Kala Keerthi

Iranganie Serasinghe
අයිරාංගනී සේරසිංහ
Born
Iranganie Roxanna Meedeniya

(1927-06-09) 9 June 1927[1]
Ruwanwella, British Ceylon
NationalitySri Lankan
Education
Occupation(s)Teacher (Musaeus college)
Journalist (Times, SLBC)[2]
Film, Television and Stage actress
Years active1950
Spouses
  • Prof. S.B. Dissanayake (Div.)
  • Winston Serasinghe
Children2
RelativesJ. H. Meedeniya (grandfather)
D. R. Wijewardena (uncle)
Francis Molamure (uncle)
Tissa Vitharana (brother-in-law)
Ranil Wickramasinghe (cousin son)
AwardsKala Keerthi,[3] Sri Lankan of the year

Iranganie Roxanna Meedeniya, (9 June 1927),[1] popularly known as Iranganie Serasinghe, is an actress in Sri Lankan cinema, theater and television.[4] Since her debut in Rekava, Serasinghe has become recognized for playing motherly figures in various films and television serials.[5] She is the aunt of President Ranil Wickramasinghe.[6]

Early life and education

She was born on 9 June 1927 in Mudungomuwa, Ruwanwella, Sri Lanka to Joseph Hercules Meedeniya, Rate Mahatmaya of Ratnapura and Violet Ellawela. Her paternal grandfather was J. H. Meedeniya Adigar was elected unopposed to the Ruwanwella seat in the State Council and her uncles included D. R. Wijewardena and Sir Francis Molamure. Her mother was the sister of Nanda Ellawala's father who was a Member of Parliament for Ratnapura. She had three siblings, Indrani Meedeniya, Kamani Vitharana who married Professor Tissa Vitharana and Mahinda Meedeniya.[6]

Her early touches with nature later led her to become an environmental activist. While attending Bishop's College she played in several end-of-term plays; at Girls' High School, Kandy whilst pursuing a HSC; Meedeniya took a leading role in Bernard Shaw's Pygmalion. Against her father a Rate Mahatthaya's wishes, Meedeniya entered the University of Ceylon in 1947 with the support of her cousins. He died in her first year away at a time when Marxist ideas were the norm. She immersed herself in the Ceylon theater scene while there under the guidance of Professor E. F. C. Ludowyk; she also became a proficient dancer with lessons from Chitrasena.

She was the first student to study drama at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London and The Bristol Old Vic Theate School under the guidance of Professor Ludowyk.[6] She eventually graduated with an Arts degree and traveled to London with letters of recommendation from Ludowyk following a marriage to Professor Dissanayake (they divorced some time later). There with the help of actresses Flora Robson and Sybil Thorndike, Meedeniya attended Bristol Old Vic Theatre School for a year and the London School of Speech Training and Dramatic Art for two years.[7]

She was first married to a contemporary student at the university and later became a specialist dentist, Professor S. B. Dissanayake. That marriage did not last long. She was then married to fellow actor Winston Serasinghe, during playing English stage plays. There was a 17 year age gap between the two. Winston had appeared in Rekava and some other productions with her. The couple had two sons: Ravi & Ranjit. Her son Ravi died by an accident at the age of 31. Her husband Winston died in 1999.[6]

Career

Returning to Sri Lanka, Meedeniya met up with Ludowyk and Austrian Jew director Neuman Jubal and got back into theater. The Lionel Wendt Art Centre theater portion of the center opened on 12 December 1953 with the production of Maxim Gorky's "The Lower Depths", starring Iranganie Serasinghe and produced by Neuman Jubal. Doing mainly English roles at first, she started playing in Sinhala theater in Henry Jayasena's Apata Puthe Magak Nethe and followed with roles in Damma Jagoda's Sinhala version of A Streetcar Named Desire, Ves Muhunu, and Porisadaya. The following years saw Meedeniya in constantly changing settings–teaching briefly at Musaeus College, working for The Times of Ceylon after returning from London, doing a stint at the SLBC and handling a post in the tourist trade working as a junior executive and guide of Walkers Tours and Travels (Pvt)Ltd. Accordingly, Serasinghe is the first Sri Lankan actress to have received an academic training in acting.[6]

