Trilicia Gunawardena

Trelicia Abeykoon (born 1934 – died 26 April 1999 as ට්‍රිලිෂියා ගුණවර්ධන)), popularly as Trelicia or Trilicia Gunawardena, was an award-winning actress in Sri Lankan cinema, theater and television as well as a singer.[1][2] She is best known for the critically acclaimed roles in films Gamperaliya, Nidhanaya, Kaliyagaya and Beddegama.[3]

Trilicia Gunawardena ට්‍රිලිෂියා ගුණවර්ධන
Born	Trelicia Abeykoon 1934 Kolonnawa
Died	April 26, 1999(1999-04-26) (aged 64–65) Colombo
Nationality	Sri Lankan
Education	Musaeus College
Occupation	Actress, Singer, Dramatist
Years active	1939–1999
Spouse(s)	Prof. A.J. Gunawardena

Personal life

She was born in 1934 at Kolonnawa. She completed school education from Musaeus College, Colombo.[4] Then she graduated with an honors degree from University of Peradeniya and worked as a teacher at Ananda Shasthralaya, Kotte. She also worked as a lecturer in the Aesthetic department at Peradeniya university as well as University of Kelaniya.[4] She was married to Professor A.J. Gunawardena.[5]

She died on 26 April 1999. Her body was cremated at General Cemetery, Borella.[4]

Career

Her drama career started with U.A.S Perera's Lama Pitiya program in Radio Ceylon. She sang the song Surathal Nangiye with U.A.S Perera and W. A. Wijepala in 1939.[6] Then in 1956, Gunawardena entered to stage drama with the main role as the first queen in play Maname by Ediriweera Sarachchandra.[7][8] Her maiden cinematic experience came through 1963 blockbuster movie Gamperaliya directed by award winning filmmaker Lester James Peries.[9] In television, her role as Lucy Hami in the drama Giraya was highly praised by the critics.[10]

Notable theater works

• Maname
• Nari Bena
• Sinhabahu
• Kundalakeshi

Notable television works

• Giraya[11]
• Badde Gedara[12]

Filmography

Year	Film	Role	Ref.
1963	Gamperaliya	Anula	[13]
1972	Sahanaya
1972	Nidhanaya	Dulcy	[14]
1976	Madol Duwa	Mrs. Dharmasinghe	[15]
1978	Gehenu Lamai	Jenny Liyanage	[16]
1981	Baddegama	Karalina, Silindu's sister	[17]
1983	Kaliyugaya	Anula	[18]
1986	Aadara Hasuna	Army officer's sister	[19]
1988	Sagara Jalaya Madi Handuwa Oba Sanda	Village Woman
1994	Nomiyena Minisun
1995	Ayoma
1996	Loku Duwa	mrs. Perera
1997	Tharanaya
1999	Padadaya		[20]
2011	Dheewari	Josi. Posthumous release	[21]

References

1. "Actresses in Sri Lankan cinema - Edna Sugathapala". National Film Corporation of Sri Lanka. Retrieved 15 August 2018.
2. "Trelicia Gunawardena filmography". Rate Your Music. Retrieved 7 September 2019.
3. "Trelicia Gunawardena films". IMDb. Retrieved 7 September 2019.
4. "Trilicia finishes acting". Sunday Times. Retrieved 1 November 2017.
5. "Florence and Ranjith Goonewardene". Florence. Retrieved 7 September 2019.
6. "Artistes of Ananda - Poet monks and student writers". Daily News. Retrieved 7 September 2019.
7. "Between Home and the World". Frontline. Retrieved 7 September 2019.
8. "Trelicia Gunawardena obituary". Daily Mirror. Retrieved 7 September 2019.
9. "Trillicia Gunawardena films". Sinhala Cinema Database. Retrieved 7 September 2019.
10. "When The Harvest Is Over". Colombo Telegraph. Retrieved 7 September 2019.
11. "Giraya Teledrama review". Sunday Observer. Retrieved 7 September 2019.
12. "Sudath's stories on screen again". Sunday Times. Retrieved 16 August 2016.
13. "Filmography- 1960-1980". Lester James Peries. 2004. Retrieved 2007-04-17.
14. "40 years for the greatest film ever produced in Sinhala cinema". Sarasaviya. Retrieved 24 March 2017.
15. "All about Madol Duwa". Sarasaviya. Retrieved 3 March 2020.
16. "Sinhala screened films". Sarasaviya. Retrieved 17 November 2017.
17. "The Village in the Jungle (Baddegama)". Sunday Observer. Retrieved 7 September 2019.
18. "Filmography- 1981–2000". Lester James Peries. 2004. Retrieved 2007-04-17.
19. "Parallel towards a Sinhala Cinema". Retrieved 27 September 2018.
20. "Screening of 2 new films". The Sunday Times. Retrieved 11 March 2017.
21. "Sri Lankan Screened Films". Sarasaviya. Retrieved 11 March 2017.

External links

• Songs by Trilicia Gunawardena