Sunil Costa ( Sinhala:සුනිල් කොස්තා; born 6 April 1959) is a Sri Lankan film director, screenplay writer and a film actor in the Sri Lankan cinema and theater. In 2012, he won the Best Director, Best Script Writer, Best Production and Jury Awards at the

Sumathi Awards ''Sumathi Awards'' ( si, සුමති සම්මාන) is an award bestowed to distinguished individuals involved with Sri Lanka's television screen, each year by the Sumathi Group of Company, Sri Lanka in recognition of the contributions m ...

Raigam Tele'es ''Raigam Tele'es'' ( si, රයිගම් ටෙලි සම්මාන) is an award bestowed to distinguished individuals involved with the Sri Lanka's television screen, each year by the Kingdom of Raigam, Sri Lanka in recognition of the var ...

and SIGNIS Awards for his television serials such as ''Kannadi Koottama'', ''Rodha Hathare Manamaalaya'', ''Sherlock Holmes'', ''Pinsara Dosthara'' and ''Piyasa''. In 2019, his teledrama ''

Sudu Andagena Kalu Awidin ''Sudu Andagena Kalu Awidin'' ( si, සුදු ඇඳගෙන කළු ඇවිදින්) also known as ''Sudu Adagena Kalu Awidin'' is a Sri Lankan television series starring Dulan Manjula Liyanage, Chandani Seneviratne, Michelle Dilhara ...

'' won the Most Popular Teledrama Award at the 24th

ceremony. In 2020 Costa was nominated as the Best Director of the year 2019, and his television series

received 14 nominations including the Best Teledrama of the year 2019 at the

award ceremony. During the same year, Costa was nominated as the Best Director and Best Script Writer at the Television State Awards 2019, and his television series

received several other nominations as well. In 2022, Costa was nominated as the Best Director and Best Script Writer at the

Awards 2020 for his television series Can You Hear Me? (2020 TV series).

Personal life

Costa was born on 6 April 1959 in Kandawala, Negombo, to Aloysius Costa and H. D. Liliana. Costa completed his primary education at Kandawala St. Joseph's College, and completed his secondary education at St. Mary's College. He is married to Nilmini Costa. The couple has one daughter; Nethmi and two sons; Isira and Dilru.

Career

In 1990, Costa marked his acting debut in the film ''

Christhu Charithaya ''Christhu Charithaya'' ( si, ක්‍රිස්තු චරිතය, italic=yes) is a 1990 Sri Lankan Sinhala biographical film directed by Sunil Ariyaratne and produced by Alerik Lionel Fernando. It stars Vijaya Kumaratunga as Jesus along w ...

'', a film based on the life of

Jesus Christ Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...

until crucifixion. The film was directed by

Sunil Ariyaratne Vidyodaya Vibhushana Sahithya Kala Shiromani Prof. Sunil Ariyaratne Kuruwita Bandara (born 28 July 1949 as සුනිල් ආරියරත්න), popularly as Sunil Ariyaratne, is a Sri Lankan scholar, film director, author, poet and a l ...

and produced by Alerik Lionel Fernando. In 1994, Costa made his directorial debut with the telefilm ''Arundathi'' that won the UNDA Award for the Best Cameraman in 1995 at the SIGNIS Awards award ceremony. Since then he continued to write, direct and produce three other telefilms. In 1995, Costa won the UNDA Merit Award for the Best Direction at the SIGNIS Awards ceremony for his second telefilm ''Kaakko''. His third telefilm ''Kannadi Kuttama'' received the UNDA Merit Awards for the Best Director, Best Script Writer, Best make–up Artist and the Best Tele Film of the Year 1996 at the

SIGNIS Awards (Sri Lanka) The SIGNIS Awards are presented annually by SIGNIS, the Roman Catholic lay movement for communication media professionals, to recognize excellence of professionals in the film industry, including directors, actors, and writers. There are SIGNIS c ...

award ceremony. In 1996, Costa directed his fourth telefilm ''Sellange''. He received the Sumathi Best Tele-Film of the Year award at the

1997 for the telefilm. He then began directing and script writing the television series ''

Romeo Juliet ''Romeo and Juliet'' is a tragedy by William Shakespeare. Romeo and Juliet or Romeo & Juliet may also refer to: Ballets * ''Romeo and Juliet'' (Prokofiev), a 1935 ballet score by Sergei Prokofiev and choreographed by Leonid Lavrovsky and with Ko ...