Meedeniya started her career in cinema in Lester James Peries "Be Safe or Be Sorry" for the Government Film Unit. Peries subsequently cast her in his debut feature film Rekava as a mother, 'Kathirinahamy'.[8] In 1956, she won the Deepashikha Award for Best Actress for her debut performance in the film. With the new surname, Iranganie Serasinghe achieved fame as an actress appearing in many of Peries' early works.[9] Later she won the Sarasaviya Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in the film Sagarayak Meda in 1982. Her next notable character came through the film Sudu Sewaneli directed by Sunil Ariyaratne where she played the character of a poor old mother. In 2000, she won the Presidential Award for Best Supporting Actress for this role.[6] In 2021, she was honored with lifetime achievement award during the ceremony held for 21 artists who made an invaluable contribution to Sinhala cinema in the early decades of Sinhala Cinema.[10]

Beyond Drama

Prior to entering the film industry, she was the editor-in-chief of the Times of Ceylon. As a revolutionary political figure, Iranganie was a communist militant at university. As a result, Peter Kehnemann, Bernard Zoysa, and Doric de Souza became active in politics at a time when Colvin R. De Silva has repeatedly invited her to contest a seat from the Lanka Sama Samaja Party.[6]

National Awards

  • Kala Keerthi - Sri Lankan Government
  • Sri Lankan of the Year (2017) - Entertainment Distinguished Achievement - Ada Derana [11]
  • Best actress Special jury award - State Radio Awards 2019 [12][13]

Biography

  • Irangani as Told to Kumar de Silva - by Kumar de Silva
  • අයිරාංගනී - Sinhala version by same author.[14]

Filmography

Film[15]

Year Show Role Notes
1956 Rekava Karthina
1960 Sandesaya Female Spy
1966 Delovak Athara Nissanka's mother
1967 The Yellow Dress
1969 Bakmaha Deege Kumarihami
1969 Romeo Juliet Kathawak [16]
1970 Thewatha
1970 Priyanga
1974 The God King Varuni
1981 Sagarayak Meda
1982 Deveni Gamana Saman's mother
1984 Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom Village Woman
1984 Dadayama Brothel owner [17]
1984 Avurududa Malani's Mother
1985 Adara Kathawa) Kanthi's mother
1990 Awaragira Dingiri Menike
1996 Loku Duwa Punna's Mother [18]
1998 Iqbal (Italy) Nonna
2001 Poronduwa Mrs. Rambukwella [19]
2001 Kinihiriya Mal Sylvia Madam[20]
2002 Sudu Sevanali
2002 Mansion by the Lake Aunt Catherine
2003 Sakman Maluwa Tissa;s mother
2003 Irasma Ima's granny
2005 Pawana Ralu Viya Mrs. Weerasinghe
2005 Sudu Kalu Saha Alu Nogo Nonna
2005 Water Mother in Law
2007 Nisala Gira Radha's mother-in-law
2007 Samaara Indu's paternal granny [21]
2008 Heart FM Shakya's granny
2008 Rosa Kale Akalanka's granny
2013 Abhinikmana Buddhadasa's mother
2013 It’s a Matter of Love[22] Chathuri's granny
2014 Kalpanthe Sihinayak Menu's elder mother
2017 Paha Samath[23] Vinura's granny
2018 Vaishnavee Osanda's granny
2018 Kalu Hima[24] Chunda's granny
2019 Sulanga Apa Ragena Yavi[25] Granny
2022 CineMa [26]
TBD Theja [27]
TBD Guththila[28]
TBD Gaadi Bulathgama Disawe's mother

