The Sumathi U.W. Sumathipala Memorial Award is presented annually by the Sumathi Group of Companies associated with many commercial brands for the artists who devoted their life to the improvement of Sri Lankan cinema, theatre and television in every aspect. The award named in honour of U. W. Sumathipala, the father of current Sumathi Group owner and the founder of Sumathi Awards, Thilanga Sumathipala.
The award was first given in 1996, and in some years the award has been given to more than one person individual. The following is a list of the winners of this award.
Award winners Year Award Winner Notable work Ref. 1996 Titus Thotawatte Director, actor and founder of Sri Lankan dubbing cartoon history. 1997 Gamini Fonseka Actor, director, politician and first crowned king of Sinhala cinema. 1998 Denawaka Hamine Actress and the grand old lady of Sinhala cinema. Hugo Fernando Actor, lyricist, assistant director and music director. 1999 K. A. W. Perera Producer, director and screen play writer. Joe Abeywickrama Actor, author and second crowned king of Sinhala cinema. 2000 Tony Ranasinghe Actor, screen play writer and third crowned king of Sinhala cinema. Christy Leonard Perera Actor, musician and renowned comedian. 2001 Iranganie Serasinghe Actress, journalist, teacher and granny of Sinhala cinema. Malani Fonseka Actress, director, producer and the Queen of Sinhala cinema. 2002 Henry Jayasena Actor, screenplay writer, director and one of the most influential theater actors. Ravindra Randeniya Actor and politician, who awarded more than 6 times as the best actor. 2003 Sathischandra Edirisinghe Veteran actor, filmmaker, teledrama director with 50 years service in Sri Lankan art. Robin Fernando Veteran actor, and pioneer of Sri Lankan stunts. 2004 Wijeratne Warakagoda Veteran actor, director and icon in Sinhala stage plays. Latha Walpola Veteran singer rated as the Nightingale of Sri Lankan Music industry. 2006 Shanthi Lekha Actress who appeared over 350 Sinhala films as the mother. Shan Wickremesinghe Media mogul, broadcaster, broadcast engineer, who is the founder of Sri Lanka's first television station. 2007 Nanda Malini Singer, lecturer, music director and one of the most influential singers in Sri Lankan music industry. Stanley Perera Actor, who appeared in more than 40 films in Early phase of Sinhala cinema. 2008 Roy de Silva Veteran actor, director, producer, screen play writer, rated as one of the most successful film makers in the Sri Lankan cinema. Rex Kodippili Veteran actor, who appeared in more than 50 films as the villain in Sinhala cinema. 2009 Clarice de Silva Actress, who appeared in the Sinhala cinema in the early phase. Jeevarani Kurukulasuriya Actress, who appeared in the Sinhala cinema in the early golden phase. 2010 Sunil Ariyaratne Scholar, film director, author, poet, lyricist and one of Sri Lankan most influential senior artists. Sriyani Amarasena Veteran actress, director, producer who appeared many highly rated blockbuster films. 2011 Anula Karunathilaka Veteran actress best noted for the role Dammi in blockbuster film Golu Hadawatha. Angeline Gunathilake Veteran singer and composer, who was one of the leading playback singers of Sinhala cinema. 2012 Cyril Wickramage Veteran actor, director and singer, known for participating mainly in artistic Sinhala cinema. Victor Rathnayake Veteran singer, violinist, music director, composer, lyricist, who is the first Sri Lankan musician to hold a live one-man concert. 2013 Punya Heendeniya Veteran actress, who considered as a legend in Sinhala cinema. Sanath Nandasiri Veteran singer, music director, composer, lyricist, who is one of the leading singers in Sri Lankan music industry. 2014 Rohana Weerasinghe Veteran musician, composer and singer, one of Sri Lanka's leading composers in the history. Sujatha Attanayake Music Director, Lecturer, Veteran singer, who is one of the leading singers in Sri Lankan music industry. 2015 A. D. Ranjith Kumara Veteran artist, journalist, designer who covered over 300 cover designs. Indrani Wijebandara Veteran singer, who is one of the leading singers in Sri Lankan music industry. 2016 Amarasiri Kalansuriya Veteran actor, who is renowned for award winning dramatic roles in Sinhala cinema. Anoja Weerasinghe Veteran actress, producer and a social activist who is one of the most influential actors in Sinhala art. 2017 Nita Fernando Veteran actress, and producer who is renowned for award winning dramatic roles in Sinhala cinema. Swarna Mallawarachchi Veteran actress, who is considered as the Golden star of Sinhalese cinema. 2018 Tissa Wijesurendra Veteran award winning actor highly popularized during 1970s. Geetha Kumarasinghe Veteran actress and politician, who is the recipient of Sarasaviya Award in four times. 2019 Alexander Fernando Veteran actor, one of the action heroes in early Sinhala cinema. Sumana Amarasinghe Veteran actress, considered as the Sweet Girl of Sinhala cinema. 2020 Douglas Ranasinghe Veteran actor, one of the popular actor in 1970s Sinhala cinema. Manel Wanaguru Veteran actress, one of the popular actress in 1970s Sinhala cinema. 2023 Indrani Perera Veteran songstress, dominated 1980s of Sinhala songs. Sanath Gunathilake Veteran actor, dominated Sinhala cinema in 1980s and 1990s. 2024 Dharmasiri Bandaranayake Prominent film director and playwright. Priya Suriyasena Veteran singer, dominated both indoor and outdoor music for four decades.
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