Fabulousness is an attitude, I’m convinced. Sipping a beer and waiting for Danu to make an appearance at Cinnamon Grand was certainly an exciting prospect. Clad in butt-hugging black jeans with strips torn at the inner thighs, in walked Danu sporting a mustache reminiscent of Ranveer Singh during his Ram Leela days. Danu has arrived, an alarmed thought ran through my beer-drenched neurons. I was not the only one who noticed.
The denizens of Cinnamon Grand turned their heads and tracked his progress with ever widening eyes as he scuttled towards me while I giggled nervously, and decided another bottle of Lion Lager was quite welcome. On second thoughts, make that a Lion Strong, I whispered to the gawking waiter.
Tongue-tied and wondering how to break the ice, which I was unskillfully trying to chip away at, I murmured — It seems that you’re one of those personalities that live for the day, Danu. He opened his mouth, which boasted an envious set of pearly whites that was made from the same stuff the Pearly Gates were, and laughed raucously. The poor piano lady, alarmed, forgot the tune to Pachebel’s Canon D, as Danu whispered back — No darling, I live for two.
Despite the frivolousness, silliness, and all-out shock value that Danu reeked of, he turned out to be an inspirational human being. With two hours of voice recordings snugly sitting in my iPhone, here I am at Mount Lavinia beach mulling over such an extraordinary personality that’s celebrating 15 years in the media field.
We’ve all heard the scandalous comments: “Danu? That queen?”; “I heard he’s a real bitch”; “What is he wearing?”; “Belongs in a nut house”; and, “I wouldn’t let any of my kids or my dog near him”. Yet once the layers of frivolity came undone, I’m hard pressed to find another more human individual that we can all relate to.
Born to a wealthy family in Jaffna, the war and other economic challenges displaced Danu and his family to Colombo. He talked of how after the death of his father, his mother brought him and his sister up with humble means.
Being materialistically spoilt was never an option, and he says how his mother told them that she will never show them anything that she couldn’t afford. Schooled at St. Peters, he talked of how he flunked Math, and still gets nervous before a major gig that he has to compère.
While life hardly smiled fair at Danu, he talks of his mother and sister in such a glowing manner. I’ve finally bought a small car, he says. But I’ve lost the chance to take my Mum around town to show her the night lights, he murmurs. Having lost his mother to colon cancer, it’s now his sister that has become his biggest fan.
In an age where social media has become a marketing juggernaut of sorts, Danu has excelled carving and crafting his media personality into something that secretly everyone envies. From hosting his own radio show to being a brand ambassador to compèring some of the most well-attended events in Colombo, it would hardly come as a surprise that he truly is star class.
Forever enterprising, Danu has branched out into various projects: WTF by Danu; Buzz with Danu; Jaffna Boy; Danu Innasithamby Foundation; and, My Sister’s Kitchen. Offering the best in information and entertainment, I was humbled enough to witness the life story of this well-loved media personality as he celebrated 15 years in media at Park Street Mews on the 25th of July.
As the liquor flowed that night, and a veritable list of Colombo’s glitterati attended to applaud Danu’s 15-year-old milestone at Curve, I did realize that the secret of Danu’s success is in his ability to eke out a laugh from even the most recalcitrant of beings.
The jokes were endless, and there were more laughs than conversations that night. I hope I live for another 15 years, Danu stated as he took the stage, simply because I have a lot of clothes to wear! Adroitly meandering from one topic to another, here was a maestro that jumped from one topic to another and kept a discerning audience wondering as he seduced more laughs from them as the night wore on.
As the show wound down, and everyone clamored to get their picture taken with the man himself, I couldn’t help but muse — How could you not love the guy? I remembered the list of people he thanked with a sense of humility that was unbecoming for a celebrity.
What better way to gracefully accept success than to offer up a humble ode to all those who have helped him along the way; this is, after all, a life that’s more eager to throw obstacles your way than to cheer you on towards success.
For what it’s worth, and judging by his sheer online presence, I’m convinced that we Lankans do need a bit of Danu in our lives; and as you gawk and consume the plethora of perfectly photoshopped images on his Instagram feed, remember that the person truly is far more approachable, zany, and human than you and I could ever be.
Written by Rohitha Perera