කුෂානි සඳරේකා
17 songs performed
Kushani Sandareka (also spelled Kushani Sandarekha), කුෂානි සඳරේඛා, is a Sri Lankan playback and pop singer whose voice carries the romantic film songs of the 2010s, most famously “Sithuwili Pura” from the film Adaraneeya Kathawak (2016). She is known for an expressive style that moves comfortably between pop, R&B, and the classical-leaning melodies of Sinhala cinema.
Kushani Sandareka was born in Colombo into a family rooted in the performing arts. She is the daughter of the singers Maya Damayanthi and Victor Vijayantha, and a niece of the celebrated actress Anoja Weerasinghe. She began performing as a child, recording playback vocals from a very young age, and later trained her voice across genres including jazz and classical music.
Sandareka built her reputation through film playback work, lending her voice to dozens of Sinhala movies. Her defining moment came with Sithuwili Pura, composed by her husband, the singer and composer Kasun Kalhara, for Adaraneeya Kathawak. The song won her the Best Singer award at the Sarasaviya Awards, the recognition that fixed Kushani Sandarekha in the public ear as a leading female voice of the era.
Her partnership with Kasun Kalhara runs through much of her best-known work. The pair recorded the theme Oba Mage Wela for the teledrama Dehadak Adare, also hosted here as Oba Mage Wela (Dehadak Adare Theme).
Beyond her cinema work, Kushani Sandareka has released a steady run of singles and duets. Madahas Palama pairs her with Thilina Ruhunage, and the gentle Pathu Senehe remains a favourite among her listeners. Several of her songs appear under more than one title, such as Ai Ma Thanikeruwe, also listed as Me Gan Iwure.
Kushani Sandareka’s appeal rests on a warm, controlled tone suited to longing and romance, the registers that Sinhala film music returns to again and again. For diaspora listeners who grew up on Adaraneeya Kathawak, her recordings are tied to a particular moment in Sri Lankan cinema, which is why the spelling Kushani Sandarekha still surfaces alongside her songs across lyric sites today.
Every Sinhala lyric, composition, and song credit by Kushani Sandareka.