Wikipedia

Uddika Premarathna

Uddika Premarathna (born 16 September 1980; උද්දික ප්‍රේමරත්න) is a Sri Lankan actor, singer, television announcer and former member of parliament. He is an actor in Sri Lankan cinema and television.[2][3]

Hon.
Uddika Premarathna
MP
උද්දික ප්‍රේමරත්න
உத்திகா பிரேமரத்ன
Member of Parliament
for Anuradhapura District
In office
20 August 2020 – 27 February 2024
Succeeded bySarath Chandrasiri Muthukumarana
Majority133,550 Preferential Votes
Personal details
Born (1980-09-16) 16 September 1980 (age 44)
Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka
Political partyJathika Nidahas Peramuna[1]
Other political
affiliations		Supreme Lanka Coalition (since 2022)
Sri Lanka People's Freedom Alliance (2019–2022)
Height1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)
SpouseAnusha Kumari Pannala
Children1
EducationSt Joseph's College, Anuradhapura
OccupationPolitician
ProfessionActor, singer
Websiteuddikapremarathna.com

Personal life

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Premarathna is married to Anusha Kumari Pannala and the couple has one son, Angsh Prachien, who was born on 24 April 2013.[4]

Assassination attempt

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On 17 September 2023, Premarathna narrowly escaped an assassination attempt at his residence in Anuradhapura. Unidentified gunmen opened fire at Premarathna as he was getting out from his car. Premarathna was unharmed in the incident.[5]

Career

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Premarathna made his cinema debut in 2011 film Buddhist film Mahindagamanaya as a minor role. In 2013, he rose to prominence as the main role in the film Samanala Sandhawaniya, playing the role of Vadisha Wikramanayaka.[6][7] The film successfully completed 100 days in theaters.[8][9]

Premarathna was nominated for "Most Popular Actor" at the 2014 Hiru Golden Film Awards.[10][11] He also won "Best Actor" at the 2014 Sumathi Awards for his performance.[12]

In 2015, Premarathna was cast for the role of King Dutugemunu in the blockbuster film Maharaja Gemunu directed by Jayantha Chandrasiri.[13] The film was awarded Most Popular Movie at the 2016 Hiru Golden Film Awards.[14] In 2017, Premarathna acted in two films. He played the main role of King Walagamba in the epic historical film Aloko Udapadi, which was critically acclaimed.[15] In the children's film Paha Samath, Premarathna played the role of Samath's crippled father.[16]

In 2019, Premarathna acted in the thriller action film Rush as the lead character, Rashan 'Rush' Wijemanna.[17] He described the role as completely different from his previous roles, most of which were Sinhalese kings and monarchs.[18]

In 2020, a series of drama and performing workshops organized by the Ape Maga Foundation, led by Premarathna, were held on the 5th and 6 August 2020 at the North Central Provincial Auditorium, Anuradhapura.[19]

Post-Political career

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Former MP Uddika Premaratna, after resigning from Parliament, is reportedly seeking political asylum[20] in Canada. He and his family departed to Dubai in December with intentions to travel to Canada, utilizing his Diplomatic passport for the journey. On September 18 of the previous year, his vehicle was targeted in a shooting by unidentified assailants, though the police were unable to find those responsible. Speculations suggest that the attack may have been fabricated[21] to strengthen his asylum claim. However he has said its only for work[22] visa.

Selected television serials

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  • Ahimi as Saman
  • Alupaata Heena
  • Bonda Meedum as Senaka
  • Eka Gei Minissu as Jagdish[23]
  • Fengshui Gedara as Nissanka
  • Girikula[24]
  • Hadawila Arana as Sithum Sooriyabandara
  • Hansa Pihatu
  • Hopalu Arana as Thug
  • Kalu Araliya as Wasantha
  • Kapsuwahaskal As Valenta
  • Me Suramya Paradisaya[25] as Mahathun
  • Mini Gan Dela as Aranolis[26]
  • Muthu Palasa
  • Paara Dige as Rehan Aluvihare
  • Renagala Walawwa as Malan [27]
  • See Raja as Kashyapa
  • Sihinayaki Jeewithe[28][29]
  • Sillara Kasi[30] as Niketha
  • Sneha as Adithya
  • Yasa Isuru

