Damayanthi Jayasuriya

Damayanthi Jayasuriya (දමයන්ති ජයසූරිය, also romanized Damayanthi Jayasooriya) is a Sri Lankan playback singer whose voice carried many of the love themes of Sinhala cinema and radio from the 1980s onward. She is best remembered as a screen voice for leading actresses and for romantic duets such as “Unmada Wuu Premadare” and “Ran Dewolin”.

Early life and radio beginnings

Jayasuriya came up through the children’s programmes of the Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation, singing on the Commercial Service slots Kanitu Sarasaviya and Lama Ranga Peetaya as a child. At the age of 16 she was graded an ‘A’ Grade singer in the SLBC’s Swadeshiya and Commercial services, a recognition that opened the door to studio and film work.

Playback career

Gifted with a clear, expressive tone, Jayasuriya became a sought-after playback voice for actresses on the Sinhala screen, including roles associated with Malani Fonseka. She recorded for box-office films of the era, among them Aradhana, Binari Saha Sudu Banda and Dinuma, often pairing with male leads in the duet format that defined Sinhala film music of the period.

Her most enduring recording is “Unmada Wuu Premadare” (උන්මාද වූ ප්‍රේමාදරේ), a duet with actor-singer Kamal Addararachchi composed by Rohana Weerasinghe, which remains a wedding-season and request-line favourite. She also features on “Ran Dewolin” from the 1986 film Adara Hasuna, sharing the song with Sunil Edirisinghe and Ivo Denis, again under Rohana Weerasinghe’s music direction.

Notable songs on Lyrics-lk

• Unmada Wuu Premadare
• Ran Dewolin
• Kandulin Awasan Wana Pem Puwathata
• Hamuwewa Apa Mathu Ath Bawayaka
• Aware Pipi
• Pata Pata Samanala Thatu

Awards and later work

Damayanthi Jayasuriya’s singing has been recognized with a range of honours, including the internationally awarded Bunka Award and Sri Lankan Presidential Awards for her film playback. In later years she turned toward devotional music, recording Buddhist songs under the title Sitha Niwana Gee with practitioners of the Sithum Piyasa meditation centre in Siyambalape. Across film, radio and devotional recordings, Damayanthi Jayasooriya remains one of the recognizable female voices of her generation of Sinhala song.