Veteran actor and dramatist Sathischandra Edirisinghe has passed away at the age of 84 while receiving treatment at a private hospital in Colombo, family sources said. He was 84 years old at the time of his death.
Satischandra Edirisinghe, the brother of veteran singer Sunil Edirisinghe, is a distinguished artist who has been able to nourish the art world through acting as well as directing.
Born on February 10, 1941 in Kelaniya, Kalasuri Satischandra Edirisinghe’s artistic career spans more than half a century.
His father was Patikirige Satischandra Edirisinghe. His mother was Uda Hettige Elizabeth Perera.
He studied at Dharmaloka College in Kelaniya.
He started his artistic career as Devadatta in the radio drama “Seri Kameshara” under the guidance of his teacher, the late Hindi linguist and renowned artist Ravilal Wimaladharma.
He then came to the public stage through the drama “Vessantara” and acted in numerous stage plays and also entered the cinema with the film “Sampatha”.
He made his debut as a leading actor in the film “Sadol Saura”, and made his debut as a leading actor by playing the lead role in the film “Matara Achchi”, which he directed for the first time.
After that, he made his mark as a film director by directing the films “Raja Gedara Paraviyo”, “Sri Madhara”, “Satara Digantaya”, “Adishthana”, “Vadula”, “Pujithyo”, “Podi Malli”, “Vadula”, “Hima Katara”, “Koti Valigaya”, “Kristu Charitta”, “Sujatha”, “Dorakada Marawa”, “Bithusithuwam”, “Undaya”, “Kanyavi”, “Mother Teresa”, “Suhada Koka”, and he has won awards such as the President, the U.W. Sumathipala Memorial Award and the Raigam Teles Pratibha Prabha Honorary Award. He was also a distinguished teledrama director and actor. He introduced his brother Sunil Edirisinghe as a film playback singer, the late actor Wally Nanayakkara as a film lyricist, and Dr. Victor Ratnayake to film music. That was through his film “Matara Achchi”.
