Iranganie Serasinghe
Encyclopedia
Iranganie Roxanna Serasinghe (née Meedeniya) (born 1931) is a Sri Lanka
n actress. Since her debut in Rekava
, Serasinghe has become recognized for playing motherly figures in various films and television serials.
she played in several end-of-term plays; at Girls' High School, Kandy
whilst pursuing a HSC Meedeniya took a leading role in an adaptation of 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 Ludowyk
; she also became a proficient dancer with lessons from Chitrasena.
She eventually graduated with an Arts degree and travelled 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 Thorndyke, Meedeniya attended Bristol Old Vic Theatre School for a year and the London School of Speech Training and Dramatic Art for two years.
, Meedeniya met up with Ludowyk and Austrian Jew director Neuman Jubal and got back into theater. Doing mainly English roles at first, she delved in Sinhala plays per Henry Jayasena
's suggestion beginning with Apata Puthe Magak Nethe and following 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 for Mackwood's.
Meedeniya entrance into film was a short work done by Lester James Peries
for the Government Film Unit covering traffic safety. Peries subsequently cast her in his debut feature film Rekava
as the mother of its protagonist. Though the film was a flop, Peries received rave reviews from critics and the cast was pleased with the work. It has since achieved an iconic status in Sri Lanka.
In 1960 Meedeniya married Winston Serasinghe who had appeared in Rekava and some other productions with her. With the new surname, Iranganie Serasinghe achieved fame as an actress appearing in many of Peries' early work.
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...
n actress. Since her debut in Rekava
Rekava
Rekava is a 1956 film based on village life and their mythical beliefs in Sri Lanka . It is the first Sinhalese film which was fully shot in Ceylon and was the first in the country to be shot outdoors. It was also the first film which was free from Indian influence...
, Serasinghe has become recognized for playing motherly figures in various films and television serials.
Early life and education
Iranganie Meedeniya grew up in Mudugamuwa, near Ruwanwella in a tranquil village setting. Her early touches with nature would later lead her to become an environmental activist. In the meantime Meedeniya was encouraged to pursue acting by her parents. While attending Bishop's CollegeBishop's College
Bishop's College in Colombo, Sri Lanka was founded by the Anglican Church of Ceylon in February 1875.It is a fee-levying private school, with over 2000 students at all grades from Kindergarten to Grade 14. The current principal is Mrs...
she played in several end-of-term plays; at Girls' High School, Kandy
Girls' High School, Kandy
Girls' High School is the oldest school for girls in Kandy, Sri Lanka.- Mission :Honouring the relationship with the environment to become disciplined responsible mature women who will be able to serve with humanity with but fear or favour be open to changes and to stand up to challenges be able to...
whilst pursuing a HSC Meedeniya took a leading role in an adaptation of Pygmalion
Pygmalion (play)
Pygmalion: A Romance in Five Acts is a play by Irish playwright George Bernard Shaw. Professor of phonetics Henry Higgins makes a bet that he can train a bedraggled Cockney flower girl, Eliza Doolittle, to pass for a duchess at an ambassador's garden party by teaching her to assume a veneer of...
.
Against her father a Rate Mahatthaya's wishes, Meedeniya entered the University of Ceylon
University of Ceylon
The University of Ceylon was the only university in Sri Lanka from 1942 until 1972. It had several constituent campuses at various locations around Sri Lanka. The University of Ceylon Act No. 1 of 1972, replaced it with the University of Sri Lanka which existed from 1973 to 1978. In 1978 it was...
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 Ludowyk
E. F. C. Ludowyk
Evelyn Frederick Charles Ludowyk a Sri Lankan Burgher Shakespearean scholar, author, playwright and critic, was the first Professor of English of the University of Ceylon....
; she also became a proficient dancer with lessons from Chitrasena.
She eventually graduated with an Arts degree and travelled to London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
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
Flora Robson
Dame Flora McKenzie Robson DBE was an English actress, renowned as a character actress, who played roles ranging from queens to villainesses.-Early life:...
and Sybil Thorndyke, Meedeniya attended Bristol Old Vic Theatre School for a year and the London School of Speech Training and Dramatic Art for two years.
Theater and film
Returning to Sri LankaSri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...
, Meedeniya met up with Ludowyk and Austrian Jew director Neuman Jubal and got back into theater. Doing mainly English roles at first, she delved in Sinhala plays per Henry Jayasena
Henry Jayasena
Henry Jayasena born in Bendiyamulla, Gampaha is a Sri Lankan actor and dramatist.-Early Life:Jayasena studied at the Gampaha branch of Lorenz College and at Nalanda College Colombo. Some of Jayasena's notable classmates at Nalanda College were Karunaratne Abeysekera, Dr Harischandra Wijayatunga,...
's suggestion beginning with Apata Puthe Magak Nethe and following with roles in Damma Jagoda's Sinhala version of A Streetcar Named Desire
A Streetcar Named Desire (play)
A Streetcar Named Desire is a 1947 play written by American playwright Tennessee Williams for which he received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1948. The play opened on Broadway on December 3, 1947, and closed on December 17, 1949, in the Ethel Barrymore Theatre. The Broadway production was...
, Ves Muhunu, and Porisadaya. The following years saw Meedeniya in constantly changing settings–teaching briefly at Musaeus College
Musaeus College
Musaeus College is a private girls' school in Colombo, Sri Lanka, and was named for Mrs Marie Musaeus Higgins , its Principal from 1895 to 1926. Musaeus College is now a leading academic institution with more 4,000 girls from ages 3 to 18, and is managed by a board of trustees...
