The Kala Keerthi ( si, කලා කීර්ති) is 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 ...

n national honour awarded "''for extraordinary achievements and contributions in arts, culture and drama''". It is the highest national honour for arts, culture and drama in Sri Lanka. It is conventionally used as a title or prefix to the awardee's name. Kala Keerthi ranks lower than

Vidya Jyothi The Vidya Jyothi ( si, විද්‍යාජෝති; ta, வித்யா ஜோதி, translit=Vityā Jōti) is a Sri Lankan national honour awarded "''for outstanding scientific and technological achievements''". It is the highest natio ...

Awardees

Awardees include: ;1986 * Wannakuwattawaduge Don Amaradeva * Rohan de Saram * Dayananda Ekanatha Hettiarachchi *

George Keyt George Percival Sproule Keyt, (17 April 1901 – 31 July 1993) was a Sri Lankan painter.

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 ...

;1987 * Ananda Weihena Palliya Guruge * Prof

Nandadasa Kodagoda Deshamanya Professor Nandadasa Kodagoda MRCP, MD was the former Vice Chancellor of the University of Colombo. He was graduated as a Doctor of Medicine in 1956 and initially worked for government hospitals of Galle, Colombo, & Karawanella. Late ...

* Anton Wickremasinghe ;1988 * Prof Thomas Earle Joseph de Fonseka * Dr Punchi Bandara Sannasgala * Varindra Tarzie Vittachi ;1989 * Eileen Siriwardhana * Alankarage Victor Suraweera * Lorna Srimathie Dewaraja * Jinadasa Vijayatunge ;1990 * Miniwandeni Pathirannehelage Tillakaratna * Arumugam Kandiah ;1991 * Wimal Abayasundera * Diongu Badaturuge Nihalsinghe ;1992 *

Edwin Ariyadasa Kala Keerthi Wijetunga Karunaratne Edwin Ariyadasa (3 December 1922 – 22 January 2021: si, එඩ්වින් ආරියදාස), popularly known as Edwin Ariyadasa, was a Sri Lankan Sinhalese journalist. He was a well known newspaper ...

* Ananda Salgado Kulasooriya ;1993 * Sembuge Shelton

Gamini Fonseka Kala Keerthi Sembuge Gamini Shelton Fonseka () (21 March 1936 - 30 September 2004 as ගාමිණී ෆොන්සේකා), was a Sri Lankan film actor, film director and politician. Often considered as the Greatest Actor in the Sinhal ...

* Miguel Hewage Goonatilleka * Chitra Malinee Jayasinghe Peris * Ponniah Poologasingham * Jayadeva Tilakasiri *

Vini Vitharana Kala Keerthi Vini Vitharana ( si, විනි විතාරන) (2 June 1928 – 2 December 2019) was a Sri Lankan Sinhalese linguist, professor, lecturer and a scholar. 1 He was well known for his significant contributions to Sinhala lit ...

;1994 * Pinnaduwa Hewa Cyril de Silva Kulathilaka *

Chitrasena Deshamanya Chitrasena (born Amaratunga Arachige Maurice Dias) (26 January 1921 – 18 July 2005) was a dancer from Sri Lanka, internationally known for his work in establishing a modern Sri Lankan tradition of dance and popularising traditiona ...

* Swarna Jayaweera * Sinnathamby Thillainathan * Madawala Sirisena Ratnayake * Wimal Wickrama Surendra * Mawanana Hewa Peter Silva * Anuradha Seneviratne * Nambukara Thanthrige Karunaratna Gunapala Senadheera * Ashley Halpe ;1998 *

Premasiri Kemadasa Deshamanya Kala Keerthi Dr.Premasiri Khemadasa ( Sinhala: ආචාර්ය ප්‍රේමසිරි කේමදාස ) (25 January 1937 – 24 October 2008) also known as "Khemadasa Master" was a Sri Lankan music composer. Exploring ...

Irangani Serasinghe Kala Keerthi Iranganie Roxanna Meedeniya, (born 9 June 1927"Irangani As Told to Kumar de Silva", Kumar de Silva, Samaranayake Publishers, 2013), popularly as Iranganie Serasinghe, is an actress in Sri Lankan cinema, theater and television. Since ...

Regi Siriwardena Kala Keerthi Regi Siriwardena (15 May 1922 – 15 December 2004) was a Sri Lankan academic, journalist, poet, writer, playwright and writer of screenplays. Early life and education Reginald Siriwardena (known as 'Reggie' until the 1980s) was ...

