Anula Karunathilaka ( si, අනුලා කරුණාතිලක, born 23 January 1946) is a Sri Lankan film actress and theatrical performer. Her work is noted during the 70s film and cinema history in Sri Lanka. One of the most popular actresses in Sinhala cinema in 1960s, she is best known for the popular role 'Dammi' in the blockbuster film ''Golu Hadawatha''.

Personal life

She was born on 23 January 1946 in

Wellawatte Wellawatta is a neighbourhood of Colombo, Sri Lanka. It lies immediately south of Bambalapitiya and is classified as zone 6 within the Colombo Municipal region. The town begins at the old Dutch canal just before the Savoy Cinema and extends so ...

, Colombo, Sri Lanka as the second of the family. Her father, Thomas Karunatilake had a shop in Wellawatte Market. Her mother Somawathi was a housewife. She has one older sister and two younger sisters. She completed education from Sri Lankadhaara Girls' School in Wellawatte. She was married to Daya Ranaweera, who worked at Dawasa Newspaper. They wedding was celebrated in March 1968 when Anula was 22 years old. The couple had two sons. Daya died in 2001.

Career

Karunathilaka's entry into the industry in the early 1960s came about as a result of a chance meeting with senior film industry figures at a beauty contest organized by the Dawasa newspaper in 1962. Having applied as a contestant at her sister's insistence, her photo was published in the newspaper among the other candidates' for the public to vote on. Filmmakers

Sumitra Peries Kala Keerthi Sumitra Peries (born 24 March 1934) is the first Sri Lankan female filmmaker and is known by all as the "Poetess of Sinhala Cinema". She also held the post of Sri Lanka's ambassador to France, Spain and the United Nations in the ...

and

Tissa Abeysekera Deshanabu Tissa Ananda Abeysekara (7 May 1939 – 18 April 2009 as තිස්ස අබේසේකර) was a Sri Lankan filmmaker, actor, writer, director, screen playwright and political activist. He is better known as a script writer for th ...

were among the audience of the final event and, using the photo published in the newspaper, identified Karunathilaka during the day's proceedings. A week later,

Sugathapala de Silva Sugathapala De Silva (4 August 1928 – 28 October 2002) was an acclaimed Sri Lankan dramatist and novelist, translator, radio play producer, and Sinhala Radio Play writer. Biography Early life Sugathapala De Silva was born on 4 August 1928 M ...

and G. W. Surendra visited the Karunathilakas' home with a message from

Lester James Peries Sri Lankabhimanya Lester James Peries ( Sinhala: ශ්‍රී ලංකාභිමාන්‍ය ලෙස්ටර් ජේම්ස් පීරිස්; 5 April 1919 – 29 April 2018) was a Sri Lankan film director, screenwriter, a ...

, Peries, and Abeysekera, inviting her to audition for the role of ''Nanda'' in Lester James' upcoming Gamperaliya. Despite her interest, Lester decided her to be too young for the part, and instead gave her the role of ''Liza'', auditioning for the part in a scene alongside

Gamini Fonseka Kala Keerthi Sembuge Gamini Shelton Fonseka () (21 March 1936 - 30 September 2004 as :si:ගාමිණී ෆොන්සේකා, ගාමිණී ෆොන්සේකා), was a Cinema of Sri Lanka, Sri Lankan film actor, film director ...

. She thus made her on-screen debut at 16. Karunathilika played a role in the local film industry's efforts to produce truly local performances, moving away from highly Indianized productions and plots.

Acting style

Karunathilaka was an acclaimed popular and awarded actress. She is known for character acting. Her style is said to derive from her nurturing under strict culture and family restrictions in the 1940s.

Key performances

Golu Hadawatha made many notable contributions to Sinhala cinema, and became one of the most popular actresses in the late 1960s. Her most important role was as Dhammi in ''

Golu Hadawatha ''Golu Hadawatha'' (Translation: The Silent Heart) was a popular 1968 Sinhalese language romance movie directed by Maestro Lester James Peiris. Wickrama Bogoda and Anula Karunathilaka acted the lead roles of Sugath and Dhammhi. The movie's s ...

'' (Silent Heart). Karunathilka was awarded with national

Sarasaviya Awards ''Sarasaviya Awards'' (Sinhala:සරසවිය සම්මාන) is an award bestowed to distinguished individuals involved with the Sinhala cinema, each year by the Sarasaviya weekly newspaper in collaboration with the Associated Newspapers ...

in 1969 for the role. Another key role was Sugath.

Personal life

Karunathilaka was married to photographer and journalist Daya Ranaweera.

Awards

*1965 - Sarasaviya Award - Popular Actress *1969 - Sarasaviya Award - Best Actress - Golu Hadawatha *2011 - UV Sumathipala Memorial Award

Selected works

Filmography

Television

* ''Aba Yaluwo'' * ''Bhavathra'' * ''Ganga Addara'' * ''Hirusanda Maima'' * ''Laabai Apple'' * ''Mahathala Hatana'' * ''Rosa Katu'' * ''Sayaweni Patumaga'' * ''Senehase Nimnaya'' * ''Sepalika'' * ''Sith Bindi Rekha'' * ''Tharuka''

Theater

* ''Boarding Karayo'' * ''Ranthodu''

References

External links

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දම්මි තක්ෂිලාවට
{{DEFAULTSORT:Karunathilaka, Anula 1946 births Living people Sri Lankan film actresses Sinhalese actresses 20th-century Sri Lankan actresses 21st-century Sri Lankan actresses