why there are so few high-quality shows in the country,” he noted, adding that he hopes to create more shows like this by only opting for in-depth characters when he auditions or takes up an offer.
We asked him if he was offered more roles in other areas like stage dramas or movies, to which he affirmed that he had received many offers for both, but with the ongoing production of the second season of Can You Hear Me, it is currently difficult for him to take on any more additional long-term projects. For now, he simply hopes to successfully conclude filming of this particular teledrama. He did reveal that he had worked on a movie to be released soon, and urged his audience to look forward to that.
In terms of acting, we asked him what he hopes to achieve in the future. Liyanage shared that he has a dream of winning the Best Actor or Most Talented Actor awards one day. “Two of the three teledramas I worked on were directed by Sunil Costa. He is an incredibly talented screenplay writer and also has his hand in camera work and management on set. His work in the field is revered and with his ability and guidance as a director, I’m sure I have the opportunity to become a successful part of the film industry in the future,” he commented.
