Ranjan Ramanayake facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Ranjan Ramanayake
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රන්ජන් රාමනායක
ரஞ்சன் ராமநாயக்க |
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| Member of Parliament for Gampaha District |
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| In office 1 September 2015 – 7 April 2021 |
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| Succeeded by | Ajith Mannapperuma |
| Majority | 103,992 Preferential Votes |
| Member of Parliament for Ratnapura District |
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| In office 22 April 2010 – 26 June 2015 |
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| Majority | 59,318 Preferential Votes |
| State Minister of Highways and Road Development | |
| In office 21 December 2018 – 21 November 2019 |
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| President | Maithripala Sirisena |
| Prime Minister | Ranil Wickremesinghe |
| Minister | Kabir Hashim |
| Deputy Minister of Social Empowerment & Welfare | |
| In office 4 September 2015 – 26 October 2018 |
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| President | Maithripala Sirisena |
| Prime Minister | Ranil Wickremesinghe |
| Minister | S. B. Dissanayake |
| Deputy Minister of Social Services & Live Stock | |
| In office 21 January 2015 – 17 August 2015 |
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| President | Maithripala Sirisena |
| Prime Minister | Ranil Wickremesinghe |
| Minister | P. Harrison |
| Leader of the opposition of the Sabaragamuwa Provincial Council | |
| In office 23 August 2008 – 22 April 2010 |
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| Personal details | |
| Born |
Sadda Vidda Rajapakse Palanga Pathira Ambakumarage Ranjan Leo Sylvester Alfonso
11 March 1963 Negombo, Sri Lanka |
| Political party | United Democratic Voice (since 2024) |
| Other political affiliations |
Samagi Jana Balawegaya (2020–2024) United National Party (before 2020) |
| Relations | |
| Residences | No D 4, MPP Housing Scheme, Madiwela, Sri Jayewardenepura, Kotte. |
| Alma mater | Maris Stella College |
| Occupation | Politician |
| Profession | Actor |
Ranjan Ramanayake (born 11 March 1963) is a famous person from Sri Lanka. He is known for being an actor, film director, singer, and script writer. He also used to be a politician and a Member of the Parliament.
He worked as the State Minister of Highways and Road Development from 2018 to 2019. Before that, he was a Deputy Minister in charge of Social Services and Welfare. Ranjan Ramanayake has won many awards for his acting, including the Sarasaviya Best Actor Award in 2006. He was also voted the Sarasaviya Most Popular Actor Award four times. He has acted in over 75 films in the Sinhala language. These films include different types like romance, action, and comedies. He started his career in theatre and television shows.
Personal Life
Ranjan Ramanayake was born on March 11, 1963, in Negombo, Sri Lanka. He is the younger of two children in his family. His father, Simon Alfonso, worked for the Sri Lanka Railways Department. He added 'Ramanayake' to his name to honor filmmaker Somaratne Ramanayake. Somaratne Ramanayake helped him start his acting career as a main actor.
In 2019, he took the GCE A/L exam again. He wanted to study law later in his life.
Cinema Career
Ranjan Ramanayake's first main acting role was in the film Jaya Kothenada. However, his very first film was Christhu Charithaya. He became a popular film star throughout the 1990s. He mostly acted in commercial films, which are movies made for a wide audience.
Sometimes, he took on more serious roles, like in Lester James Peries' film Awaragira. But he is still best known for his fun, commercial movies. In 1998, he won an award for the Best Upcoming Actor for the film Hima Gira. He was also voted the Most Popular Actor at the Sarasaviya Festival many times, from 2002 to 2016. This was a record 14 times.
More recently, Ranjan Ramanayake started directing and writing films himself. He directed and wrote popular movies like Parliament Jokes, One Shot, and Leader. These films were very successful and broke box office records. This made him one of the most successful actors and directors in Sinhala cinema. He often worked with actors Bandu Samarasinghe and Tennyson Cooray.
He has also sung songs in several films. Some of these films include Jaya Kothenada, Naralowa Holman, and Love in Bangkok. His song "Ran Samanala Joduwa Wage" was very popular.
Ranjan Ramanayake has also acted in a few television shows.
Television Serials
- Bhagya
- Charulatha
- Guru Geethaya
- Nil Mahanel
- Pitagamkarayo
- Senahesa Suvndhai
- Sagaraya Parada
- Sanda Kinduru
- Santhuwaranaya
- Sath Sanda Kirana
- Sudu Mal Kanda
- Ulamage Rathriya
Politics
Ranjan Ramanayake first started his political journey in Katana. Later, he became an organizer in Balangoda. In 2008, he ran for the position of Chief Minister of the Sabaragamuwa Provincial Council. He then became the leader of the opposition in that council.
In 2010, he was elected to the parliament from the Ratnapura area. He was part of the United National party (UNP). He was known for speaking out against the government at that time. Later, he was appointed as the UNP organizer for Divulapitiya in Gampaha.
In the 2015 parliamentary elections, Ranjan Ramanayake received the most votes for the UNP in the Gampaha district. He was reelected in 2020.
Awards
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| Wins | 28 | |||||||||||||||||||
| Nominations | 28 | |||||||||||||||||||
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Note
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Ranjan Ramanayake has won the Sarasaviya Most Popular Actor Award four times. He has received many other awards for his acting and popularity:
- Sarasaviya – Lux Awards – Most popular Upcoming Actor – 1990.
- Sarasaviya – Most popular New Actor – 1990.
- Sarasaviya Awards – Most Popular Film – 2002.
- Sarasaviya Awards – Most Popular Actor – from 2001 to 2005.
- Sarasaviya Awards – Best Actor – 2006.
- Signis Salutation – Creative Performance (Male) for Nilambare (2007) and Paya enna hiruse (2010).
- 1st Derana Film Awards 2011 – Most popular Actor.
- Slim Nielsen Peoples Actor of the Year multiple times, including 2007, 2008, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2022, and 2023.
- Slim Nielsen Peoples Awards - Actor of the Youth Choice – 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017.
- He was a finalist in Sirasa Dancing Stars.
- 3rd Derana Film Awards 2015 – Most Popular Actor.
- 5th Derana Film Awards 2017 – Most Popular Actor.
See also
- List of political families in Sri Lanka