'' which aired on

Sri Lanka Rupavahini Corporation The Sri Lanka Rūpavāhinī Corporation ( si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා රූපවාහිනී සංස්ථාව; ta, இலங்கை ரூபவாகினி கூட்டுத்தாபனம்), also known as Jathika R ...

. Costa's TV series

was an adaptation from William Shakespeare's play “Romeo & Juliet”. In 2007, Costa directed his next television series ''Siri Sirimal'' with 39 episodes that were telecast on

. The story describes about the life of a boy named Siri Sirimal. The series is said to be an adaptation of the novel ''

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer ''The Adventures of Tom Sawyer'' is an 1876 novel by Mark Twain about a boy growing up along the Mississippi River. It is set in the 1840s in the town of St. Petersburg, which is based on Hannibal, Missouri, where Twain lived as a boy. In the nov ...

'' by

Mark Twain Samuel Langhorne Clemens (November 30, 1835 – April 21, 1910), known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American writer, humorist, entrepreneur, publisher, and lecturer. He was praised as the "greatest humorist the United States has p ...

. In 2009, the Best Music score Golden Award was awarded to

Dinesh Subasinghe Dinesh Subasinghe (born 10 July 1979, Colombo) is a Sri Lankan composer, violinist, and music producer. He composed ''Karuna Nadee'', a Buddhist oratorio, and re-introduced a lost, ancient musical instrument known as the ''ravanahatha'' to Sri ...

at the

award ceremony for the television series ''Siri Sirimal''. The television series ''

Sherlock Holmes Sherlock Holmes () is a fictional detective created by British author Arthur Conan Doyle. Referring to himself as a " consulting detective" in the stories, Holmes is known for his proficiency with observation, deduction, forensic science and ...

'' was directed and written by Costa in 2007. This series was inspired by the novel ''

'' by Sir.

Arthur Conan Doyle Sir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle (22 May 1859 – 7 July 1930) was a British writer and physician. He created the character Sherlock Holmes in 1887 for ''A Study in Scarlet'', the first of four novels and fifty-six short stories about Ho ...

. The television series received the

Jury Award for the Best Director of the Year 2009 and the Jury Award for the Best Director of the Year 2009 in

. In 2011, Costa began working on his television series ''Pinsara Dosthra'' which was an adaptation of the novel ''

Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde ''Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde'' is a 1886 Gothic novella by Scottish author Robert Louis Stevenson. It follows Gabriel John Utterson, a London-based legal practitioner who investigates a series of strange occurrences between his old ...

'' written by the Scottish author

Robert Louis Stevenson Robert Louis Stevenson (born Robert Lewis Balfour Stevenson; 13 November 1850 – 3 December 1894) was a Scottish novelist, essayist, poet and travel writer. He is best known for works such as ''Treasure Island'', ''Strange Case of Dr Jekyll a ...

. This was telecasted on the

Independent Television Network Independent Television Network Ltd ( si, ස්වාධීන රූපවාහිනී මාධ්‍ය ජාලය; ta, சுயாதீன தொலைக்காட்சி ஊடக வளையமைப்பு) also known a ...

. Costa received the special Jury Award for ''Pinsara Dosthra'' as the Best Director of the year at the

in 2012.

also received the Best Music Director Award of the year at the

during the same year. In 2015, Costa started directing his teledrama ''Piyasa'' which was telecasted on

. The teledrama won three awards for the Best Director, Best Script Writer and Best Teledrama of the year 2017 at the

. ''

'' is the most recent teledrama that was directed and written by Sunil Costa. The teledrama was aired in

on weekdays from Monday to Thursday. The teledrama depicts the hardships faced by a mother and daughter when finding her father. In 2019, the teledrama won the Most Popular Teledrama Award at the 24th

ceremony. In 2020 Costa was nominated as the Best Director and Best Script Writer of the year 2019, including another 14 nominees at the

award ceremony for the teledrama

. In 2018 film '' Vijayaba Kollaya'' Costa portrayed the character of a priest. This film was directed by

