Rita Ratnayake
Encyclopedia
Rita Filomina Ratnayake was a Sri Lanka
n actress who was popular in the '50s, '60s and '70s. She came to repute in Kele Handa
(1953) in the role of Daisy Attanayake.
Ratnayake was first noticed when she ran into film actors B. A. W. Jayamanne
, Rukmani Devi
and Eddie Jayamanne
while on a pilgrimage to Madhu Church in 1948. This encounter led to her casting in Kele Handa. After the success of that film, she played Vineetha in Warada Kageda (1954), Prabhawathi in Ramyalatha (1956) and had leading roles in Radala Piliruwa (1954), Sukumali (1957) and Sithaka Mahima (1964).
Over the next 20 years, Ratnayake had roles in Suneetha, Sepali (1958), Sundara Birinda (1960), Daruwa Kageda (1961), Suhada Sohoyuro (1963), Suba Sarana Sepa Sithe (1964), Sweep Ticket, Sakaya (1965), Ethulweema Thahanam (1966), Amathaka Wunada (1967), Dan Mathakada (1970), Suhada Pethuma (1973), Sheela, Shanthi, Onna Babo Billo Enawa (1974), Awa Soya Adare (1975), Haratha Hathara, Dewiyange Theenduwa (1976), Hithuwoth Hithuwamai, Saja (1977), Mage Ran Putha (1978), Eka Hitha (1979), Dayabara Nilu (1981), Samawenna (1981), Wathura Karaththaya (1982), Rail Para (1982), Bonikka (1983), Shirani, Kokila, Namal Renu (1984) and Wana Rejina (1988).
Ratnayake married W. A. Wilfred Silva in 1961. She later appeared in the television serial Kahala Nadaya and worked for a time with Sri Lanka Hotel Corporation. Ratnayake died on November 6, 2006.
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 who was popular in the '50s, '60s and '70s. She came to repute in Kele Handa
Kele Handa
Kele Handa is a 1953 Sri Lankan romantic musical starring Rukmani Devi, Stanley Perera, Eddie Jayamanne, Rita Ratnayake and Mabel Blythe. It is based on a popular Sinhalese novel by W. A. Silva....
(1953) in the role of Daisy Attanayake.
Ratnayake was first noticed when she ran into film actors B. A. W. Jayamanne
B. A. W. Jayamanne
B. Aloy W. Jayamanne was a Sri Lankan playwright, director, producer and actor. He played a major role in the making of the first Sinhala film Kadawunu Poronduwa in 1947; Jayamanne achieved a level of popularity as a director with movies starring Rukmani Devi and Eddie Jayamanne in the 1950s.Aloy...
, Rukmani Devi
Rukmani Devi
Rukmani Devi was a Sri Lankan singer and actress, who was often acclaimed as "The Nightingale of Sri Lanka". She made it to the silver screen via the stage and had acted in close to 100 films, at the time of her death...
and Eddie Jayamanne
Eddie Jayamanne
Wanniaarachchige Don David Victor Jayamanne was a popular Sri Lankan comedian and actor of early Sri Lankan cinema....
while on a pilgrimage to Madhu Church in 1948. This encounter led to her casting in Kele Handa. After the success of that film, she played Vineetha in Warada Kageda (1954), Prabhawathi in Ramyalatha (1956) and had leading roles in Radala Piliruwa (1954), Sukumali (1957) and Sithaka Mahima (1964).
Over the next 20 years, Ratnayake had roles in Suneetha, Sepali (1958), Sundara Birinda (1960), Daruwa Kageda (1961), Suhada Sohoyuro (1963), Suba Sarana Sepa Sithe (1964), Sweep Ticket, Sakaya (1965), Ethulweema Thahanam (1966), Amathaka Wunada (1967), Dan Mathakada (1970), Suhada Pethuma (1973), Sheela, Shanthi, Onna Babo Billo Enawa (1974), Awa Soya Adare (1975), Haratha Hathara, Dewiyange Theenduwa (1976), Hithuwoth Hithuwamai, Saja (1977), Mage Ran Putha (1978), Eka Hitha (1979), Dayabara Nilu (1981), Samawenna (1981), Wathura Karaththaya (1982), Rail Para (1982), Bonikka (1983), Shirani, Kokila, Namal Renu (1984) and Wana Rejina (1988).
Ratnayake married W. A. Wilfred Silva in 1961. She later appeared in the television serial Kahala Nadaya and worked for a time with Sri Lanka Hotel Corporation. Ratnayake died on November 6, 2006.