Political career

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In 2020, Premarathna was announced as a candidate for the 2020 Sri Lankan parliamentary election[31] from the Anuradhapura District as a member of the Sri Lanka People's Freedom Alliance.[32][33][34] He won the election with 133,550 votes and won a seat in the 16th Parliament of Sri Lanka.[35]

Electoral history of Uddika Premarathna
Election Constituency Party Alliance Votes Result
2020 parliamentary Anuradhapura District Jathika Nidahas Peramuna Sri Lanka People's Freedom Alliance 133,550 Elected

Premarathna resigned from his parliamentary seat on February 27, 2024.

Filmography

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Year Film Role Ref.
2011 Mahindagamanaya Seru
2013 Samanala Sandhawaniya Vadisha Wikramanayaka [36]
2014 Duwana Muwan Amara [37]
2015 Maharaja Gemunu King Dutugamunu [38]
2016 Paththini Kovalan [39]
2017 Aloko Udapadi King Valagamba [40]
2017 Paha Samath Samath's Father [41]
2019 Rush Rashan 'Rush' [42]
2023 Midunu Vishwaya Varenya [43]
2024 Sihinayaki Adare Ajith

Songs

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  • Adare Kalath
  • Nethu Addara[44]
  • Mage Wela Mage[45]
  • Dase Kalman

Awards

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OCIC Awards

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Year Nominee / work Award Result
2016 Samanala Sandhawaniya Best Actor[18] Won

Sumathi Awards

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Year Nominee / work Award Result
2019 Minigandela Best Actor[46] Won
2023 People's vote Most Popular Actor Won

Raigam Tele'es

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Year Nominee / work Award Result
2023 People's vote Most Popular Actor Won

