The Sumathi Awards () are awards bestowed to distinguished individuals involved with the Sri Lankan television industry. The Sumathi Award ceremonies are held each year by the Sumathi Group of Company in recognition of the contributions made to the Sri Lankan teledrama industry and television programs. The Sumathi ceremony is one of the most popular television program events in Sri Lanka. The awards were first introduced in 1995.
History
The Sumathi film awards ceremony began in 1995 with the leadership of Mrs. Milina Sumathipala. Sumathi Group of Companies came forward and organized television festivals, acknowledging its significance and outstanding attainments to improve the quality of television programs to every age limit of the people and to acknowledge the behind the screen technicians to bring forward and value their efforts to Sri Lankan television.
The award ceremony has been witnessed 26 times consecutively, with three interruptions in 2005,2020 and 2022 where the Award ceremony did not celebrated.
Awards given
In 1995, there were 32 awards in total, categorized into 4 sections - best awards, popular awards, commercial awards and merit awards. In 1996 at the second Sumathi Awards ceremony, U.A Sumathipala Award was introduced. Since 2000, awards were given under those above five categories. In 2000 Sumathi Awards, Jury Award category was included. With that six categories were awarded until 2011. In 2011 Sumathi Awards, News and other broadcasting category was introduced. In 2014 Sumathi Awards, the child award category was introduced. Since then, 50-55 Sumathi Awards have been awarded under 8 categories.
Best awards
Best Actor Best Actress Best Supporting Actor Best Supporting Actress Best Upcoming Actor Best Upcoming Actress Best Director Best Art Director Best Teledrama Series Best Single Episode Best Makeup Artist Best Cameraman Best Editor Best Music Director Best Script Best Lyrics Best Singer Best Current Affairs Best Documentary Best Musical Program Best Magazine Program Best Presenter Best Children's Program Best Educational Program Best Sports Program Best Women's Program Best Audio Visual Program
Awards based on popular vote
Popular Actor Popular Actress Popular Teledrama Popular Television Programme
Commercial awards
Best Commercial
Talent awards
Sumathi Merit Awards Sumathi Jury Awards
Child awards
Best Child Actor
Special awards
U.W. Sumathipala Awards
News and Broadcasting awards
Best Announcer Best Investigative Reporting Best Current Reporting
Award ceremonies
1995 Sumathi Awards
The first Sumathi Awards ceremony was celebrated in 1995, where 32 awards were given at the ceremony under 4 categories. In the best award category, Sumathi Award for the best teledrama actor was won by Buddhadasa Vithanarachchi and best teledrama actress was Manel Jayasena. In popular award category, Kamal Addararachchi won the most popular actor award, whereas Nilmini Tennakoon won the most popular actress award. Out of 32 awards given, teledrama Dandubasnamanaya won 12 awards, including best actor, supporting actor, television series, director and music director.
1996 Sumathi Awards
The second Sumathi Awards ceremony was celebrated in 1996, where 33 awards were given at the ceremony under 5 categories. In the best award category, Sumathi Award for the best teledrama actor was won by Lucky Dias and best teledrama actress was Chandani Seneviratne, whereas both won popular award categories as well. For the first time, U.W. Sumathipala memorial award was introduced, where veteran director Titus Thotawatte won this lifetime award. Out of 33 awards given, teledrama Sankranthi Samaya won 6 awards, including best actor, music director, singer and most popular teledrama.
1997 Sumathi Awards
The third Sumathi Awards ceremony was celebrated in 1997 at the Sugathadasa Indoor Stadium on November 28, 1997, at 6.00 pm. The National Youth Services Council and Sumathi Newspapers (Pvt) Ltd jointly organized the event where 38 prizes were offered to the winners in various categories of teledrama production including youth award. A cash prize of SL Rs 50,000 was awarded to the best teledrama series and best single episode teledrama was awarded a cash prize of SL Rs 20,000.
In the best award category, Sumathi Award for the best teledrama actor was won by Jackson Anthony and the best teledrama actress was Malani Fonseka. In popular award category, Jeewan Kumaranatunga won the most popular actor award, whereas Vasanthi Chathurani won the most popular actress award. The U.W. Sumathipala memorial award was given to the king of Sinhala cinema, Gamini Fonseka. Out of 38 awards given, teledrama Pitagamkarayo won 9 awards, including best actor, actress, director, script and television series.
1998 Sumathi Awards
The fourth Sumathi Awards ceremony was celebrated at the Sugathadasa Indoor Stadium on 28 November 2011, where 38 awards were given at the ceremony under 5 categories. A cash prize of Rs 50,000/- was awarded to the best teledrama serial and a cash prize of Rs 20,000/ was awarded to the best single episode teledrama. In the best award category, Sumathi Award for the best teledrama actor was won by Asoka Peiris and best teledrama actress was Vasanthi Chathurani. In the popular award category, Palitha Silva won the most popular actor award, whereas Yashoda Wimaladharma won the most popular actress award. For the first time, the U.W.S Sumathipala memorial award was given to two personalities, veteran actress Denawaka Hamine and music director Hugo Fernando. Out of 31 awards given, teledramas Vilambheetha and Durganthaya won 4 awards each.
