Kaushalya Fernando
කෞෂල්‍යා ප්‍රනාන්දු
Born
Veyangoda
NationalitySri Lankan
EducationSt. Paul's Girls School, Milagiriya
Occupation(s)Actress, director
Years active1979–present
SpouseChandana Aluthge
Children2
Parent(s)Lionel Fernando
Somalatha Subasinghe
AwardsBest Actress
Best Supporting Actress

Kaushalya Fernando (Sinhala: කෞෂල්‍යා ප්‍රනාන්දු), is a Sri Lankan actress, director, producer and a civil activist.[1] Highly versatile actress who dominated stage drama and cinema, Fernando is a five-time winner of the prestigious best actress award at the State Drama festival. She is the daughter of popular theatre director late Somalatha Subasinghe.[2]

Personal life

Kaushalya was born as the daughter of Lionel Fernando and Somalatha Subasinghe. Her father Lionel was a civil servant and former ambassador. Her mother Somalatha is a well-known dramatist and a theatre director. She has one sister. Her grandparents were teachers and lived in Veyangoda. She went to four schools, first Anula College, then Gothami Balika Vidyalaya and Sujatha College, finally St. Paul's Girls School, Milagiriya.[3] Besides arts, she is an athletic champion, competing at the 100, 200 and high jump events at the district levels. She graduated from University of Colombo with an arts degree. At that time, she was invited to join the department as a trainee English instructor by Prof. Siromi Fernando. She accepted it and then continued with a postgraduate diploma in English language teaching. She left the profession as a permanent staff member in 1999 and continued as a visiting lecturer.[3]

She is married to Dr. Chandana Aluthge and is a mother to twins, Haimi and Hans.[4] Her husband is working at the University of Colombo at the Department of Economics.[3]

Acting career

She had the talent for theater from childhood, where she first wrote and directed stage plays at the age of 8 with the encouragement of her teacher, Sunethra Sarachchandra.[5]

In 1979, Fernando experienced her first-ever stage role by accident as a last minute replacement in drama Punchi Apata Dang Therei directed by her mother and then a minor role in Vikurthi. Her major breakthrough was Sugathapala de Silva's play Marasad. For her role in the play, she won special acclaim at the State Drama Festival. This influenced other renowned directors such as Dharmasiri Bandaranayake, K.B. Herath, Ranjini Obeysekera and Premasiri Khemadasa to identify Kaushalya's abilities.[5][6] In 1994 she acted in the play Antigony produced by her mother, where Kaushalya won the Best Actress award at the 1995 State Drama Festival. In 1995, she acted in the play Dona Kathirina. Her performance in this role was commended for winning the Best Actress award at the 1996 State Drama Festival.[7]

In 2005 and 2009, she became one of handful of Sri Lankan artists to walk on the red carpet at the Mecca of world cinema - the Cannes Film Festival 2005 and 66th Venice Film Festival in 2009.[4][8]

She has acted few television dramas, however, they become some memorable hits in Sri Lankan teledrama history. The serial Dunhinda Addara is her first acting teledrama.[9] Later she acted in a number of teledramas including Diyaketa Pahana, Wanaspahti, Isuru Gira, Sedona and Thaththa.[10][11] For the role in Dunhida Addara, she won the OCIC Best Actress Award as well.[5]

Selected stage dramas

  • Punchi Apata Dang Therei
  • Sanda Langa Maranaya [12]
  • Moodu Puththu[13]
  • Dhawala Bheeshana
  • Marasad
  • Bernardage Sipiri Geya
  • Vikurthi[14][15]
  • Kalumaali
  • Acid Wessa[16]
  • Rahas Udaviya[17]
  • Aphrodite Mal Kollaya

Beyond acting

Fernando and his husband currently work with the Playhouse for Children and Youth founded by her mother in 1981. This organization was later incorporated in the Parliament of Sri Lanka as Lanka Children's and Youth Theatre Foundation, Act No 3 of 2007.[4] She was also worked as a lecturer on Drama and Arts at University of Performing Arts, Colombo and as an English teacher at the University of Sri Jayawardenepura.[11] Kaushalya along with her husband produced a stage play for children, titled Walas Paula, written by her mother.[18]

