Chandralekha Perera

Chandralekha Perera (Sinhala:චන්ද්‍රලේකා පෙරෙරා) (born 1 December 1961), is a Sri Lankan pop singer.

Perera was born to a middle class family in Kurunegala. As a child she often sang at home. At school she frequently sang and successfully took part in inter-school competitions. While studying she sang for the band "Spring Time" in Kurunegala. She met her future husband Rookantha Goonatillake in 1976 when he was a keyboard player for this band.

Perera's father submitted his daughter's name to a government-sponsored youth organization National Youth Services Council in Sri Lanka (NYSC). This was against her will, although she subsequently attended and was succssful in an interview. She also appeared on the national television service in Sri Lanka that was gifted by Japan to Sri Lanka and was at that time broadcasting test transmissions.

Perera was noticed by the film director and producer D. B. Nihalsinghe while he was reporting on NYSC. He selected her to act in his new television series Rekha, which made her a star. She was given the best television actress award in 1986 for Nadee Geethaya, another series by Nihalsinghe, and was awarded best playback singer in the same year for the film Yali Hamuwennai. She was signed for LUX International by Lever Brothers at that time.

Perera has sung duets with many popular singers and actors. Vijaya Kumaranatunga, the late husband of President Chandrika Kumaratunga, sang more than 15 songs with her.

Perera married Rookantha Goonatillake in 1989. They have two daughters and live in New York. In 2000, she and her husband were violently attacked and threatened to be killed if they performed at anti-government events.^[1]

References

1. ^ "Sri Lankan artists speak out against the war". World Socialist Web Site. 28 June 2000. http://www.wsws.org/articles/2000/jun2000/slat-j28.shtml. Retrieved 25 August 2010. 

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Name	Perera, Chandralekha
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Date of birth	1 December 1961
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