References

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  1. ^ "The only leader to choose is Gotabhaya-actor Uddika". Ada Derana. Retrieved 18 January 2018.
  2. ^ "Uddika Premarathne". National film corporation of Sri Lanka. Retrieved 30 June 2016.
  3. ^ "Uddika Premarathna filmography". Digital Identity of Sinhala Cinema. Retrieved 7 August 2020.
  4. ^ "Uddika speaks about his love to son". 9lanka. Retrieved 7 August 2020.
  5. ^ "Sri Lankan MP escapes assassination attempt". Sri Lanka News - Newsfirst. 18 September 2023. Retrieved 2 October 2023.
  6. ^ "It doesn't matter if it is a movie, a small screen or a stage – Uddika Premaratne". cinema.lk. 22 October 2013. Retrieved 18 January 2018.
  7. ^ "The aesthetic flair of a great filmmaker". Divaina. Retrieved 7 August 2020.
  8. ^ "Samanala Sandhawaniya celebrates 100 days". Sarasaviya. Retrieved 20 October 2017.
  9. ^ "Uddika Premarathna Talk About Samanala Sandhawaniya Movie". gossiplankalive1. Retrieved 7 August 2020.
  10. ^ "Popular Actor Uddika and Popular Actress Pooja". saaravita. Retrieved 18 January 2018.
  11. ^ "Nominated Actors – Super Five". Hiru Golden Film Awards. Asian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 10 July 2016.
  12. ^ "සිග්නීස් උත්තමාචාර 2015 සම්මාන උළෙල අභිමානවත්ව" (in Sinhala). 30 November 2015. Retrieved 1 July 2016.
  13. ^ "Words cannot describe the mood I felt". Divaina. Retrieved 7 August 2020.
  14. ^ "Extraordinary cinematic experience". Sunday Observer. Retrieved 7 August 2020.
  15. ^ "Aloko Udapadi – The light that almost arose". Daily Mirror. Retrieved 7 August 2020.
  16. ^ "Paha Samath but we failed – The review". Sarasaviya. Retrieved 18 January 2018.
  17. ^ "RUSH is the latest revolution in Sinhala cinema". Mawbima. Retrieved 18 January 2018.
  18. ^ a b "This is my country". webgossip. 5 November 2019. Retrieved 7 August 2020.
  19. ^ "A series of art workshops from Uddika Premaratne to Anuradhapura". Dinamina. Retrieved 7 August 2020.
  20. ^ "Uddika seeks political asylum in Canada". english.theleader.lk. 29 February 2024. Retrieved 5 March 2024.
  21. ^ "Former MP set to seek asylum in Canada". Times Online. Retrieved 5 March 2024.
  22. ^ "Uddika says he is looking to get work Visa in Canada - Breaking News | Daily Mirror". www.dailymirror.lk. Retrieved 5 March 2024.
  23. ^ "Face to Face". Silumina. Retrieved 7 August 2020.
  24. ^ "Girikula now in editing process". Daily Mirror. Retrieved 30 July 2019.
  25. ^ "Me Suramya Paradisaya by Sahan". Sarasaviya. Retrieved 15 August 2019.
  26. ^ "Mini Gan Dela on Sirasa". Sarasaviya. Retrieved 20 October 2017.
  27. ^ "This teledrama became colorful because of Sarath: 'Ranagala Walawwa' Director Chandana Dharmapriya". Sarasaviya. Retrieved 12 April 2021.
  28. ^ "Sihinayaki Jeewithe on screen". Sarasaviya. Retrieved 17 November 2017.
  29. ^ "Dreams are delicious places on the scene of life". Sarasaviya. Retrieved 17 November 2017.
  30. ^ "There is hardly an occasion when an artist is happier than being appreciated". Lankadeepa. Retrieved 7 August 2020.
  31. ^ "Actor Uddika starts his election campaign from Anuradhapura". Aruna. 26 June 2020. Retrieved 7 August 2020.
  32. ^ "Parliamentary Election – 2020" (PDF). cmev. Retrieved 7 August 2020.
  33. ^ "President joins SLPP campaign from Anuradhapura". Ada Derana. Retrieved 7 August 2020.
  34. ^ "Nominee Uddika Premarathna". nominee. Retrieved 7 August 2020.
  35. ^ "Anuradhapura : SM Chandrasena tops, Actor Uddika wins, No place for Harrison & Chandrani Bandara". newswire. 7 August 2020. Retrieved 7 August 2020.
  36. ^ "සිනමාවද, පුංචි තිරයද, වේදිකාවද කියලා වෙනසක් නෑ – උද්දික ප්‍රේමරත්න" (in Sinhala). 22 October 2013. Retrieved 1 July 2016.
  37. ^ "Teaching through the cinema". The Sunday Times. Retrieved 1 March 2017.
  38. ^ "Its my luck to be the king". Sarasaviya. Retrieved 11 March 2017.
  39. ^ "ෆැන්ටසියක අරුමැසි බව" (in Sinhala). 7 June 2016. Retrieved 1 July 2016.
  40. ^ "World premiere for 'Aloka Udapadi' at IFFI | The Sunday Times Sri Lanka". www.sundaytimes.lk.
  41. ^ "Tear falling cinema about a village boy". Sarasaviya. Retrieved 26 August 2017.
  42. ^ "Rush film crew". Sarasaviya. Retrieved 26 September 2019.
  43. ^ "'Frozen Cosmos' to enter the reel". Daily News. Retrieved 13 July 2020.
  44. ^ "Nethu Addara – Uddika Premarathna". Hiru FM. Retrieved 7 August 2020.
  45. ^ "Uddika Premarathna Songs Free Download ~ Uddika Premarathna Sinhala Songs ~ Sinhala MP3 by Uddika Premarathna". Ananmanan.lk. Retrieved 9 July 2016.
  46. ^ "Sumathi Award winners 2019". Sarasaviya.
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