Rookantha Gunathilaka

Rookantha Gunathilaka (රූකාන්ත ගුණතිලක, also spelled Rookantha Gunathilake or Goonatillake) is a Sri Lankan singer, composer, and music director, widely credited with reshaping the sound of Sinhala popular music in the late 1980s. Born Mario Glory Rookantha Goonatillake on 5 September 1959 in Kegalle, he is known for a string of romantic ballads and for the long-running concert series he stages with his wife, the singer Chandralekha Perera.

Early life and start in music

Gunathilaka grew up in a middle-class family in Kegalle and began formal music study young, learning piano with a local teacher. He entered the industry first as a composer around 1976, writing and arranging for other vocalists before he ever recorded his own voice.

Career and breakthrough

His turn to singing came almost by accident. In the mid-1980s, with no vocalist available for one of his own compositions, “Bambara Pahasa”, he recorded the lead himself. The 1988 release of “Bambara Pahasa” became a landmark cassette and established him as a leading voice of a new, keyboard-driven pop style. The 1992 album “Diganthaye” followed as another major success, and the album “Charuka” (1997) was named for his daughter.

From 1993 onward, the “Ru Sanda Rae” concert, performed with Chandralekha Perera, became his signature stage show, running for hundreds of performances in Sri Lanka and across the diaspora. The work of Rookantha Gunathilake on these recordings and shows defined a softer, melody-forward register that many later Sinhala pop singers drew from.

Signature songs and collaborations

Much of his catalogue is built around duets and family collaboration. He recorded frequently with Chandralekha Perera, and his daughter Raini Gunathilaka later joined him on stage and in the studio. As a composer he also wrote for younger singers such as Benitha Gayashi and Neela Wickramasinghe.

• Me Diganthaye
• Sanda Pini Diye
• Sanda Thurulata
• Sithin Sina Sisi
• Anatha Maaruthe
• Ukulata Nawath
• Midule Athana Nango

Later years

In 2000, Rookantha Gunathilaka and Chandralekha Perera were the targets of a politically motivated attack, after which the family relocated to the United States and continued performing for Sri Lankan audiences abroad. They later returned to Sri Lanka, and Gunathilaka has since appeared as a televised talent-show judge. His songs, many of them written by Rookantha Gunathilake himself, remain staples of Sinhala radio and wedding playlists, which is why much of the diaspora still seeks out their Sinhala lyrics with English translation and meaning.