RANASINGHE PREMADASA

The 95th birth anniversary of former President Ranasinghe Premadasa who was closely associated with the arts and artistes, falls on June 23. The late leader who died on May 1, 1993 under tragic circumstances, wrote novels like Jeevana Kandulu, Ranmini Muthu, Pemwathiya and a collection of poems titled Rasa Kavi Sithuwii. ‘Jeevana Kandulu’ was made into a film and released in 1979 with Tissa Wijesurendra, Geetha Kumarasinghe, Eddie Jayamanne and Rukmani Devi playing the lead. The film was directed by Daya Wimalaweera. ‘Ranmini Muthu’ was produced by Hussain Mohamed and directed by Wilfred Silva. The film that featured Ravindra Randeniya and Sriyani Amarasena was released in 1983. The passionate arts lover who also wrote a few Sinhala songs, was instrumental in opening doors in politics for big wigs in the film world. Having being elected to the Colombo Municipal Council at the young age of 26, he became Colombo’s deputy mayor at 31. He married Hema Wickrematunga on his 40th birthday on June 23, 1964 and his career graph signified a steady rise. He became the President of Sri Lanka in January 1989 after serving a long stint as Prime Minister.