She has produced three theater dramas up to 2019. They are, Sanda Langa Maranaya, Maask and Dutu Thena Allanu.[19] Sanda Langa Maranaya is an adaptation from Garcia Lorca's 'Blood Wedding'.[20] Maask is an adaptation of Henrik Ibsen's ‘The Public Enemy',[21] whereas Dutu Thena Allanu is an adaptation of Wole Soyinka's ‘Opera Wonyosi’.[22]

She is a clever sitarist, and studied Indian classical singing, Kandyan and Low Country dance forms.[13]

On 31 January 2019, Minister Mangala Samaraweera appointed a committee to initiate action to transform state media institutions to public broadcasting and television services, where Kaushalya was appointed as a member of that committee. However, on 28 February 2019, she resigned with three others from their respective positions.[23]

Awards and Accolades

Filmography

Her first cinematic acting came through Asoka Handagama's Sanda Dadayama in 1996, however it is not yet screened in theaters.[4] She rose to prominence and critically acclaimed through the films such as Sulanga Enu Pinisa, Bora Diya Pokuna and Akasa Kusum.[28]

YearFilmRoleNotesRef
1996Sanda Dadayamadebut acting. not yet released
2001Me Mage Sandai[29]
2005The Forsaken LandSoma[30]
2009Akasa KusumMallika[31]
2010Ira Handa YataBhanu[32]
2011Three Wheel Diaries[13]
2012MouseRangi[33]
2011Igilena Maluwo[34]
2014Death on a Noble DayJeewaniShort Film[35]
2015Bora Diya PokunaGothami[36]
2015ElephantNorma de SoysaA short film[37]
2017Sulanga Gini Aran[38]
2017Ali KathawaBhanu[39]
2018GoalVillage school principal[40]
2019ThaalaAmarawathi[41]
2019Dekala Purudu KenekSachithra's Mother[42]
TBDVishama BhagaSunithaHeen Manika[43]
TBDPuthekutaSunithaNot yet screened in Sri Lanka
TBDKandak Sema[44]