. In 2020, Costa was nominated as the Best Director and Best Script Writer at the Television State Awards for his television series ''

'' including several other nominations In 2020 Costa directed the thriller TV series '' Can You Hear Me?''. It was written by him and produced by Chinthaka Kulathunga. The tv series aired in

on weekdays from Monday to Thursday.The plot talks about different groups of the society that has been systematically ignored by the majority of the public. The series consists of three seasons. In 2022 Costa was nominated as the Best Director and Best Script Writer of the year 2020, including 4 other nominations at the

award ceremony for the television series Can You Hear Me? (2020 TV series). During the same year he was nominated as the Best Director and Best Script Writer of the year 2020 at the SIGNIS Awards award ceremony for the television series Can You Hear Me? (2020 TV series).

Directed television Series

Awards and accolades

SIGNIS Awards

, - , , 1995 , , , ''Kaakko'' , , Best Direction UNDA Merit , , , - , , 1996 , , , ''Kannadi Kuttama'' , , Best Direction UNDA Merit , , , - , , 1996 , , , ''Kannadi Kuttama'' , , Best Script UNDA Merit , , , - , , 2003 , , , ''Roda Hathare Manamalaya'' , , Best Director , , , - , , 2003 , , , ''Roda Hathare Manamalaya'' , , Best Script , , , - , , 2017 , , , ''Piyasa'' , , Best Director , , , - , , 2017 , , , ''Piyasa'' , , Best Script , , , - , , 2020 , , , ''

'' , , Best Director , , , - , , 2020 , , , ''

'' , , Best Script , , , - , , 2021 , , , '' Can You Hear Me? (2020 TV series)'' , , Best Director , , , - , , 2021 , , , '' Can You Hear Me? (2020 TV series)'' , , Best Script , ,

Sumathi Awards ''Sumathi Awards'' ( si, සුමති සම්මාන) is an award bestowed to distinguished individuals involved with Sri Lanka's television screen, each year by the Sumathi Group of Company, Sri Lanka in recognition of the contributions m ...

, - , , 1997 , , , ''Sellange'' , , Best Teledrama , , , - , , 2009 , , , ''Sherlock Holmes'' , , Best Director Jury , , , - , , 2012 , , , ''Pinsara Dosthra'' , , Best Director Special Jury , , , - , , 20 , , , ''

'' , ,

Best Director Best Director is the name of an award which is presented by various film, television and theatre organizations, festivals, and people's awards. It may refer to: Film awards * AACTA Award for Best Direction * Academy Award for Best Director * BA ...

, , , - , , 2020 , , , ''

'' , , Best Script , , , - , , 2020 , , , ''

'' , , Best Teledrama , ,

Raigam Tele'es ''Raigam Tele'es'' ( si, රයිගම් ටෙලි සම්මාන) is an award bestowed to distinguished individuals involved with the Sri Lanka's television screen, each year by the Kingdom of Raigam, Sri Lanka in recognition of the var ...

, - , , 2009 , , , ''Sherlock Holmes'' , , Best Director Jury , , , - , , 2019 , , , ''

'' , ,

, , , - , , 2019 , , , ''

'' , , Best Script , , , - , , 2019 , , , ''

'' , , Best Teledrama , , , - , , 2021 , , , '' Can You Hear Me? (2020 TV series)'' , ,

, , , - , , 2021 , , , '' Can You Hear Me? (2020 TV series)'' , , Best Script , , , - , , 2021 , , , '' Can You Hear Me? (2020 TV series)'' , , Best Teledrama , ,

Television State Awards

, - , , 2012 , , , ''Pinsara Dosthra'' , , Best Direction Special Jury , , , - , , 2019 , , , ''

'' , , Best Teledrama Director Award, Best Director , , , - , , 2020 , , , ''

'' , , Best Teledrama Script Award, Best Script , , , - , , 2020 , , , ''

'' , , Best Teledrama Award, Best Teledrama , ,

References

External links

Sri Lankan Cinema Database
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Costa, Sunil Sri Lankan male film actors Sri Lankan film directors Sinhalese male actors Living people 1959 births