And the winner of the ‘Kiss of the Year’ award goes to …
Ranil’s smacker a’la mode Macron-Kolinda wows the crowd
OOH LA LA! The Prime Minister was in dashing form when he planted a smacker on the cheeks of South Indian actress Pooja Umashankar when she won the best actress of the year award for her role as Maria in the film Sarigama at the Sarasaviya Film Festival held last week.
It was a smooch a’la mode the Macron and Kolinda kiss which happened at the World Cup Football final in France just three weeks ago when France played against Croatia and won the cup and enabled the French Prime Minister to steal a kiss from the Croatian President Kolinda.
Pooja, whose mother Sandhya is Sinhalese while her father H.R. Umashankar is an Indian Kannadiga Brahmin from Karnataka not only won her best actress award but won the prime-ministerial eye when even before she shook the extended hand she first did a twirl before shaking it.
But there was more to come. She managed to melt the normally stiff, stuffy and aloof Ranil and make him come out of his shell and closet to do the honours when she offered her cheeks for it to be kissed. To be graced by a prime ministerial peck.
And the ever chivalrous knight Ranil couldn’t make him snub the fair maiden’s offer -- an offer he couldn’t refuse -- even though it may have made his home front be painted green.
But, no doubt his explanation would have been accepted with maithrie and karuna when he said: Sometimes a man’s got to do what a gentleman ought and must do.
PS: For Lankan prudes who frowned upon the innocent scene, let them be told of the history of the Order of the Garter. Britain’s King Edward III was dancing with Joan of Kent, his first cousin and daughter-in-law. Her garter slipped down to her ankle, causing people around her to mock her.
In an act of chivalry, Edward placed the garter around his own leg saying, in Middle French, "Shame on him who thinks evil of it. Those who laugh at this today, will be proud to wear it tomorrow, because this band will be worn with such honour that those mocking now will be looking for it with much eagerness."
And the moral of the story: Evil to him who thinks evil.