Television

Year Show Role
1980s Yashorawaya (යශෝරාවය) Suduhamine
1990–1995 Doo Daruwo (දූ දරුවෝ) Dulsey/Sudu aachchi
1988 Village by the Sea-Gamperaliya
1996–1997 Nadayo
1997 Ammai Thaththai (අම්මයි තාත්තයි)
1999–2001 Sathpuravesiyo (සත්පුරවැසියෝ)
2000 Smarana Samapthi [29]
2001 Suseta Mayam [30]
2003/04 Paaradeesaya [31]
2004 Vihanga Geethaya [32]
2004 Jeewithayata Idadenna [33]
2004 Nonimi Yathra [34]
2005 Dangayanta Pamanai [35]
2006 Mage Kaviya Mata Denna [36]
2006 Veeduru Mal [37]
2007 Samanala Wasanthaya [38]
2007 Weten Eha [39]
2009 Sudu Hansayo [40]
2008–2009 Muthu Kirilli
2010 Doratu Rakinno [41]
2010–2011 Amanda granny
2012 Duwaru [42]
2018 Thaththa Prison officer's step mother
2020 Sihini A rich bed-ridden old lady - isolated by her children

References

  1. 1 2 "Irangani As Told to Kumar de Silva", Kumar de Silva, Samaranayake Publishers, 2013
  2. 1 2 "Lankadeepa Online". www.lankadeepa.lk. Archived from the original on 2013-10-16. Retrieved 2013-10-16.
  3. ↑ "The Sunday Times News and Comments". www.sundaytimes.lk. Archived from the original on 2019-08-04. Retrieved 2019-02-28.
  4. ↑ "Love the environment The environment protects you". Sarasaviya. 2021-09-01. Archived from the original on 2021-09-03. Retrieved 2021-09-03.
  5. ↑ "A Shining Star striving to protect Planet Earth". Daily News(Sri Lanka). 23 May 2007. Archived from the original on 4 June 2011. Retrieved 3 March 2008.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Beloved mother of Sinhala cinema: Irangani Serasinghe". Silumina. Archived from the original on 2021-06-09. Retrieved 2021-06-07.
  7. ↑ "Iranganie Serasinghe: Mischievous young girl who turned a brilliant actress". Daily News (Sri Lanka). 29 April 2006. Archived from the original on 16 March 2008. Retrieved 3 March 2008.
  8. ↑ "Love the world ... the world will return and love you infinitely". Silumina. Archived from the original on 2021-06-06. Retrieved 2021-06-05.
  9. ↑ "Fascinating facet of genuine original art". Sunday Observer (Sri Lanka). 16 December 2007. Archived from the original on 19 December 2007. Retrieved 3 March 2008.
  10. ↑ "An award for pioneering artists in cinema". Sarasaviya. Archived from the original on 30 December 2021. Retrieved 30 December 2019.
  11. ↑ "Ada Derana Sri Lankan of the Year 2017 - award winners". www.adaderana.lk. Archived from the original on 2023-04-18. Retrieved 2017-10-01.
  12. ↑ "Award-winning artiste Malaka Dewapriya decries censorship". dailymirror. Archived from the original on 25 June 2021. Retrieved 16 October 2019.
  13. ↑ "Soaring in the waves". dailynews. Retrieved 16 October 2019.
  14. ↑ "සිනමාවේ අද්විතීය මාතාව අයිරාංගනීගේ ජීවිත කතාව එළි දකී". Sarasaviya. Archived from the original on 3 October 2017. Retrieved 11 March 2017.
  15. ↑ "Iranganie Serasinghe". IMDb. Archived from the original on 2014-02-19. Retrieved 2013-10-16.
  16. ↑ "Romeo Juliet Kathawak". Sarasaviya. Archived from the original on 2021-08-06. Retrieved 2021-01-10.
  17. ↑ "Dadayama: The hunt that was a hunt". Sarasaviya. Archived from the original on 2021-01-23. Retrieved 2021-01-12.
  18. ↑ "Loku Duwa appears on Rupavahini". Sunday Times. Archived from the original on 15 July 2023. Retrieved 8 December 2019.
