Daya Bandara Tennakoon (born 29 November 1941 – died 17 April 2020 as
දයා තෙන්නකෝන්)
inhala, was 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.
Personal life
He was born on 29 November 1941 in the small village Galabadawatta, in Rangala, Kandy. He started primary education from Galabadawatta Primary School and then completed secondary education from
Dharmaraja College
Dharmaraja College ( si, ධර්මරාජ විද්යාලය), founded in 1887, is a boys' school in Kandy, Sri Lanka. It is a Buddhist school with around 300+ teaching staff and around 5000+ students. The school has many notable ...
,
Kandy
Kandy ( si, මහනුවර ''Mahanuwara'', ; ta, கண்டி Kandy, ) is a major city in Sri Lanka located in the Central Province. It was the last capital of the ancient kings' era of Sri Lanka. The city lies in the midst of hills ...
.
His father was a tea estate keeper. After school times, he was selected to the
University of Ceylon
The University of Ceylon was the only university in Sri Lanka (earlier Ceylon) from 1942 until 1972. It had several constituent campuses at various locations around Sri Lanka. The University of Ceylon Act No. 1 of 1972, replaced it with the Unive ...
,
Peradeniya
Peradeniya ( si, පේරාදෙණිය, translit=Pēradeniya; ta, பேராதனை, translit=Pērātaṉai) is a suburb of the city of Kandy
Kandy ( si, මහනුවර ''Mahanuwara'', ; ta, கண்டி Kandy, ) is a m ...
and graduated with an arts degree.
He was married to fellow actress Grace Ariyavwimal. He met Grace during the 1965 stage play ''Manaranjana Wedawarjana'' produced by
Henry Jayasena.
Thennakoon died on 17 April 2020 at the age of 78 while receiving treatments at Apeksha Cancer Hospital, Maharagama.
The funeral took place on Sunday 19 April at 11:00 am at Thalahena Cemetery, Malabe.
Career
While Thennakoon was studying at the
University of Peradeniya
The University of Peradeniya ( si, පේරාදෙණිය විශ්වවිද්යාලය, ta, பேராதனைப் பல்கலைக்கழகம்) is a public university in Sri Lanka, funded by the University ...
, his school as well as university friend
Dharmasena Pathiraja
Pathiraja Navaratne Wanninayake Mudiyanselage Ranjith Dharmasena (28 March 1943 – 28 January 2018) was a Sri Lankan film director and screenwriter. He has been referred to as a 'rebel with a cause', an ‘''enfant terrible'' of the '70s', and ...
invited him to attend several discussions done with filmmaker
Sugathapala Senarath Yapa, for his film script ''Hanthane Kathawa'' in 1969.
Tennakoon was selected for the role "Naatha" in that film, which made his acting debut. He entered the stage through the drama ''Bosathaneni'' which was produced by Bandula Jayawardena.
He also worked as a journalist in the newspaper ''Lassana'' before entering cinema.
There were vacancies in the Ceylon Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) when he left the university where he obtained a job there.
In 1969, he worked as an Operations Assistant at CBC. During this time however, he was selected for many stage dramas directed by
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 ...
including ''Dunnu Dunugamuwe'' in 1972, ''Satha Satha'', and Pathiraja's ''Kora Saha Andhaya'' in 1970. His performance with Malini Weeramuni in ''Dunnu Dunugamuwe'' was one of the most spectacular performances the audience has ever seen.
He has been mostly involved in the work of university mate Dharmasena Pathiraja. Later he involved in the play ''Nettukkari'' by Namel Weeramuni and play ''Hitha Honda Ammandi'' by De Silva.
He was promoted to producer of the radio education service. The Japanese Award for Special Evaluation of the Year was awarded in 1979 to the program ''Muhude Yuddhe'' by Thennekoon. He acted in the television serial ''Thattu Gewal'', which gained enormous popularity.
He was awarded with a merit award for his performance in the film ''Sakman Maluwa'' in 2003.
Shortly thereafter, he partnered with a television production company called "Cine Video". He was involved in the creation of a number of commercials such as the National Savings Bank and DSI, which were very popular at the time. He directed a number of documentaries and teledramas for Swarnavahini in early years.
It was for the first time in Sri Lanka television that he filmed a song as his concept. It was the first video song ever made for a television media in Sri Lanka. Tennakoon is the pioneer of Sri Lankan television music videos.
He has acted in several supporting roles in many popular films such as ''Ahas Gawwa'', ''Eya Dan Loku Lamayek'', ''Seilama'', ''Bambaru Avith'', ''Karumakkarayo'', ''Kinihiriya Mal'', ''Sakman Maluwa'', ''Soldadu Unnehe'', ''Swaroopa'', ''Dedunu Akase'' and ''28''.
Selected stage plays
* ''Bosathaneni''
* ''Deegeka Awith Kandoskiriyawa''
* ''Dunnu Dunugamuwe''
* ''Esala Sandaha Awanhala''
* ''Hitha Honda Ammandi''
* ''Kora Saha Andhaya''
* ''Muthu Kumari''
* ''Nettukkari''
* ''Satha Satha''
* ''The Dictator''
Selected television serials
* ''Andukola''
* ''Anuththara''
* ''Hathe Kalliya''
* ''Pinketha''
* ''Sansungama Andaraya''
* ''Thattu Gewal''
* ''Wes''
Awards
He has received several awards.
* 1st FIPRESCT Critics Award 1994 for the Best Performance - ''Tharanaya''
* 7th Swarna Sanka Cinema Awards 1996 for the Best Supporting Actor - ''Seilama''
* 26th Sarasaviya Award 1998 for the Best Performance - ''Tharanaya''
Filmography
References
External links
දයා තෙන්නකෝන් කලාකරුවාත් සමුගනීරංගන ශිල්පී දයා තෙන්නකෝන් අභාවප්රාප්ත වෙයිප්රවීන රංගන ශිල්පී දයා තෙන්නකෝන් මහතා අභාවප්රාප්ත වෙයිරංගන ශිල්පී දයා තෙන්නකෝන් දිවියෙන් සමුගනියිReturn of the DictatorHe became my husband - Graceටික දිනකට දිව්ය ලෝකයට
{{DEFAULTSORT:Thennakoon, Daya
Sri Lankan male film actors
Sinhalese male actors
1941 births
2020 deaths
Alumni of Dharmaraja College