Geetha Kumarasinghe
| Geetha Kumarasinghe | |
|---|---|
| Born |
July 5, 1955 Elpitiya, Sri Lanka |
| Years active | 1975–present |
| Spouse(s) | Chris Fuhrer Ferdinand |
| Awards |
Sarasaviya Best Actress Award (1991), (1996), (2000) and (2004) |
| Member of the Sri Lanka Parliament for Galle District | |
|
Assumed office 2015 | |
| Personal details | |
| Nationality |
 Sri Lankan |
| Political party | United People's Freedom Alliance |
| Religion | Buddhist |
| Website | http://www.geethakumarasinghe.com |
Geetha Samanmali Kumarasinghe (born July 5, 1955, in Badulla) is an award winning Sri Lankan film actress. She made her debut with veteran director K. A. W. Perera's Wasana in 1975 but it was Neil Rupasinghe's Lassana Kella which was released first. Since then, she has made her mark in over 80 movies, winning the prestigious Sarasaviya Best Actress Award four times, in 1991, 1996, 2000 and 2004. She was also one of the few actresses to receive the Sarasaviya Most Popular Actress Award several times.
Early life
Geetha Samanmalie Kumarasinghe[1] was born as the eldest daughter of Wijaya, a journalist and Udula Kumarasinghe in 1955 at Badulla. She grew up in Bentara, Elpitiya and had her education at Sanghamitta Girls College, Aluthgama and Holy Family Convent, Kalutara.
As a child, she showed talent for singing and dancing. She was crowned a beauty Queen, competing among 100 contestants in a beauty contest organized by a local newspaper in 1973.
Career
Though Geetha’s father did not approve of a career in movies or her participation in the beauty pageant, her mother was always with her. Her aunt, Anula Wickramapala was also a friend of her. Lester James Peiris . Incidentally, it was her aunts mansion that he used as the location for his film Ransalu.[2] Little Geetha, who used to spend her school vacations in her aunt’s house in Kollupitiya would imitate Punya Heendeniya, as her childhood heroine.
She signed contracts for 21 films before her maiden film was released, a record in Sri Lankan Cinema.[3] It was in the year 1975 that Geetha debuted in K.A.W. Perera's Vasana but it was Neil Rupasinghe's Lassana Kella which reached theaters first.
Kumarasinghe, who is often famous for casting in controversial roles, has also performed in foreign films which include Pakistani, Hindi, Japanese, Tamil and French productions.
She received critical acclaim in roles such as 'Dulcie' in Pembara Madhu, 'Dotty' in Palama Yata, 'Punna' in Lokuduwa and 'Amali' in Ran Diya Dahara. Her performance in Palama Yata[4] (Under the Bridge) where she plays the role of a woman in the slums earned raving reviews both in Sri Lanka and overseas.
She produced popular films like Palama Yata, Salambak Handai, Loku Duwa, Anuragaye Ananthaya, Wasuli and Geetha.[5] Both of her productions, Palama Yata and Loku Duwa won her the Best Film Awards at the Sarasaviya Awards Festival.
Awards
| Year | Organization | Award | Film |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1981 | National Film Festival | Best Supporting Actress | |
| 1988 | National Film Festival | Best Supporting Actress | |
| 1990 | OCIC Merit Awards | Palama Yata | |
| 1990 | Sarasaviya Awards Festival | Best Actress | Palama Yata |
| 1990 | Sarasaviya Awards Festival | Most Popular Actress | |
| 1990 | Swarna Sanka Film festival | Best Actress | Palama Yata |
| 1996 | Sarasaviya Awards Festival | Best Actress | Loku Duwa |
| 1996 | Swarna Sanka Film festival | Best Actress | Loku Duwa |
| 1997 | National Film Festival | Best Actress | Loku Duwa |
| 2000 | National film festival | Talented Performance | Anuragaye Ananthaya |
| 2000 | Sarasaviya Awards festival | Best Actress | Rajya Sevaya Pinisai |
| 2000 | National Film Festival | Best Actress | Rajya Sevaya Pinisai |
| 2004 | Sarasaviya Awards Festival | Best Actress | Ran Diya Dahara |
| 2005 | Signis Salutation | Most Outstanding Performance | Ran Diya dahara |
| 2005 | National Film Festival | Best Actress | Ran Diya Dahara |
Political career
Geetha was a ardent supporter of Mahinda Rajapakse at 2010 presidential elections and was appointed as the chief organizer to Elpitiya electroate. She unsuccessfully contested at the 2010 general elections and blamed election irregularities for her defeat.
She contested the provincial council elections in 2014 and took oath as a counciller at the Southern Provincial Council.
Geetha contested for the 2015 Parliamentary Election from Galle District. She was selected to the 15th Sri Lankan Parliament as a Honourable Member of the Parliament by taking 63,955 preferential votes.[6]
Controversy
In a parliament session in 2015 November Geetha Kumarasinghe complained the lack of time given to her and made a communal statement claiming that ethnic minority Tamil members from the north received more time than her unaware that the time allocated for her was decided by her own party. She also crticized the lifting of highly discriminatory taxes on imported English and Tamil dramas .Kumarasinghe's parliamentary seat could be taken away as a result of the on-going court case challenging her becoming a lawmaker while holding Swiss nationality and is having her own court battle after being accused of ignorance of the constitution.[7]
References
External links
- Official Website of Geetha Kumarasinghe
- Geetha Kumarasinghe's Biography in Sinhala Cinema Database
- Official Website - National Film Corporation of Sri Lanka
- Official Website of Lester and Sumitra Peries
- Cine Star Foundation
- Geetha Kumarasinghe in Sinhala 1
- Geetha Kumarasinghe in Sinhala 2