''Sarasaviya Awards'' (Sinhala:සරසවිය සම්මාන) is an award bestowed to distinguished individuals involved with the

Sinhala cinema Sri Lankan cinema encompasses the Sri Lankan film industry. It is a fledgling industry that has struggled to find a footing since its inauguration in 1947 with '' Kadawunu Poronduwa'' produced by S. M. Nayagam of Chitra Kala Movietone. Sri Lan ...

, each year by the Sarasaviya weekly newspaper in collaboration with the

Associated Newspapers of Ceylon Limited Associated Newspapers of Ceylon Limited (ANCL), also known as Lake House, is a print media company in Sri Lanka. It publishes three daily, three weekend, five weekly, two monthly and three annual publications in Sinhala, English and Tamil. Ass ...

(Lake House),

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...

in recognition of the contributions made by them to the Sri Lankan film industry. The Sarasaviya ceremony is one of the oldest film events in Sri Lanka. The awards were first introduced in 1964. The Sarasaviya Awards have been often referred to as the Sinhala cinema industry's equivalent to the Oscars.

History

The Sarasaviya film awards began in 1964 at a time when the local cinema was trying to shed its

South Indian South India, also known as Southern India or Peninsular India, is the southern part of the Deccan Peninsula in India encompassing the states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Telangana as well as the union territories of ...

orientation and establish an indigenous identity. There was no need to go to

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

to make films any more and the era of Indian artists had ended too. The first Sarasaviya film festival was held on May 9, 1964 at the Asoka Cinema Hall,

Colombo Colombo, ( ; , ; , ), is the executive and judicial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by population. The Colombo metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of 5.6 million, and 752,993 within the municipal limits. It is the ...

, 17 years after the first Sinhala film was screened. By then a series of good Sinhala films like Podi Putha, Rekhawa, Sandeshaya, Ranmuthuduwa, Kurulubedda, Sikurutharuwa and Gamperaliya had appeared on screen. Yet the mainstream consisted of simulations of Indian productions. The year 1960 is seen as the beginning of the golden era of Sinhala cinema. The first Sarasaviya Awards Festival had as entries not only the films screened in 1963 but also the films screened from 1960 to 1963. The best film, best director, best script-writer, best actor and best actress were honoured that day. Gamperaliya was awarded the best film and it was awarded to its producer Anton Wickremasinghe. Sir Lester James Peiris and Regi Siriwardena won the awards for best director and best script-writer, respectively for Gamperaliya. D.R. Nanayakkara was awarded best actor for his performance in Sikuru Tharuwa, another popular film in the 1964 film festival. The best actress award was received by Punya Heendeniya for her performance in Gamperaliya.

Suspension and 2016 resumption

The awards festival was suspended by the Rajapaksa administration and were resumed in 2016 after Minister

Gayantha Karunathilaka Lokugamage Gayantha Ganadesha Karunatileka, MP (born 21 August 1962) is a Sri Lankan politician. He is the current Chief Opposition Whip of the Parliament of Sri Lanka. He formerly served as a Cabinet Minister of Lands and Parliament affairs an ...

announced that the festival will resume under the new government.

Awards at present

In 2004, there were 33 awards in total, including the 12 prominent awards. However, this varies from year to year. Following is a brief list of the Award winners from each category for each year since 1964.

Prominent awards

* Best Picture * Best Director * Best Actor * Best Actress * Best Supporting Actor * Best Supporting Actress * Best Emerging Actor * Best Emerging Actress * Best Original Score * Best Male Singer * Best Female Singer * Best Song Lyricist

Awards based on popularvote

Technical awards

* Best Production Design * Best Cinematography * Best Editing * Best Screenplay * Best Sound * Best Makeup

Lifetime awards

* Rana Thisara Awards

Special awards

* Ranapala Bodhinagoda Memorial Literary Awards * Special Jury Awards * Other Special Awards * Lester James Peries Award for best film to be screen

Talent awards

* Merit Awards

Winners of past Sarasaviya Awards

References

{{Sarasaviya Awards 1964 establishments in Ceylon Awards established in 1964 Sarasaviya Sarasaviya