Asoka Peiris (born 1942 – died 24 December 2007 as අශෝක පීරිස්) inhala, was a

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), li ...

in Sri Lankan cinema, stage drama and television. Highly versatile actor mainly appeared in dramatic roles, Peiris is best known for the roles in ''Amba Yahaluwo'' and ''Guru Gedara''.

Personal life

Ashoka Peiris was born in 1942 in

Moratuwa Moratuwa ( si, මොරටුව, ta, மொறட்டுவை) is a large suburb of Colombo, on the southwestern coast of Sri Lanka, near Dehiwala-Mount Lavinia. It is situated on the Galle–Colombo (Galle road) main highway, south o ...

Colombo Colombo ( ; si, කොළඹ, translit=Koḷam̆ba, ; ta, கொழும்பு, translit=Koḻumpu, ) is the executive and judicial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by population. According to the Brookings Institution, Colombo me ...

. His father died when he was about 16 years old. His preliminary education was at Presbyterian Girls' High School, Dehiwela and Ferguson's Girls' High School under Ms. Brooks. Then he attended to

S. Thomas' College, Mount Lavinia , motto_translation = Be Thou Forever , song = Thomian Song , athletics = Yes , sports = Yes , nickname = Thora , denomination = Anglican , patron ...

for secondary education. He was married to Chithra Peiris and the couple has two sons, Prakash, Eshantha and one daughter, Menaka. After the marriage, he worked at Wellawatta Spinning and Weaving Mills, when he met Lester. He had 6 grand children. Amrith, Dharaka & Amandhi are the children of his older son Prakash. Emma is the daughter of his second son Eshantha. Meshaak & Mareesha are the children of his daughter Menaka. He died on 24 December 2007 due to heart attack at the age of 65. His funeral took place in Holy Emmanuel Church Moratuwa. He was buried at the Holy Emmanuel Church Cemetery on 29th Friday, 2007 at 3.pm.

Acting career

In 1959, he produced a Sinhala play called ''Karolis and Porolis'' along with his friend Marapana during his last year at school. He started acting career with the stage play ''Pala Malla'' staged in 1965 with the main role. Then he acted in an English play directed by Lucien de Soyza. His maiden cinema acting came through ''Delovak Athara'' directed by

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 ...

with a supportive role. His first main role in cinema was in ''Thana Giravi'' directed by

Roy de Silva Chathurartha Devadithya Gardiyawasam Lindamulage Roy Aloysius Felix de Silva, popularly known as Roy de Silva (රෝයි ද සිල්වා; 30 August 1937 – 30 June 2018), was a Sri Lankan actor and film director in Sri Lankan cinema a ...

. In 1967, he directed the drama ''Sarana''. In 1993, he won the Best Actor award at Sarasaviya Film Festival for his role in the film ''Guru Gedara''. In 1994, Peiris won the award for the Best Actor at Sarasaviya Film Festival for the role in ''Guru Gedara''. He continued act in some foreign movies such as ''Shadow of the Cobra'' and ''Death Stone''. Some of his most critically acclaimed roles came through films including, ''Yuganthaya'', ''Baddegama'', ''Yahalu Yeheli'', ''Viragaya'' and ''Maruthaya''. His most notable television acting came through ''Amba Yahaluvo'' as Nelum Bandara, which became a cult in Sri Lankan television. In 1994, he founded The Moratuwa Arts Forum (MAF), which launched many projects to identify Moratuwa talents and to promote music. He worked as the chartered president of the forum from 1995 to 1996. In 2004, he worked as the music composer of ''Jolly Boys'' and ''Haadu Wassak'' films.

Selected serials

* ''Amba Yahaluvo'' * ''Asani Wasi'' * ''Awasan Horawa'' * ''Duvili Maliga'' * ''Jeewa Chakra'' * ''Mindada'' * ''Rankira Soya'' * ''Sathya'' * ''Senehase Nimnaya'' * ''Sihinayak Paata Paatin'' * ''Wara Peraliya''

Filmography

References

External links