Geetha Kumarasinghe

Geetha Samanmali Kumarasinghe (born July 5, 1955, in Badulla) is an award winning Sri Lankan film actress. She made her debut with veteran director K. A. W. Perera's Wasana in 1975 but it was Neil Rupasinghe's Lassana Kella which was released first. Since then, she has made her mark in over 80 movies, winning the prestigious Sarasaviya Best Actress Award four times, in 1991, 1996, 2000 and 2004. She was also one of the few actresses to receive the Sarasaviya Most Popular Actress Award several times.

Early life

Geetha Samanmalie Kumarasinghe^[1] was born as the eldest daughter of Wijaya, a journalist and Udula Kumarasinghe in 1955 at Badulla. She grew up in Bentara, Elpitiya and had her education at Sanghamitta Girls College, Aluthgama and Holy Family Convent, Kalutara.

As a child, she showed talent for singing and dancing. She was crowned a beauty Queen, competing among 100 contestants in a beauty contest organized by a local newspaper in 1973.

Career

Though Geetha’s father did not approve of a career in movies or her participation in the beauty pageant, her mother was always with her. Her aunt, Anula Wickramapala was also a friend of Sir. Lester James Peiris . Incidentally, it was her aunts mansion that he used as the location for his film Ransalu.^[2] Little Geetha, who used to spend her school vacations in her aunt’s house in Kollupitiya would imitate Punya Heendeniya, as her childhood heroine.

She signed contracts for 21 films before her maiden film was released, a record in Sri Lankan Cinema.^[3] It was in the year 1975 that Geetha debuted in K.A.W. Perera's Vasana but it was Neil Rupasinghe's Lassana Kella which reached theaters first.

Kumarasinghe, who is often famous for casting in controversial roles, has also performed in foreign films which include Pakistani, Hindi, Japanese, Tamil and French productions.

She received critical acclaim in roles such as 'Dulcie' in Pembara Madhu, 'Dotty' in Palama Yata, 'Punna' in Lokuduwa and 'Amali' in Ran Diya Dahara. Her performance in Palama Yata^[4] (Under the Bridge) where she plays the role of a woman in the slums earned raving reviews both in Sri Lanka and overseas.

She produced popular films like Palama Yata, Salambak Handai, Loku Duwa, Anuragaye Ananthaya, Wasuli and Geetha.^[5] Both of her productions, Palama Yata and Loku Duwa won her the Best Film Awards at the Sarasaviya Awards Festival.

Awards

Political career

Geetha was a ardent supporter of Mahinda Rajapakse at 2010 presidential elections and was appointed as the chief organizer to Elpitiya electroate. She unsuccessfully contested at the 2010 general elections and blamed election irregularities for her defeat.

She contested the provincial council elections in 2014 and took oath as a counciller at the Southern Provincial Council.

References

• Geetha Kumarasinghe launching her website...
• Geetha goes on line
• Glamorous web address

External links

• Official Website of Geetha Kumarasinghe
• Geetha Kumarasinghe's Biography in Sinhala Cinema Database
• Official Website - National Film Corporation of Sri Lanka
• Official Website of Lester and Sumitra Peries
• Cine Star Foundation
• Geetha Kumarasinghe in Sinhala 1
• Geetha Kumarasinghe in Sinhala 2