Iranganie Roxanna Meedeniya (born 9 June 1927),"Irangani As Told to Kumar de Silva", Kumar de Silva, Samaranayake Publishers, 2013 best known as Iranganie Serasinghe, is a Sri Lankan actress of stage, cinema and television. Since her debut in Rekava, Serasinghe has become recognized for playing motherly figures in various films and television serials. She is the aunt of former president Ranil Wickramasinghe.

Early life and education She was born on June 9, 1927, in Mudungomuwa, Ruwanwella, Sri Lanka, to Joseph Hercules Meedeniya, Rate Mahatmaya of Ratnapura and Violet Ellawela. Her paternal grandfather was J. H. Meedeniya Adigar was elected unopposed to the Ruwanwella seat in the State Council, and her uncles included D. R. Wijewardena and Sir Francis Molamure. Her mother was the sister of Nanda Ellawala's father, who was a Member of Parliament for Ratnapura. She had three siblings: Indrani Meedeniya, Kamani Vitharana, who married Professor Tissa Vitharana and Mahinda Meedeniya.

Her early touches with nature later led her to become an environmental activist. While attending Bishop's College she played in several end-of-term plays; at Girls' High School, Kandy whilst pursuing a HSC; Meedeniya took a leading role in Bernard Shaw's Pygmalion. Against her father's and Rate Mahatthaya's wishes, Meedeniya entered the University of Colombo 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 E. F. C. Ludowyk; she also became a proficient dancer with lessons from Chitrasena.

She was the first student to study drama at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London and the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School under the guidance of Professor Ludowyk. She eventually graduated with an arts degree and traveled 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 Thorndike, Meedeniya attended Bristol Old Vic Theatre School for a year and the London School of Speech Training and Dramatic Art for two years.

She was first married to a contemporary student at the university and later became a specialist dentist, Professor S. B. Dissanayake. That marriage did not last long. She was then married to fellow actor Winston Serasinghe, during playing English stage plays. There was a 17 year age gap between the two. Winston had appeared in Rekava and some other productions with her. The couple had two sons: Ravi & Ranjit. Her son Ravi died by an accident at the age of 31. Her husband Winston died in 1999.

Career Returning to Sri Lanka, Meedeniya met up with Ludowyk and Austrian Jew director Neuman Jubal and got back into theater. The Lionel Wendt Art Centre theater portion of the center opened on 12 December 1953 with the production of Maxim Gorky's "The Lower Depths", starring Iranganie Serasinghe and produced by Neuman Jubal. Doing mainly English roles at first, she started playing in Sinhala theater in Henry Jayasena's Apata Puthe Magak Nethe and followed 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 and guide of Walkers Tours and Travels (Pvt)Ltd. Accordingly, Serasinghe is the first Sri Lankan actress to have received an academic training in acting.

Meedeniya started her career in cinema in Lester James Peries "Be Safe or Be Sorry" for the Government Film Unit. Peries subsequently cast her in his debut feature film Rekava as a mother, 'Kathirinahamy'. In 1956, she won the Deepashikha Award for Best Actress for her debut performance in the film. With the new surname, Iranganie Serasinghe achieved fame as an actress appearing in many of Peries' early works. Later she won the Sarasaviya Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in the film Sagarayak Meda in 1982. Her next notable character came through the film Sudu Sewaneli directed by Sunil Ariyaratne where she played the character of a poor old mother. In 2000, she won the Presidential Award for Best Supporting Actress for this role. In 2021, she was honored with lifetime achievement award during the ceremony held for 21 artists who made an invaluable contribution to Sinhala cinema in the early decades of Sinhala Cinema.

Beyond Drama Prior to entering the film industry, she was the editor-in-chief of the Times of Ceylon. As a revolutionary political figure, Iranganie was a communist militant at university. As a result, Peter Kehnemann, Bernard Zoysa, and Doric de Souza became active in politics at a time when Colvin R. De Silva has repeatedly invited her to contest a seat from the Lanka Sama Samaja Party.

