Chandralekha Perera
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Chandralekha Perera | |
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චන්ද්රලේකා පෙරේරා | |
| Born | December 1, 1961 Kurunegala, Sri Lanka |
| Spouse | Rookantha Goonatillake Musical career |
| Origin | Sri Lanka |
| Occupation(s) | Singer |
Chandralekha Perera (Sinhala: චන්ද්රලේකා පෙරේරා) (born 1 December 1961),[citation needed] is a popular Sri Lankan pop singer.[1]
Perera was born to a middle-class family in Kurunegala.[citation needed] As a child she often sang at home.[citation needed] At school she frequently sang and successfully took part in inter-school competitions.[citation needed] While studying she sang for the band "Spring Time" in Kurunegala.[citation needed] She met her future husband Rookantha Goonatillake in 1976 when he was a keyboard player for this band.[citation needed]
Without her knowledge, Perera's father submitted his daughter's name to a Sri-Lankan government-sponsored youth organization National Youth Services Council (NYSC).[citation needed] She subsequently attended and had a successful interview.[citation needed] She also appeared on the national television service in Sri Lanka that was a gift from Japan to Sri Lanka and was at that time broadcasting test transmissions.[citation needed]
Perera was noticed by the film director and producer D. B. Nihalsinghe while he was reporting on NYSC.[citation needed] He selected her to act in his new television series Rekha, which made her a star.[citation needed] She was given the award for best television actress in 1986 (for Nadee Geethaya,[citation needed] another series by Nihalsinghe), and the award for best playback singer in the same year (for the film Yali Hamuwennai).[citation needed] She was signed for LUX International by Lever Brothers at that time.[citation needed]
Perera has sung duets with many popular singers and actors.[citation needed] Vijaya Kumaranatunga, the late husband of President Chandrika Kumaratunga, sang more than 15 songs with her.[citation needed]
Perera married Rookantha Goonatillake in 1989, and they have three daughters and a son.[citation needed] In 2000, she and her husband were violently attacked by the Presidential Security Division (PSD) of president Chandrika Kumaratunga and threatened with death if they performed at anti-government events. The attack sparked a protest by Dharmasiri Bandaranayake who thereafter also received death threats. In the wake of these developments, Artists Against Violence (AAV) was founded.[2] Ten officers of the PSD were arrested for the attacks and given jail sentences in 2013, but one year later pardoned by president Mahinda Rajapaksa.[3]
References
- ^ Shirley's soothing songs The Sunday Times 28 October 2007
- ^ "Sri Lankan artists speak out against the war". World Socialist Web Site. 28 June 2000. Retrieved 25 August 2010.
- ^ President pardons jailed PSD officers Template:Wayback Colombo Gazette 11 April 2014