Showing all artists born at Colombo

Baminnahennadige Shanudrie Priyasad is an actress in Sri Lankan cinema and television as well as a model, dancer and singer.

Her first movie role was in Onna Babo, which was directed by her father and later she appeared in Rosa Kale, Suwanda Denuna Jeewithe, Angara Dangara and Lantin Singho. She is renowned for her role as Samalka in Deveni Inima teledrama. She has also featured in a Mal Sihinaye music video.

In 2012 she received the ‘Best Child Actress’ award for her role in Sandagiri Pawwa teledrama at the State Television Awards.

Nirosha is an Indian film actress who has appeared in all the South Indian language films including Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Kannada films. 

After her debut in the blockbuster Tamil film, Agni Natchathiram (1988) directed by Mani Ratnam, Nirosha went on to appear in many successful and critically acclaimed films as a lead actress in the early 1990s and supporting actress post 2000.

Nirosha is the daughter of the Tamil actor and comedian, M. R. Radha (Mohan Rajagopala Radhakrishnan Naidu). She has an elder sister named Radhika who is also a famous actress. She has married actor Ramki and lives in Chennai.

Radhika Sarathkumar is an Indian television and film actress, entrepreneur and producer. She is the founder of Radaan Mediaworks, which has produced the successful serials Chithi, Annamalai, Selvi, Arasi, and Idi Katha Kadu (Telugu). She is currently acting in the serial Chellamay for Sun TV. She is also a judge on Vijay TV's Jodi Number One. She has also produced a film titled Meendum Oru Kaadhal Kathai, which won the Indira Gandhi Award for Best First Film of a Director.

Radhika is the daughter of the late Tamil actor and comedian, M. R. Radha (Mohan Rajagopala Radhakrishnan Naidu) and Geetha Radha. Her younger sister Nirosha (Niroja) is also an actress. Actor and politician Radharavi is her elder half-brother. Radhika's They have a daughter, Rayanne . Currently she is married to the Tamil actor Sarathkumar, with whom she has a son named Rahul.She is agreat actress.

Radhika was discovered by Tamil director Bharathiraja when she was 16 years old. Her first film was Kizhakke Pogum Rail. She has acted in Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Hindi as well as Malayalam films.

After becoming successful in cinema, Radhikaa decided to take on the small screen. In 1994 she set out to produce her own TV software under the Radaan TV banner. After some initial hiccups, the company re-emerged successfully as Radaan Mediaworks Ltd in 1999 and, by 2008, had an annual turnover exceeding Rs 10 crore. In 2004, the company ventured into film production in Tamil, Telugu and Hindi markets. Radaan has plans to the Hindi television market. She has acted as the protagonist in several hit serials produced by Radaan Mediaworks. Her first hit drama was Chitti, a 488-episode serial in which she portrayed the main character, Saradha. The serial was widely watched and praised throughout the Tamil-speaking world. Fresh off the success of Chitthi, Radhika went on to produce the 757-episode Annamalai, in which she played the main role. Her co-star in both these serials was the veteran actor Sivakumar, with whom she was often paired in films. In Annamalai, he played her brother. She recently played a dual role in the teleserial Arasi, sequel to the teleserial Selvi. She followed this up with Chellamey. She is currently acting in a Telugu serial No.23 Mahalakshmi Nivasam.

Malani Senehelatha Fonseka (Sinhala:මාලිනී සෙනෙහෙලතා ෆොන්සේකා) (born 30 April 1947 in Kelaniya) is an award-winning Sri Lankan film actress, also known as the "Queen of Sinhalese cinema".  Her cinema career which has spanned many decades began with Tissa Liyansooriya's Punchi Baba in 1968. She first earned recognition, when she won the 'Best Actress Award' at the 1969 National State Drama Festival This was followed by Sarasaviya Best Actress Awards for Hingana Kolla in 1980, Aradhana in 1982 and Yasa Isuru in 1983.  In 2010 she has been named by CNN as one of Asia's 25 greatest film actors of all time.

Early life

Born as the third child to the Gilbert and Seelwathie Fonseka at Peliyagoda, Kelaniya. After Malini was born, her family moved to Jambugasmulle, Nugegoda. In 1952 she started her education at St. John's College, Nugegoda until the 5th grade. After moving of the family to Wedamulle, Kelaniya she was enrolled at Gurukula Maha Vidyalaya, Kelaniya until completing her education.

