Sirimathi Mary Fernando (born 10 May 1932 - died 3 September 1992 as
සිරිමතී රසාදරී)
inhala, popularly as Sirimathi Rasadari, was an
actress
An actor or actress is a person who portrays a Character (arts), 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 ...
in
Sri Lankan cinema,
as well as a renowned Kathak dancer. Considered as the first in Sri Lanka to mastered the art of dancing, acting, singing and writing at the same time, she is the pioneer to establish United Ceylon Fan Club in 1957.
Personal life
She was born on 10 May 1932 in Nainamadama, Dummalawarama, Wennappuwa as third of the family. She had two sisters and five brothers. She was educated at Dummaladeniya Roman Catholic School. She can write, speak and read Hindi as well as can speak Tamil and English.
She was married to Rathna Dissanayake, who was a lecturer at Giragama Aesthetic University. Rasadari also served as a visiting lecturer at the University of the Visual and Performing Arts.
Rasadari died on 3 September 1992 at the age of 60.
Career
In 1939 while at the school, she contested for a singing competition conducted for the All Island Health Week. She won the first place from the North Western Province. With the intentions to be a dancer, she learned Kathakali dancing from Shantha Kalayathana in Meeepura under Shanthi Viraj in 1967,
Bharatha and Manipuri dances by Shanthi Kumar Seneviratne and Kandyan dancing under Heenbaba Dharmasiri for eight years. She was the first Sri Lankan graduate of Bharath Kathak Dance
and started a music company called ''Sangeetha Kendra'' in 1977.
The specialty of this institution was that it has been approved as the Colombo Center for the passage of all music examinations in Bhatkanda since 1987.
She also became a singer at
Radio Ceylon
Radio Ceylon ( si, ලංකා ගුවන් විදුලි සේවය ''Lanka Guwan Viduli Sevaya'', ta, இலங்கை வானொலி, ''ilankai vanoli'') is a radio station based in Sri Lanka (formerly Ceylon) and the first ...
and sang on HMV and Odien gramophone trades as the supporting singer for Premanath Morais and Sunil Premadasa. She has sung the song ''A Maha Veera Budu Piya'' with Premanath Morais which has become a popular song. She also gained popularity as a singer by singing the song ''Paana Paththu Nokeruwata'' for the movie ''Daiwayogaya'' with
Mohideen Baig
Kala Suri Alhaj Kareem Mohideen Baig ( si, මොහිදින් බෙග්, ar, محي الدين بيك; 5 December 1919 – 4 November 1991), popularly as Mohideen Baig, was a Sri Lankan musician. One of the most influential singers in ...
.
Even though she was selected for the film ''Prema Tharagaya'', she refused to act due to a scene with partial nudity.
Her maiden cinema appearance came through film ''Puduma Leli'' under the supervision of
Hugo Fernando
Kanupulage Ugo Singho (July 14, 1912 – April 12, 1999), popularly known as Hugo Master or Hugo Fernando, was an actor and composer of Sri Lankan cinema. Debuting in the first Sinhalese film '' Kadawunu Poronduwa'', Fernando had an over 50 year ...
at the age of 15. Then she acted in the film ''Dosthara'' where she went India for the film shooting. The she acted many popular films such as ''Sri 296'', ''Surathali'', ''Nalangana'', ''Sansare'' and ''Samaje Sathuro''.
Then she acted along with
Rukmani Devi
Daisy Rasammah Daniels, known popularly as Rukmani Devi (15 January 1923 – 28 October 1978: si, රුක්මණී දේවී) was a Sri Lankan film actress and singer, who was often acclaimed as "The Nightingale of Sri Lanka". She mad ...
in te popular film ''Daiwayogaya'' as "Sugala". She acted as Ananda Jayaratne's girlfriend in the song ''Siriyame Sara'', which was
H.R. Jothipala
Hettiarachchige Reginald Jothipala ( si, එච්.ආර්. ජෝතිපාල; 12 February 1936 – 7 July 1987), popularly as H. R. Jothipala, was a Sri Lankan playback singer in the Sinhala cinema as well as a film actor. Considered as ...
's first film background song. The highlight of her acting career was the role of "Maggie" in the movie ''Parasathumal''.
During the period as a lecturer, she published a book on Indian dance ''Narthana Kala'' in Sinhala, which was first such in Sri Lanka.
Filmography
References
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rasadari, Sirimathi
Sri Lankan film actresses
1932 births
1992 deaths
20th-century Sri Lankan actresses
21st-century Sri Lankan actresses
Sri Lankan stage actresses
Sinhalese actresses