* Dharmasiri Jayakody * Nalini Jayasuriya ;2005 * A. J. Canagarathnam * A. Jesurasa * A. Sivananthan *

Asoka Handagama Asoka Handagama (born December 1962) is a Sri Lankan filmmaker. He obtained his primary and secondary schooling in a provincial school and went on to study Mathematics at the University of Kelaniya where he was awarded a first class honours de ...

* Bharahmasri Sarveswara Sarma *

Carl Muller Kala Keerthi Carl Muller (22 October 1935 – 2 December 2019) was an award-winning Sri Lankan writer, poet and journalist best known for his trilogy about Burghers in Sri Lanka: ''The Jam Fruit Tree'', ''Yakada Yaka'' and ''Once Upon A ...

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 ...

Dharmasiri Bandaranayake Dr. Dharmasiri Bandaranayake (born 06th of October 1949) is a Sri Lankan film director and playwright. Particularly work as a playwright, Bandaranayake is an artist who attempts to connect the sociopolitical environment with the civil society thr ...

* Enid Anula Aluvihare De Silva *

Gamini Haththotuwegama Kala Keerthi Dr. Gamini Kalyanadarsha Haththotuwegama (born 29 November 1939 – died 30 October 2009 as ගාමිණී හත්තොටුවේගම) was a Sri Lankan playwright, director, actor, critic and educator. He was widely known ...

Geetha Kumarasinghe Kumara Vidugalage Dona Geetha Samanmalee Kumarasinghe (born 5 July 1955: si, ගීතා කුමාරසිංහ), popularly known as Geetha Kumarasinghe, is a Sri Lankan film actress and Member of a Parliament. She is the current State M ...

* Gnarathan *

Henry Jayasena Kala Keerthi Dr Bastian Koralage Henry Rudrigo Jayasena (born 6 July 1931 – died 11 November 2009 as Sinhala: හෙන්රි ජයසේන), popularly known as Henry Jayasena, was an actor in Sri Lankan cinema, theater and televisi ...

Jackson Anthony Conganige Joseph Malsi Ushan Thimira Jackson Anthony (born July 8, 1958, as ජැක්සන් ඇන්තනී), commonly known as Jackson Anthony, is an actor in Sri Lankan cinema, theater and television. One of the most popular artists ...

Jayalath Manoratne Kala Suri Kala Keerthi Dr. Keselgaspe Manatunga Jayalath Manoratne ( si, කෙසෙල්ගස්පේ මනතුංග ජයලත් මනෝරත්න; 12 June 1948 – 12 January 2020), popularly known as Jayalath Manoratne, was an ...

Karthigesu Sivathamby Professor Karthigesu Sivathamby ( ta, கார்த்திகேசு சிவத்தம்பி; 10 May 1932 – 6 July 2011) was a Sri Lankan Tamil literary historian, author and academic. Early life and family Sivathamby was bor ...

* Kulanthai M. shunmugalingam *

Latha Walpola Deshamanya Matharage Rita Genevieve Fernando, better known by her stage name Latha Walpola ( si, ලතා වල්පොල), is a prominent Sri Lankan vocal artist. It was during when Walpola was a member of a church choir, that she began a ...

* M. Kanakasabai *

Malini Fonseka Wanniarachchige Malini Senehelatha Fonseka, popularly as Malini Fonseka ( Sinhala:මාලිනී ෆොන්සේකා) (born 30 April 1947, in Kelaniya) is an actress in Sri Lankan cinema, theatre and television as well as a director. ...

Monica Ruwanpathirana Kala Keerthi Monica Ruwanpathirana ( si, මොනිකා රුවන්පතිරණ) (1946 – 2004) was a Sri Lankan poet and writer. She is considered one of the most acclaimed poets in modern Sinhala poetry. She has written 23 books, ...

(Posthumous) * Olga De Livera * T. B. Richard M. Don Gabriel * Pandithar Sachchithanantham *

Prasanna Vithanage Udaya Prasanna Vithanage ( si, ප්‍රසන්න විතානගේ) (born 14 March 1962) is a Sri Lankan filmmaker. He is considered one of the pioneers of the third generation of the Sri Lankan cinema. He has directed eight feature ...

Rohana Weerasinghe DR. Rohana Weerasinghe (born February 18, 1949), is a Sri Lankan musician, composer and singer. Early life Weerasinghe was born on 18 February 1949 in Algiriya, Matara in southern Sri Lanka. He was the youngest child to his parents Henry Weer ...

* S. Maunaguru * S. Pani Bharatha (Posthumous) *

Sanath Gunathilake Somsiri Sanath Julien Gunatilake (born 27 October 1955: Sinhala:සනත් ගුණතිලක), popularly as Sanath Gunatilake, is an actor, director, screenwriter in Sri Lankan cinema and film director. A highly versatile actor across ...

