Buddhisena Dayaratne Wickrama (19 January 1939 – 5 January 2023), popularly known as Buddhi Wickrama, was A Sri Lankan actor in
cinema
Cinema may refer to:
Film
* Cinematography, the art of motion-picture photography
* Film or movie, a series of still images that create the illusion of a moving image
** Film industry, the technological and commercial institutions of filmmaking
...
,
theater
Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actor, actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The p ...
, and television. He is most notable for the roles played in the television dramas ''Tharadevi'', ''Suseema'', ''Boomarangaya'', and ''Amba Yahaluvo''.
Biography
Wickrama was born in
Heenatigala,
Galle
Galle ( si, ගාල්ල, translit=Gālla; ta, காலி, translit=Kāli) (formerly Point de Galle) is a major city in Sri Lanka, situated on the southwestern tip, from Colombo. Galle is the provincial capital and largest city of Souther ...
,
British Ceylon
British Ceylon ( si, බ්රිතාන්ය ලංකාව, Britānya Laṃkāva; ta, பிரித்தானிய இலங்கை, Biritthāṉiya Ilaṅkai) was the British Crown colony of present-day Sri Lanka between ...
on 19 January 1939, as the second child of the family. His father worked in the
Department of Posts
India Post is a government-operated postal system in India, part of the Department of Post under the Ministry of Communications. Generally known as the Post Office, it is the most widely distributed postal system in the world. Warren Hastings ha ...
, and he had one elder brother and two younger sisters. He completed his primary education from Heenatigala Sariputhra College and his secondary education from
Mahinda College
Mahinda College is a Buddhist boys' school in Galle, Sri Lanka. The school was established on 1 March 1892 by the Buddhist Theosophical Society led by Colonel Henry Steel Olcott. As of May 2022 it is a national school providing primary and seco ...
.
While in school, he performed in the stage play ''Avurudda'' produced by Vinnie Vitharana. After that, he worked in the
Department of Surveys in 1959 as a designer, where he met fellow actors
Dhamma Jagoda
Dhamma Jagoda (28 January 1941 – 4 February 1988) was the first Head of the Drama Unit at the National Television channel Rupavahini Corporation in Sri Lanka. He was a pioneer theater and television play director and actor in Sri Lanka. He in ...
, Santin Gunawardena, Shelton de Silva, and
Mervyn Jayathunga
Pitiyage Mervyn Piyadasa Jayatunga ( si, මර්වින් ජයතුංග; 9 March 1940 – 1 November 1993), popularly known as Mervyn Jayathunga, was an actor in Sri Lankan cinema and stage drama. He was a highly versatile actor, who ...
.
During this period, Buddhi joined the "Kala Pela" drama troupe founded by
G. D. L. Perera
Gonaduwahandunge Don Lakshman Perera (26 June 1935 – 14 February 2021 as si, ජී. ඩී. එල්. පෙරේරා), popularly as G. D. L. Perera, was an actor and filmmaker in Sri Lankan cinema as well as a journalist.
Early life
H ...
.
In 1962, he made his first theatre appearance in Perera's play ''Magul Mathe''. Other stage plays he performed in include ''Andare'', ''Parasthawa'', ''Kāmarē Porē'', ''Janēlaya'', ''Thotupala'', ''Mehew Lokayak'', ''Kontharē'', ''Manaranjana Weda Warjana'', ''Hotabari Yuddē'', ''Apāyē Avurudu'', and ''Sri Wickrama''.
After leaving the Survey Department, Buddhi joined the Ceramics Corporation.
His last stage performance was
R. R. Samarakoon's ''Doovili''.
In 1964, he made his first cinema appearance in the film ''Saama,'' directed by Perera.
In 1967, he acted in the film ''Sadol Kandulu''. He also appeared in foreign films and serials such as ''
The Village by the Sea'', ''Good Marriages'', ''The Greatest Gift,'' and ''Water''.
He portrayed a friend of Gorin Mudalali in the film ''
Welikathara,'' and as a robber in the film ''Haralakshaya''.
In 1975, Wickrama married Irangani Wannakukorala and the couple had one daughter.
They met while both were working at the Ceramics Corporation.
His first television appearance came through the 1998 serial ''Eka Mawakage Daruwo'' directed by
Lucien Bulathsinhala
Kala Suri Raigama Bulathsinhalage Lucien Perera (born 25 December 1942, si, :si:ලූෂන් බුලත්සිංහල, ලූෂන් බුලත්සිංහල), popularly as Lucien Bulathsinhala, is an actor and Television direct ...
.
He then appeared in more than 40 television serials over two decades, including ''Kumarihami'', ''Palingu Menike'', ''Thara Devi'', ''
Doo Daruwo
Doo Daruwo (Sinhala, "children") was one of the longest running Sri Lankan television serials, airing from 1990 to 1995. It was one of the most popular shows of its time and drew in 8 million viewers at its peak.
Plot
This was a story that r ...
'', ''Amba Yahaluvo'', ''Gam Peraliya'', ''Suseema'', and ''Bawa Tharana'' as his final television appearance in 2012.
Among them is the role he played as Punsiri's father in the teledrama ''Du Daruwo'' and the role 'Kendalanda' in the popular teen serial ''Amba Yahaluvo,'' which received critical acclaim.
In 2014, he underwent bypass heart surgery and retired from acting. Wickrama later became confined to a wheelchair, and then bedridden after suffering a dislocated hip. In 2017, he was diagnosed with
Parkinson's disease
Parkinson's disease (PD), or simply Parkinson's, is a long-term degenerative disorder of the central nervous system that mainly affects the motor system. The symptoms usually emerge slowly, and as the disease worsens, non-motor symptoms becom ...
.
Wickrama died on 5 January 2023, at the age of 83. He was undergoing treatment at the General Hospital in
Homagama
Homagama is a town in the Colombo District, Sri Lanka, about south-east of Colombo. The Homagama Pradeshiya Sabha consists of the Homagama Divisional Secretariats of Sri Lanka, divisional secretariat and 10 GN division of Padukka DS division. The ...
at the time of his death.
Selected television serials
* ''Amba Yahaluvo''
* ''Bawa Tharana''
* ''
Doo Daruwo
Doo Daruwo (Sinhala, "children") was one of the longest running Sri Lankan television serials, airing from 1990 to 1995. It was one of the most popular shows of its time and drew in 8 million viewers at its peak.
Plot
This was a story that r ...
''
* ''Gamanaanthaya''
* ''Gam Peraliya''
* ''Hiruta Muwawen''
* ''Kadathurawa''
* ''Kalu Makara''
* ''Kumarihami''
* ''Palingu Menike''
* ''Pitagankarayo''
* ''Punchi Hapannu''
* ''Sandagalathanna''
* ''Sihina Nimnaya''
* ''Sihinayak Addara''
* ''Sonduru Sithaththi''
* ''Suseema''
* ''Thara Devi''
Filmography
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wickrama, Buddhi
1939 births
2023 deaths
Sri Lankan male film actors
Sri Lankan Buddhists
Sri Lankan male television actors
Sri Lankan male stage actors
People from Galle
20th-century Sri Lankan male actors
21st-century Sri Lankan male actors
Alumni of Mahinda College