  19. ↑ "'Poronduwa':Ratnam on correct track again". The Sunday Times. Archived from the original on 6 March 2019. Retrieved 3 December 2019.
  20. ↑ "Kinihiriya Mal - කිනිහිරියා මල්". Sinhala Cinema Database. Archived from the original on 24 October 2019. Retrieved 29 October 2019.
  21. ↑ "Sanjaya enters cinema with 'Samara'". Sunday Times. Archived from the original on 15 July 2017. Retrieved 3 December 2019.
  22. ↑ "ඉට්ස් අ මැටර් ඔෆ් ලව්". Sarasaviya. Archived from the original on 13 November 2013. Retrieved 1 November 2017.
  23. ↑ "Tear falling cinema about a village boy". Sarasaviya. Archived from the original on 26 August 2017. Retrieved 26 August 2017.
  24. ↑ "කළුහිම". Sarasaviya. Archived from the original on 25 August 2018. Retrieved 24 August 2018.
  25. ↑ "A fresh wind for cinema". The Sunday Times. Archived from the original on 19 March 2019. Retrieved 23 March 2019.
  26. ↑ "CineMa from April 22nd". Sarasaviya. Archived from the original on 2023-07-15. Retrieved 2022-04-03.
  27. ↑ "තේජා පූර්ව ප්‍රචාරය අරඹයි". Sarasaviya. Archived from the original on 14 March 2020. Retrieved 13 March 2020.
  28. ↑ "Tale of Guththila becomes a cinema". Sarasaviya. Archived from the original on 8 November 2019. Retrieved 10 November 2018.
  29. ↑ "'Smarana Samapthi' brings out a hidden past". Sunday times. Archived from the original on 22 November 2017. Retrieved 17 November 2017.
  30. ↑ "'Suseta Mayam' : Story of two girls in an asylum". Sunday times. Archived from the original on 31 August 2017. Retrieved 17 November 2017.
  31. ↑ "Depicts social differences". Sunday Times. Archived from the original on 30 August 2017. Retrieved 11 September 2019.
  32. ↑ "'Vihanga Geethaya': A tale of triangular love". Sunday times. Archived from the original on 11 November 2017. Retrieved 17 November 2017.
  33. ↑ "'Jeewithayata Idadenna' : Love, smiles and tears". Sunday Times. Archived from the original on 6 January 2018. Retrieved 11 September 2019.
  34. ↑ "A voyage from here to eternity". Sunday times. Archived from the original on 15 July 2017. Retrieved 17 November 2017.
  35. ↑ "'Dangayanta Pamanai': For mischivous only". Sunday Times. Archived from the original on 15 July 2023. Retrieved 4 December 2019.
  36. ↑ "'Mage Kaviya Mata Denna' : Mano's filmic dream". Sunday Times. Archived from the original on 14 July 2017. Retrieved 18 August 2019.
  37. ↑ "'Veeduru Mal': Depicts a topsy-turvy tale". Sunday Times. Archived from the original on 23 January 2011. Retrieved 8 December 2019.
  38. ↑ "'Heidi'comes to TV". Sunday Times. Archived from the original on 23 June 2021. Retrieved 11 December 2019.
  39. ↑ ""Weten Eha", a tale of neighbours". Sunday Times. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 11 December 2019.
  40. ↑ "'Sudu Hansayo', Discusses problems in marriage". Sunday Times. Archived from the original on 4 July 2018. Retrieved 16 December 2019.
  41. ↑ "'Doratu Rakinno' opens for public". Sunday Times. Archived from the original on 28 April 2018. Retrieved 22 December 2019.
  42. ↑ "'Duwaru' to make a difference". Sunday Times. Archived from the original on 27 November 2022. Retrieved 22 December 2019.


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