, working for the Times of Ceylon after returning from London, doing a stint at the SLBC
Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation
The Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation came into existence on January 5, 1967 when Radio Ceylon became a public corporation. Dudley Senanayake who was the Prime Minister of Ceylon in 1967 ceremonially opened the newly established Ceylon Broadcasting Corporation along with Minister Ranasinghe...
and handling a post in the tourist trade working as a junior executive for Mackwood's.
Meedeniya entrance into film was a short work done by Lester James Peries
Lester James Peries
Sri Lankabhimanya Lester James Peries is an internationally acclaimed Sri Lankan film director, screenwriter, and film producer. An active filmmaker since 1949, Peries has been involved in over 28 films, including shorts and documentaries...
for the Government Film Unit covering traffic safety. Peries subsequently cast her in his debut feature film Rekava
Rekava
Rekava is a 1956 film based on village life and their mythical beliefs in Sri Lanka . It is the first Sinhalese film which was fully shot in Ceylon and was the first in the country to be shot outdoors. It was also the first film which was free from Indian influence...
as the mother of its protagonist. Though the film was a flop, Peries received rave reviews from critics and the cast was pleased with the work. It has since achieved an iconic status in Sri Lanka.
In 1960 Meedeniya married Winston Serasinghe who had appeared in Rekava and some other productions with her. With the new surname, Iranganie Serasinghe achieved fame as an actress appearing in many of Peries' early work.
Film
| Year | Film | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 1956 | Rekava Rekava Rekava is a 1956 film based on village life and their mythical beliefs in Sri Lanka . It is the first Sinhalese film which was fully shot in Ceylon and was the first in the country to be shot outdoors. It was also the first film which was free from Indian influence... |
Kathrina |
| 1960 | Sandesaya Sandesaya Sandesaya is a 1960 film. The film based on the war between the Sri Lankan people and the Portuguese invaders in Sri Lanka. It was directed by Sri Lankan film director Lester James Peries. It was produced by K... |
female spy |
| 1966 | Delovak Athara Delovak Athara Delovak Athara is a 1966 Sri Lankan drama film directed by Lester James Peries. The film stars Tony Ranasinghe as Nissanka, the son of a newly rich industrialist, who becomes embroiled in a murder cover-up.... |
Nissanka's mother |
| 1967 | Ran Salu Ran Salu Ran Salu is a 1967 Sri Lankan drama film directed by Lester James Peries. The film follows the parallel paths of Sujatha and Sarojini Perera .... |
Sujatha's mother |
| 1969 | Bakmaha Deege | Lamathanie |
| 1975 | The God King The God King The God King is a 1974 British-Sri Lankan historical film directed by Lester James Peries. The film is based on the historical clash between brothers Kasyapa and Moggalana on Sigiriya Rock.... |
Varuni |
| 1981 | Sagarayak Meda | |
| 1982 | Deveni Gamana Deveni Gamana Deveni Gamana is a 1982 Sri Lankan film directed by H.D. Premaratne.-Cast:*Sanath Gunatillake ... Saman*Denavaka Hamine ... Unmarried old aunt*Sabitha Perara ... Sujatha*Ravindra Randeniya ... Saman's brother... |
Saman's mother |
| 1983 | Dadayama Dadayama Dadayama is a 1984 Sri Lankan drama film directed by Wasantha Obesekara.-Cast:*Sanath Gunatillake*Vijaya Kumaratunga*Swarna Mallawarachchi*Ravindra Randeniya*Sunethra Sarachchandra... |
|
| Thunveni Yamaya | ||
| 1984 | Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom is a 1984 American adventure film directed by Steven Spielberg. It is the second film in the Indiana Jones franchise and prequel to Raiders of the Lost Ark . After arriving in India, Indiana Jones is asked by a desperate village to find a mystical stone... |
Village woman |
| Hima Kathara | ||
| 1985 | Adara Kathawa | |
| 1990 | Awaragira Awaragira Awaragira is a 1990 Sri Lankan film directed by Lester James Peries.-Cast:*Joe Abeywickrama ... K.B. Sethigala*Kamal Addaraarachchi ... Dayaweera*Sanoja Bibile ... Vinitha*Vasanthi Chathurani ... Vasantha*Lucky Dias ... Wickrama... |
Dingiri Menike |
| 1993 | Poronduwa | Mrs. Rambukwella |
| 1994 | Loku Duwa | Punna's mother |
| 1995 | Pawan Ralu Viya | Mrs. Weerasinghe |
| 1998 | Iqbal | Nonna |
| 2000 | Irasma | Paani |
| 2001 | Sudu Sevanali | |
| Kinhiriya Mal | ||
| 2002 | Wekende Walaluwa | Aunt Catherine |
| 2005 | Water | Mother in law |
TV serials/shows
| Year | Show | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 1980s | Yashorawaya | Suduhamine |
| 1990–1995 | Doo Daruwo Doo Daruwo Doo Daruwo was one of the longest running Sri Lankan television serials, airing from 1990 to 1995. It was one of the most popular shows of its time and drew in 8 million viewers at its peak.- Cast :*Henry Jayasena - Sudu Seeya... |
Dulsey/Sudu aachchi |
| 1992 | Village by the Sea-Gamperaliya | |
| 1996–1997 | Nadayo | |
| 1997 | Ammai Thaththai | |
| 1999–2001 | Sathpuravesiyo | |
| 2008–2009 | Muthu Kirilli | |
| 2010–2011 | Amanda Amanda Amanda is a Latin female gerundive name meaning "having to be loved," "deserving to be loved," or, simply, "worthy of love."The name "Amanda" first appeared in 1212 on a birth record from Warwickshire, England, and five centuries later the name was popularized by poets and playwrights.In the United... |
granny |