බන්ධුල විජේවීර
18 songs performed · 2 compositions
Bandula Wijeweera (also spelled Bandula Wijeyweera, බන්ධුල විජේවීර) is a Sri Lankan singer and stage actor whose voice has carried popular Sinhala songs since the 1970s. He is remembered for light, accessible numbers such as Kaliyuga Kaleta Upanna (Raigamayai Gampalayai) and Dolos Mahak, and for a parallel career on the Sinhala stage.
Wijeweera came up through radio and theatre rather than the film playback circuit. His maiden recording, Dotha Pura Muthu Mala Latha, written by Upali Dhanawalawithana, was aired on radio in the 1970s and gave him his first wide audience. He set the tune for that song himself, and it remains one of the recordings most closely tied to his name.
Around the same period he moved into drama. The veteran playwright Dayananda Gunawardena cast him as the match-maker in the stage production Nari Bena in 1973, and acting stayed part of his working life alongside singing for decades after.
Bandula Wijeyweera’s catalogue leans toward melody and humour, often built around village imagery and everyday life. Several of his recordings carried lyrics by writers such as Manel Jayasekara and music by composers including Rohan Weerasinghe. Songs of his featured on Lyrics-lk include:
Across a long career Wijeweera became a familiar name in Sinhala popular music and theatre, contributing theme songs and stage performances as well as his own records. In 2023 he was honoured at a felicitation event organised by the Wayamba Kavi Sanvidhanaya, held at the Alawwa Town Hall, recognising his decades of work as a singer and performer. His songs continue to be sung and searched under both the Bandula Wijeweera and Bandula Wijeyweera spellings.
Every Sinhala lyric, composition, and song credit by Bandula Wijeweera.
Performed by: Bandula Wijeweera (බන්ධුල විජේවීර)