Vijaya Kumaranatunga

Infobox actor
name =Vijaya Kumaranatunga


imagesize =
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birthname =
birthdate = October 9, 1945
birthplace = flagicon|Sri Lanka Ja-Ela, Sri Lanka
Religion = Roman Catholic
deathdate = February 16, 1988
deathplace = Polhendoga, Sri Lanka
occupation = Actor, politician
yearsactive = 1968-1988
spouse = Chandrika Kumaratunga
children =
website =
awards =

Vijaya Kumaranatunga [ [http://www.hinduonnet.com/fline/fl1602/16020530.htm Talking to the Tigers ] ] (October 9 1945 - February 16, 1988) also Vijaya Kumaratunga was a popular Sri Lankan film actor and politician, married to former Sri Lankan president Chandrika Kumaratunga from 1978 to his assassination in 1988.

Family life

In 1978, Kumaratunga married Chandrika Bandaranaike, daughter of the late Sri Lankan prime minister Solomon Bandaranaike and former prime minister Sirimavo Bandaranaike. Vijaya Kumaratunga and Chandrika Bandaranaike had two children, Dr Yasodhara Walker and Vimukthi Kumaratunga.

Cinema career

Kumaratunga's first film was "Hanthane Kathawa", in which he played the lead role. Since then, in a career that spanned nearly two decades, he acted in 114 films including "Eya Den Loku Lamayek" (1975), "Ponmani" (1977), "Bambaru Avith" (1977), "Ganga Addara" (1980), and "Baddegama" (1980). He also won several awards. He was voted most popular actor in Sri Lanka from 1983 to 1988. Vijaya performed in one English film, "The God King" and one Tamil film, "Nanguran" during his career.

Political career

He was also a politician, who started his political life in the Lanka Sama Samaja Party. He later joined the Sri Lanka Freedom Party and was active in the presidential campaign of Hector Kobbekaduwa in 1982. After the election, he was jailed under the emergency regulations by JR Jayawardena for allegedly being a 'Naxalite' (a political creed hitherto and henceforth unknown in Sri Lanka), but he was never charged. He founded the Sri Lanka Mahajana Party (SLMP). He and his party argued for peace in the ongoing civil war in Sri Lanka.

Death and legend

He was shot in the head with a Type 56 Assault rifle outside his residence in the outskirts of Colombo on February 16, 1988 by Lionel Ranasinghe alias Gamini, who later confessed to the murder upon being questioned by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID). Ranasinghe, in a 141 page statement, confessed that he was merely carrying out orders given to him by the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna ("People's Liberation Front"), an armed Marxist organization which is responsible for assassinations during the late 1980s. His death is still mourned by many people in Sri Lanka.cite news|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/sinhala/news/story/2008/02/080219_chandrika_vijaya.shtml|title=Devolution only solution - CBK (Vijaya's 20th Death Anniversary)|publisher=BBC News|date=19th February, 2008]

References

External links

* [http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~lkawgw/gen1001.html The Bandaranaike Ancestry]
* [http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~lkawgw/gen3060.html The Ratwatte Ancestry]
* [http://internet-moneys.com/data/Political_families_of_the_world Political Families of The World]
* [http://www.sarasaviya.lk/lankeyacinema/?id=vijaya Vijaya Kumaratunga's Biography in Sinhala]
* [http://www.divaina.com/2008/10/10/cineart05.html Vijaya's Film Details in Sinhala]
* [http://www.srilankafilmcorp.com Official Website - National Film Corporation of Sri Lanka]
* [http://www.lesternsumitra.com Official Website of Lester James Peries in association with Ministry of Cultural Affairs, Sri Lanka]
* [http://tamilweek.com/news-features/archives/597 Remembering Vijaya Kumaratunga, By Kumar Rupesinghe]
* [http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0474919/bio Biography for Vijaya Kumaratunga, Internet Movie Database Inc.]
* [http://www.lankalibrary.com/pol/vijaya2.htm Confessions of Vijaya's killer, WWW Virtual Library - Sri Lanka]