National Awards Kala Keerthi - Sri Lankan Government Sri Lankan of the Year (2017) - Entertainment Distinguished Achievement - Ada Derana Best actress Special jury award - State Radio Awards 2019

Biography Irangani as Told to Kumar de Silva - by Kumar de Silva අයිරාංගනී - Sinhala version by same author.

Filmography

Film

Year Show Role Ref.1956 Rekava Karthina1960 Sandesaya Female Spy 1966 Delovak Athara Nissanka's mother 1967 The Yellow Dress 1969 Bakmaha Deege Kumarihami1969 Romeo Juliet Kathawak 1970 Thewatha 1970 Priyanga 1974 The God King Varuni 1981 Sagarayak Meda 1982 Deveni Gamana Saman's mother 1984 Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom Village Woman1984 Dadayama Brothel owner1984 Avurududa Malani's Mother1985 Adara Kathawa) Kanthi's mother1990 Awaragira Dingiri Menike 1996 Loku Duwa Punna's Mother 1998 Iqbal (Italy) Nonna 2001 Poronduwa Mrs. Rambukwella 2001 Kinihiriya Mal Sylvia Madam2002 Sudu Sevanali 2002 Mansion by the Lake Aunt Catherine 2003 Sakman Maluwa Tissa;s mother2003 Irasma Ima's granny2005 Pawana Ralu Viya Mrs. Weerasinghe 2005 Sudu Kalu Saha Alu Nogo Nonna 2005 Water Mother in Law2007 Nisala Gira Radha's mother-in-law2007 Samaara Indu's paternal granny 2008 Heart FM Shakya's granny 2008 Rosa Kale Akalanka's granny 2013 Abhinikmana Buddhadasa's mother 2013 It’s a Matter of Love Chathuri's granny 2014 Kalpanthe Sihinayak Menu's elder mother 2016 Tradition (film) Grand Ma 2017 Paha Samath Vinura's granny 2018 Vaishnavee Osanda's granny 2018 Kalu Hima Chunda's granny 2019 Sulanga Apa Ragena Yavi Granny 2022 CineMa 2023 Guththila 2022 Gaadi Bulathgama Disawe's mother 2024 Minnu 2025 Theja

Television

Year Show Role1980s Yashorawaya (යශෝරාවය) Suduhamine1990–1995 Doo Daruwo (දූ දරුවෝ) Dulsey/Sudu aachchi1988 Village by the Sea-Gamperaliya1996–1997 Nadayo 1997 Ammai Thaththai (අම්මයි තාත්තයි) 1999–2001 Sathpuravesiyo (සත්පුරවැසියෝ)2000 Smarana Samapthi 2001 Suseta Mayam 2003/04 Paaradeesaya 2004 Vihanga Geethaya 2004 Jeewithayata Idadenna2004 Nonimi Yathra 2005 Dangayanta Pamanai 2006 Mage Kaviya Mata Denna2006 Veeduru Mal2007 Samanala Wasanthaya 2007 Weten Eha 2009 Sudu Hansayo 2008–2009 Muthu Kirilli 2010 Doratu Rakinno 2010–2011 Amanda granny2012 Duwaru 2018ThaththaPrison officer's step mother2020 Sihini A rich bed-ridden old lady - isolated by her children

References

External links Iranganie Serasinghe's SLMDb Iranganie Serasinghe's Biography in Sinhala Cinema Database

Iranganie Serasinghe – personal website

Irangani Serasinghe's childhood photographs රංගන විජිතයේ කිරුළු පළන් ආදරණීය මිත්තණිය අයිරාංගනී සේරසිංහ කියයි යථාර්ථවාදී රංගනයක පුරෝගාමී නිළිය අපතේ ගිය ඇගේ රූපණ ප්‍රතිභාව