Sanath Nandasiri Prof. Sangeeth Nipun Herath Mudiyanselage Sanath Nandasiri (born 15 February 1942): si, සනත් නන්දසිරි) is a Sri Lankan singer, musician, music director, composer and playback singer. He is the current Chancellor of the ...

* Santhini Sevanesan *

Shyam Selvadurai Shyam Selvadurai (born 12 February 1965) is a Sri Lankan Canadian novelist. He is most noted for his 1994 novel '' Funny Boy'', which won the Books in Canada First Novel Award and the Lambda Literary Award for Gay Fiction.Paul Chafe"Shyam Selvadu ...

* Sybil Wettasinghe *

Simon Navagattegama Simon Navagattegama lso spelled Nawagattegama (September 15, 1940 – October 9, 2005) was a Sinhala novelist, Sinhala Radio Play writer, playwright and actor. He is well known for his novel Sansararanye Dhadayakkaraya (Hunter in the wildern ...

(Posthumous) *

Somalatha Subasinghe Kala Suri Somalatha Subasinghe (2 July 1936 – 30 May 2015 as සෝමලතා සුබසිංහ) was a Sri Lankan actress, playwright, theatre director and educator from Sri Lanka. She received both the Kala Suri and the Kala Keerthi in r ...

* Sri Jayana Rajapakse *

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 ...

Swarna Mallawarachchi Swarna Mallawarachchi (born 1 August 1948: si, ස්වර්ණා මල්ලවාරච්චි), is an actress in Sri Lankan cinema. Often known as the "Golden star of Sinhalese cinema", Swarna began her acting career whilst still a scho ...

* Tilak Abeysinghe * Tissa Ranasinghe *

Vimukthi Jayasundara Kala Keerthi Vimukthi Jayasundara ( si, විමුක්ති ජයසුන්දර) is a Sri Lankan filmmaker, critic and a visual artist. Jayasundara is the first Sri Lankan to win the Caméra d'Or, in 2005. Life and career Vimukthi Jay ...

Vasantha Obeysekera Vasantha Obeysekera (1937 – 2017), was a Sri Lankan film director and screenwriter. Early life and career Kala Keerthi Vasantha Obeysekera who was regarded as one of the foremost film makers in the 70s decade graduated from the University ...

;2017 http://www.sundaytimes.lk/170319/news/national-honours-after-12-years-233395.html 2017 National Honour Awardees List * Arun Dias Bandaranaike * Edmand Ranasinghe * G. Kartini Drahaman Mohamed * George Edmond Jayasinghe * Gunawardhana Mudalige Ajith Hemachandra * Hapuwalanege Don Ariyadasa (Dasa Hapuwalana) * Herman Ronald Lakshman De Alwis *

Ivor Dennis Kala Keerthi Pasquel Ge Don Augustine Ivor Dennis ( si, ඊවෝර් ඩෙනිස්) (28 May 1932 – 18 June 2018) was a popular Sri Lankan veteran playback singer who was also known as the former student of veteran icon Sunil Santha ...

* Kurukulasuriya Eligius

Camillus Perera Kala Keerthi Camillus Perera is a Sri Lankan cartoonist. His cartoon characters like Gajaman and Siribiris have been published in various Sinhala newspapers ranging from the Sunday Observer to Sivdesa. Perera was invited to join the advisory boar ...

* Lalitha Sarathchandra * Lionel Bentharage * Madhubhashini Disanayaka Ratnayaka * Namel Weeramuni * Nanayakkarage

Sumana Jayatillake Kala Keerthi The Kala Keerthi ( si, කලා කීර්ති) is a Sri Lankan Sri Lankan honours system, national honour awarded "''for extraordinary achievements and contributions in arts, culture and drama''". It is the highest national hono ...

* Nellampitiya Pathirana Arachchige Dayawathi (Daya Nellampitiya) * Ranasinghe Arachchige Jayantha Prema Lal Hegoda * Saravanai Vinayagamoorthy * Singarampillai Thillanadarajah *

Suminda Sirisena Kala Keerthi Suminda Sirisena ( Sinhala: සුමින්ද සිරිසේන) (born July 4, 1948) is an actor in Sri Lankan cinema, theater and television. He has played a wide range of starring or supporting roles and a recipient of Bes ...

* Suresh Maliyadde *

Sunanda Mahendra Kala Keerthi Sunanda Mahendra De Mel (born 28 January 1938) ( si, සුනන්ද මහේන්ද්‍ර), popularly known as Sunanda Mahendra, is an author, theater director, poet and Sinhala Radio Play writer in Sri Lanka. Currently, ...

* Wijesinghe Arachchilage Abeysingha

References

External links

Civil awards and decorations of Sri Lanka {{SriLanka-stub