References

  1. ↑ "Sri Lankan actresses - Kaushalya Fernando". Sinhala Cinema Database. Retrieved 14 April 2019.
  2. ↑ "Kaushalya Fernando". National Film Corporation of Sri Lanka. Retrieved 14 April 2019.
  3. 1 2 3 ""I like to play tragic characters" - Kaushalya Fernando". The Nation. Archived from the original on 14 April 2019. Retrieved 14 April 2019.
  4. 1 2 3 4 "Life on stage and screen". Daily News. Retrieved 14 April 2019.
  5. 1 2 3 ""Theatre made me the person I am"- Kaushalya Fernando". Sunday Observer. Retrieved 14 April 2019.
  6. ↑ "Kalumaali - A fairytale for adults". zimbio. Retrieved 14 April 2019.
  7. ↑ "Why villages, why me ... why thrones ..." Sarasaviya. Retrieved 6 May 2021.
  8. ↑ "66th International Vencie Film Festival - 'Ahasin Weti' Photocall". zimbio. Retrieved 14 April 2019.
  9. ↑ "All the doors to our enjoyment are closed - Kaushalya Fernando". Silumina. Retrieved 4 June 2021.
  10. ↑ "Thaththa mini series". imdb. Retrieved 14 April 2019.
  11. 1 2 "Chat With Kaushalya Fernando". gossiplankalive1. Retrieved 14 April 2019.
  12. ↑ "'Blood Wedding' goes on board". Sunday Times. Retrieved 16 December 2019.
  13. 1 2 3 "Acting freestyle". Daily News. Retrieved 14 April 2019.
  14. ↑ "Disturbingly realistic". Sunday Observer. Retrieved 14 April 2019.
  15. ↑ "A fitting theatrical analysis on modern education: Somalatha Subasinghe's "Vikurthi"". Sunday Times. Retrieved 11 January 2021.
  16. ↑ "Acid Wessa". rangahala. March 2014. Retrieved 14 April 2019.
  17. ↑ "Piyal Kariyawasam's Secretive People at Lionel Wendt". colombogazette. 4 June 2012. Retrieved 14 April 2019.
  18. ↑ "Kaushalya and Chandana combine theatre for children". Daily News. Retrieved 14 April 2019.
  19. ↑ "Kaushalya gives Lankan perspective to Wole Soyinka's satirical opera". Sunday Times. Retrieved 14 April 2019.
  20. ↑ "Blood Wedding". The Island. Retrieved 14 April 2019.
  21. ↑ "'Dutu Thena Allanu': Latest theatre production by Kaushalya Fernando". Daily FT. Retrieved 14 April 2019.
  22. ↑ "Most Wanted by Kaushalya Fernando". Sunday Observer. Retrieved 14 April 2019.
  23. ↑ "Four members of Mangala's committee on state media resign". News First. 28 February 2019. Retrieved 14 April 2019.
  24. ↑ "Big winners at Derana Film Awards 2016". Ada Derana. Retrieved 14 April 2019.
  25. ↑ "Kaushalya, internationally acclaimed". Sunday Observer. Retrieved 14 April 2019.
  26. ↑ "'For a son' invited for public release in Italy". Sunday Times. Retrieved 14 April 2019.
  27. ↑ "The Internationally recognised symbol of excellence in Sri Lankan cinema". Hiru News. Retrieved 14 April 2019.
  28. ↑ "Kaushalya Fernando filmography". rateyourmusic. Retrieved 14 April 2019.
  29. ↑ "Me Mage Sandai: what it is and is not". The Island. Retrieved 11 March 2017.
  30. ↑ "Sulanga Enu Pinisa (2005) (aka The Forsaken Land)". theseventhart. Retrieved 14 April 2019.
  31. ↑ "Kaushalya Fernando Replaces Damayanthi Fonseka in "Akasa Kusum"". akasakusum. 14 March 2008. Retrieved 14 April 2019.
  32. ↑ "Ira Handa Yata: A flawed jewel". The Sunday Times. Retrieved 8 March 2017.
  33. ↑ "Mouse". National Film Corporation of Sri Lanka. Retrieved 5 March 2017.
  34. ↑ "'Flying Fish' to go round the world". Sunday Times. Retrieved 14 April 2019.
  35. ↑ "Death on a Noble Day". IMDb.
  36. ↑ "Bora Diya Pokuna". National Film Corporation of Sri Lanka. Retrieved 25 February 2017.
  37. ↑ "ODYSSEY presents: Elephant". yamu.lk. Retrieved 14 April 2019.
  38. ↑ "Sri Lankan Latest Films - විමුක්තිගෙන් තවත් සිනමා වෙඩිල්ලක් සුළඟ ගිනි අරන් දැන් රිදී තිරයේ". Sarasaviya. Archived from the original on 29 August 2017. Retrieved 11 March 2017.
  39. ↑ "Two hours of childish happiness". Ceylon Today. Retrieved 7 May 2017.
  40. ↑ "Goal aiming box office goals". Daily Mirror. Retrieved 14 April 2019.
  41. ↑ "Thaala coming soon". Sarasaviya. Retrieved 24 January 2019.
  42. ↑ "Dekala Purudu Kenek - දැකල පුරුදු කෙනෙක් - The Strange Familiar official facebook page". Facebook. Retrieved 3 April 2018.
  43. ↑ "One perfect shot!". Daily News. Retrieved 7 December 2019.
  44. ↑ "Sumithra Rahubadda's 'Kandak Sema' Movie To Be Screened Soon". Asian Mirror. Archived from the original on 19 June 2018. Retrieved 3 April 2018.
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