1999 Sumathi Awards
The fifth Sumathi Awards ceremony was celebrated at the Sugathadasa Indoor Stadium on 6 November 1999, where 31 awards were given at the ceremony under 5 categories. Tourism and Aviation Minister Dharmasiri Senanayake and Sports and Youth Affairs Minister S. B. Dissanayake took part as the chief guests. The cash prize of Rs 50,000 was given to the best television serial and cash prize of Rs 20,000 was given to the best single episode serial. In the best award category, Sumathi Award for the best teledrama actor was won by Suminda Sirisena and best teledrama actress was Chandani Seneviratne. In popular award category, Sriyantha Mendis won the most popular actor award, whereas Yashoda Wimaladharma won the most popular actress award for the second consecutive time. The U.W. Sumathipala memorial award was given to, veteran director K. A. W. Perera and veteran actor Joe Abeywickrama. Out of 31 awards given, teledrama Nisala Vila won 8 awards, including best actor, actress, director and music director.
2000 Sumathi Awards
The sixth Sumathi Awards ceremony was celebrated at the Sugathadasa Indoor Stadium on 9 December 2000, where 36 awards were given at the ceremony under 5 categories. Meanwhile, 7 youth awards were presented by National Youth Services Council. In the best award category, Sumathi Award for the best teledrama actor was won by Joe Abeywickrama and best teledrama actress was Nilmini Tennakoon. In popular award category, Lucky Dias won the most popular actor award, whereas Yashoda Wimaladharma won the most popular actress award for the third consecutive time. The U.W. Sumathipala memorial award was given to, veteran actor Tony Ranasinghe and veteran actor Christy Leonard Perera. Out of 31 awards given, teledrama Imadiya Mankada won 6 awards, including best actor, director, television series and supporting actor.
2001 Sumathi Awards
The seventh Sumathi Awards ceremony was celebrated in year 2001, where 34 awards were given at the ceremony under 5 categories. In the best award category, Sumathi Award for the best teledrama actor was won by Sriyantha Mendis and best teledrama actress was Malani Fonseka. In popular award category, Channa Perera won the most popular actor award, whereas Yashoda Wimaladharma won the most popular actress award for the fourth consecutive time. The U.W. Sumathipala memorial award was given to, veteran actress Iranganie Serasinghe and queen of Sinhala cinema, Malani Fonseka. Out of 34 awards given, the teledrama Kemmura won 6 awards, including best actress, director, television series and supporting actress.
2002 Sumathi Awards
The eighth Sumathi Awards ceremony was celebrated in the year 2002, where 38 awards were given in the ceremony under 6 categories. In the best award category, Sumathi Award for the best teledrama actor was won by Jayalath Manoratne and best teledrama actress was Vasanthi Chathurani. In popular award category, Channa Perera won the most popular actor award for second time, whereas Yashoda Wimaladharma won the most popular actress award for the fifth consecutive time. The U.W. Sumathipala memorial award was given to, veteran actor, director Henry Jayasena and veteran actor Ravindra Randeniya. Out of 38 awards given, the teledrama Sanda Amawakai won 8 awards, including best actor, director, television series and cameraman.
2003 Sumathi Awards
The ninth Sumathi Awards ceremony was celebrated in year 2003, where 36 awards were given at the ceremony under 6 categories. In the best award category, Sumathi Award for the best teledrama actor was won by Mahendra Perera and best teledrama actress was Sasanthi Jayasekara. In popular award category, Channa Perera won the most popular actor award for the third consecutive time, whereas Kanchana Mendis won the most popular actress award. The U.W. Sumathipala memorial award was given to, veteran actors Sathischandra Edirisinghe and Robin Fernando. Out of 36 awards given, teledrama Hada Wila Sakmana won 7 awards, including best actor, actress, director and television series.
2004 Sumathi Awards
The tenth Sumathi Awards ceremony was celebrated in year 2004, where 38 awards were given at the ceremony under 5 categories. In the best award category, Sumathi Award for the best teledrama actor was won by Suminda Sirisena and the best teledrama actress was Duleeka Marapana. In the popular award category, Roshan Pilapitiya won the most popular actor award, whereas Nayana Kumari won the most popular actress award. The U.W. Sumathipala memorial award was given to, veteran actor Wijeratne Warakagoda and queen of Sri Lankan music Latha Walpola. Out of 38 awards given, teledrama Ramya Suramya won 5 awards, including best actor, director, television series and supporting actress.
2006 Sumathi Awards
The eleventh Sumathi Awards ceremony was celebrated in year 2006, where 38 awards were given at the ceremony under 6 categories. In the best award category, Sumathi Award for the best teledrama actor was won by Jayalal Rohana and best teledrama actress was Duleeka Marapana, for the second consecutive time. In popular award category, Roshan Pilapitiya won the most popular actor award for the second consecutive time, whereas Chathurika Peiris won the most popular actress award. The U.W. Sumathipala memorial award was given to, veteran actress Shanthi Lekha and popular broadcaster Shan Wickremesinghe. Out of 38 awards given, teledrama Theth Saha Viyali won 5 awards, including best director, television series, cameraman and supporting actor.
2007 Sumathi Awards
The twelfth Sumathi Awards ceremony was celebrated in year 2006, where 38 awards were given at the ceremony under 6 categories. In the best award category, Sumathi Award for the best teledrama actor was won by Janak Premalal and best teledrama actress was Damitha Abeyratne. In popular award category, Suraj Mapa won the most popular actor award, whereas Oshadhi Hewamadduma won the most popular actress award. The U.W. Sumathipala memorial award was given to, veteran singer Nanda Malini and veteran actor Stanley Perera. Out of 38 awards given, the teledrama Katu Imbula won 6 awards, including best actor, television series, music director and supporting actor.
2008 Sumathi Awards