Personal life

On 12 June 1986, she married Lucky Dias, a veteran Cinema and teledrama actor and producer.

Political life
On April 2010, she was appointed to the Sri Lanka Parliament as a National List of United People's Freedom Alliance.

Career

Fonseka started her acting career with stage dramas. In 1963, she made her entry to stage dramas with "Noratha Ratha". In 1968, Fonseka won the best stage drama actress national award for her performance in Akal Wessa. She has since played the lead role in 14 stage dramas. She entered the cinema industry through one of her brothers, Ananda Fonseka, who was both a film director and producer but was introduced to the cinema itself by Tissa Liyansuriya and Joe Abeywickrama.

She made her debut with Tissa Liyansuriya's Punchi Baba (The little Baby) in 1968. These films were followed by Abudasse kale, Dahasak Sithuwili and Adarawanthayo in the same year. With the critical success she gained with these, she was offered the lead role by several movie directors of the time. Fonseka has acted in over 140 movies since then, some of which were international movies.

Some of her successful films include Nidhanaya by Lester James Peiris, Siripala Saha Ranmenika by Amaranath Jayathilake, Eya Den Loku Lamayek and Bambaru Ewith by Dharmasena Pathiraja. She achieved a significant milestone in her artistic career with Sasara Chetana in 1984, where she became both its director and producer. She has directed two other films so far: Ahimsa in 1987 and Sthree in 1991.

She paired up with popular Tamil actor, Sivaji Ganeshan in Pilot Premnath in 1978.

Later on, she also worked in the television industry. Fonseka has won praise for her performance in Manalada Puthe Kiri Dunne, Pitagamkarayo, Kemmura, and Ambu Daruwo teledramas. She won the Sumathi Best Tele Actress Awards for her roles in Pitagamkarayo and Kemmura.

She has also made her mark as a teledrama director, with successful creations such as Sanasili Suwanda. She even had the honour of being the first female teledrama director in the history of Sri Lanka teledrama history, when she, both directed and acted in her first teledrama Nirupamala.

Her latest film is Uppalawanna directed by Prof. Sunil Ariyaratne.

Malini's career enhanced with Gamini Fonseka and both who had a long journey in history of the silver screen. Malini stated at Gamini's funeral in 2004, "His performance had appeal across the board and I had the good fortune of being associated with Gamini. The cinema of that era is slowly fading away and the passing away of Gamini is another step towards that direction".

Awards

Fonseka was the first Sri Lankan actress to reach international heights, winning a special Jury award at the Moscow International Film Festival in 1975. This was to be the first of her many international awards.She also won an award at the New Delhi Film Festival in 1977.

Apart from the many Sarasaviya Awards she has won, she has also earned other honours like the Presidential Awards, OCIC Awards and also international recognition.
Her most recent awards include the "Best Actress Award" for the teledrama "Kemmura" at the Sumathi Tele Awards Ceremony, 2000 and Wishva Prasadhini Award as appreciation of her service to the cinema industry from the President in 1996.

Malini Fonseka felicitation ceremony titled Maliniye held at the BMICH on 30 April 2003 with the participation of President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga for her four decades of contribution to the Cinema of Sri Lanka in more than 150 films.

Sri Lankans living in USA gathered in large numbers at Los Angeles to honour legendary actress Malini in January 2008. Also a special dinner hosted by the Consular General of Sri Lanka Jaliya Wickramasuriya and Mrs. Wickramasuriya and the Consulate staff. A special ceremony organised for her to present an Appreciative Plaque by the Consulate General of Los Angeles Jaliya Wickramasuriya with the participation of representative groups of the community, Associations, renowned artists and actors and well wishers and fans of actress Malini Fonseka.

Poongkothai Chandrahasan is a film maker and activist. Poongkothai starred as the lead Actress in National Award-winning cinematographer P. C. Sriram's Vaanam Vasappadum (2004) India's first digital film to be shot in the HD (High Definition) format.

Born in Colombo, Sri Lanka, she came to India in 1983, age 5. She was schooled at the Sacred Heart convent, and went on to procure a B.A in English and a Masters in Communication, and a diploma in film making. she has interned at Kronkite and Ward in Washington DC and apprenticed under P. C. Sreeram during the making of India's first Digital film (Vaanam vasappadum) and Chetan Shah (Framed 2006 – First assistant director).

