Further to her official website biography says;
The secret to Yashoís success as an accomplished actress is to ëliveí the character in a production. She says, “You can’t act as someone else or as Yashoda. You have to breathe life into that character and become that person.” In choosing her projects, she picks challenging roles with powerful messages where she can do justice to the character.
Yashoda believes that to be a professional actress, one requires God-given talent as well as formal training. She says that Sri Lanka needs to develop its film industry further to reach international standards.
Multi-talented Yashoda has always had a flare for languages, speaking Hindi even as a child. She studied languages for Aílevels and is fluent in English, Sinhala, French and Hindi. She went on to Kelaniya University to complete her Honours Degree in Hindi. In 2002, she earned her Masters degree in Hindi from Lucknow University in India and has plans to work towards a PhD. Not letting her fans down, she continued working in movies, theatre and television throughout her university period.
Yet many question how Hindi can help her with her career as an actress. She follows her father’s advice that education is vital, no matter what career path one chooses. Furthermore, learning a language also involves learning other aspects like culture, music and literature, which she feels has helped her when portraying different characters, especially when working in foreign films.
It was her first time in theater but it didn’t stop her from winning the 1991 Best Actress Award in the State Drama Awards Festival for her portrayal of Emily Webb in "Hiru Dahasa" (directed by Withanage), a Sri Lankan adaptation of the American play based on Thornton Wilder's "Our Town". Today, Yasho continues to look back on this character who taught her many things about acting and life itself.
She strongly believes that for an artiste, theatre productions are more challenging and rewarding because the performance is ëliveí and the audience interacts simultaneously.
The role Yashoda played as a youngster attempting to retrace her roots after discovering that she is adopted in the movie, “Theertha Yathra” is another character she admires. A lot of research had to be conducted for this philosophical part which taught Yashoda much about her own self and how blessed she is.
Yasho’s portrayal of Kirimenike in Jayantha Chandrasiri’s “Agnidahaya” (Fire and Water) as a maiden in the 17th century, received rave reviews. The film itself is complex, dealing with the tragedy of human existence where people relentlessly pursue their passions, especially for power. Her inimitable style of getting into the character where one loses sight of Yashoda made it a truly stunning performance which gave fans a new perspective to Yashoís talents.
Working alongside Geraldine Chaplin (Comedian Charlie Chaplin’s daughter) in the movie about Mother Theresaís life as Sister Maria was yet another wonderful role. ìI learnt a lot from Geraldine and it was a very special project telling the story of such a giving human being, she reminisces.
Since their first meeting in 1991, Yashoda has always looked up to Irangani Serasinghe. She feels that Irangani, being ìan institute of actingî herself, is a valuable asset to Sri Lanka where one can learn so much from observing her. ìShe has been an inspiration in my career and personal life, and I am privileged to know her as well as I do. Being so courageous and full of life, I could write a book about her!î says Yashoda.
Being a child artist, she never had the same freedom that her friends enjoyed but Yasho has no regrets in her life. Her closest friends remain her seven best pals from her school days, and surprisingly Yasho is still in touch with some of her school teachers as well. Celebrity status has not changed Yashoda, she remains the same person she always was.
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