Dilhani Ekanayake

Dilhani Ekanayake
Born	Dilhani Ashokamala Ekanayake Sri Lanka
Occupation	Film actress

Dilhani Ashokamala Ekanayake is an award-winning Sri Lankan film and teledrama actress.^[1]

Biography

Dilhani studied at St Clare's girls school ,Colombo. She is married to singer and actor Priyankara Perera son of famous singer Milton Perera. She has a son aged 16.Sinhala film industry slumped in the face of stiff competition from Bollywood and resurgence of Tele Drama industry. Dilhani is one of the few who contributed immensely towards keeping Sinhala cinema afloat. Her early roles were confined to commercial films. Her ability to dance and her trade mark smile captivated the audiences. She is known as "SRI DEVI" of Sri Lanka, (Sri devi is a popular south Indian actress famed for her dancing). Her career hit a different trail with her role as an abandoned Tamil girl in the film "Me Mage Sandai" (This is my moon) by Ashoka Handagama. This serious role paved the way for other remarkable performances in "SUDU KALU SAHA ALU" (shades of Grey), "Mage wam atha" (my left Hand) and "Sulanga" (wind). She has also starred in several Tele Dramas of which "Maya Ranga" and "Meeduma" stand out. She plays a major role in the Sri Lankan movie star show "Ridee Reyak", which is a very popular annual event in Sri Lanka.

Career

Dilhani made her cinema debut in 1989 from the film titled Dedunnen Samanaliyak directed by Yasapalitha Nanayakkara.

She won the Sarasaviya Best Actress Award in 2005 at the Sarasaviya Film Festival and presidential award Sri Lanka.she also won the best actress award from "sudu kalu saha alu" film

Also she made some notable roles in Mage Wam atha , Sulanga, Me Mage Sandai, Sudu Kalu Saha Alu, Pem Kekula (comedy), Maya Ranga (teledrama), 'Swarna Kingkini' (teledrama), 'Meeduma' (teledrama) also her latest performance in Dhawala Doowili.^[2]

References

1. ^ "Dilhani spearheads campaign to save Sinhala cinema". Daily News(Sri Lanka). 16 May 2007. http://www.dailynews.lk/2007/05/16/art01.asp. 
2. ^ "Dawala Doowili to compete at the Int’l Indian Film Festival". Daily News(Sri Lanka). 12 November 2007. http://www.dailynews.lk/2007/11/12/fea22.asp. 

External links

• Dilhani Ekanayake's Biography in Sinhala Cinema Database
• Dilhani Ashokamala Ekanayake in Sinhala
• Dilhani Ekanayake at the Internet Movie Database
• Official Website - National Film Corporation of Sri Lanka
• Dilhani at Sarasaviya film magazine website

Persondata
Name	Ekanayake, Dilhani
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth
Place of birth	Sri Lanka
Date of death
Place of death