Poongkothai is the scion of one of Sri Lanka's most prominent political families. She is the granddaughter of the man hailed as "Ezha Thanthai Selva" and "Sri lankan Gandhi" the Honorable S. J. V. Chelvanayakam, QC MP, Leader of The Federal Party/ TULF (1949–1977, a revered Sri Lankan politician and iconic leader of the Tamil community.Her Maternal grandfather the Honorable Dr. E. M. V. Naganathan MD MP, was the Secretary of the Federal Party, a Senator and Prominent Leader of the Tamil Community. E.M.V. naganathan is a descendant of the Royal families of Jafna. She is the daughter of Samuel Chelvanayakam Chandrahasan (S.C. Chandrahasan) and Anne Nirmala Chandrahasan née Naganathan.

She has written and directed many feature Length Documentaries and documentary shorts, which have been telecast on International Channels all over the world. Some of her most famous films are "Refugees to the rescue" (2007) and "Sri Lanka Struggling to Stay afloat, in the aftermath of the waves" and the soon to be premiering "My island is Bleeding" Her films are usually Political in Nature, Human Rights centric and Objective.
Aside from her career as a film maker, Poongkothai has been actively working with social causes. She has been working with the Refugee community for the past five years,and is a Resource person for OfERR,the NGO founded by her Father S.C.Chandrahasan in 1984, (one of the largest Sustainable development NGO's in the world, with over 1000 Refugee Volunteers). She works mainly with the women and Children in the Refugee community.

Though Political in her films, Poongkothai had steered clear of the Sri Lankan Political arena so far, preferring to work in the area of Human Rights. Yet she is now emerging as a Voice of moderation in the Sri Lankan context, following in Her Grand father's Footsteps. “The Sri Lankan army has captured from the LTTE the north-western district of Mannar which is the traditional gateway to south India. The Army does not like the world to know the humanitarian crisis unfolding in the war zone,” said Poongkothai Chandrahasan, a filmmaker and activist working with Sri Lankan refugees for the past five years."- Poongkothai is quoted as saying to the Deccan Chronicle 10, 9 Feb.“The Sri Lankan government does not want the refugees to bring stories from the conflict zone. If refugees keep turning up in large numbers, international attention will shift to the humanitarian crisis. That is why the Sri Lankan Army is discouraging them,” adds Poongkothai. She has started talking out against the human Rights violations on both sides and is working actively to put forward the Human angle and Need for Peace in Sri Lanka.

Poongkothai has recently organised and curated an exhibition called "Sunshine in a Tear Drop" An exhibition of Refugee Children's Drawings. Five Hundred refugee Children (between the age of 5–15) from the 117 Refugee camps in India took part, The Topics she had selected were "My Life So far", "An Incident that Affected me", and PEACE. "The drawing as Poongkothai puts it, shows what the child went through back in Sri Lanka. “Our main aim with this exhibition is to spread awareness about the innocent people suffering because of the war. All we get to see is the political side of the war.

But what about the human loss? (In an interview to Deccan chronicle) After narrowing it down from 500 to 25, Poongkothai and a famous Indian Photographer visited the Refugee camps and Photographed the Children. The Exhibition of the Drawings, the child photograph and a 50 word piece by the child were Displayed. The exhibition opened in Chennai in January (from the 10th–18th) Traveled to Goa in February, Premiered in New York at the Queens Museum in March (8th–28th), opened in Boston April 7 and will be exhibited in Canada in May.“The news talks of so many Tigers killed, so many soldiers killed, but we forget the human face of starving civilians, children losing their parents and worse", she explains. "What began as a competition for an international exhibition is now a statement by these children. The war, to them, is not an abstraction. These are the stories of their sufferings, their personal tales of loss." says Poongkothai in a recent interview with the Indian Express.

Poongkothai is also an ardent supporter of the concept of homeless pet adoption, and speaks out against the pet trade. "I wish people would adopt (homeless pups), instead of flying in dogs from all over the world – dogs that can't even cope with this weather! Many are bred in terrible conditions, it's so unfair. Why have these foolish notions about things like breed? It doesn't make a difference to your relationship with the dog”, she is quoted as saying in The Hindu in 2011. Her dog Bambi whom she rescued from the streets as a puppy appears in PETA's "Adopt a Homeless Dog" advertisements alongside movie star Trisha Krishnan.

Srinath Ramalingam is an Indian film Director, who has worked predominantly in Tamil movie industry. Srinath's previous film to hit the theatres was Unakkenna Venum Sollu in the year 2015.