Menaka Rajapakse

Menake Rajapakse
Born
Walimuni Mudiyanselage Menake Hemaal Rajapakse

(1983-05-24) 24 May 1983 (age 41)
Kelaniya, Sri Lanka
Alma materSt Peter's College, Colombo
Occupation(s)Actor, model
Years active2005 - present
Height5 ft 10 in (178 cm)
Spouse(s)Virangi Siriwardena (2010-2013)
Nehara Peiris (2014-present)
AwardsMost Popular teledrama actor 2009, 2010, 2011
Peoples Youth Actor of the Year 2012

Walimuni Mudiyanselage Menake Hemaal Rajapakse (මේනක රාජපක්ශ: born 24 May 1983), popularly as Menaka Rajapaksa, is a Sri Lankan teledrama and film actor as well as a model. He was first cast in 2005 as one of the main actors, but the role changed into a lead, in the teledrama Sanda Mudunata, which was telecast on Swarnavahini in 2005.

He had acted in more than 30 teledramas and 3 films as of 2015.[1]

Early life

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Menake is the second child of his family. His father Ivan Rajapakse was an executive who worked in the hotel industry and died in 2004. His mother Zareena Allang, is a Malay and was a teacher at Wycherly International School.[citation needed] He is a past pupil of St. Peter's College, Colombo.[citation needed]

Career

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He was first sighted by a teledrama producer Samy Pavel during a SAAF Games in 2005. He is a competitive swimmer and broke a national level record.[2]

In 2005, Menaka was selected for a main role in the teledrama Sanda Mudunata directed by Samy Pavel.[3]

He became popular in 2008, in the teledrama Muthu Kirilli and then acted in many television serials such as Ran Dam Wal,[4] Monara Kadadasi and Adare Ahasa Tharam.[5] His first film was Sinhawalokanaya, a sport-drama film. He also acted in the crime thriller film Train to Kandy.[6]

Selected television serials

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  • Adare Ahasa Tharam
  • Ahas Maliga
  • Amanda
  • Ammawarune
  • Ayemath Adaren[7]
  • Bharyawo[8]
  • Divyadari
  • Isira Bhawana
  • Jeewa Chakra [9]
  • Kumee
  • Monara Kadadasi
  • Muthu Kirilli
  • Piyasa
  • Queen
  • Ralla Veralata Adarei
  • Ran Dam Wal
  • Sanda Mudunata
  • Sihina Piyapath
  • Situ Medura [10]
  • Lanvee

Personal life

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Menaka married Virangi Siriwardena in 2010. They divorced in 2013,.[11] He is married to fellow actress Nehara Peiris in 2014. Nehara and Menaka acted in lead roles on many occasions. They first met in Muthu Kirilli, and followed in Amanda, Bharyawo, Ammawarune,[12] Situ Medura and others. The couple has two children.

Filmography

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Year Film Role Ref.
2016 Sinhawalokanaya Dhanuka Wickramasinghe [13]
2021 Apata Sadunu Ape Lokaya [14]
TBD Pirimi Adarayak [15]

References

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  1. ^ "Sri Lankan Actors". Films.lk. Retrieved 11 March 2017.
  2. ^ "Menaka Rajapaksha - මේනක රාජපක්ෂ". Pahansara blog. Retrieved 11 March 2017.[unreliable source?]
  3. ^ "Story of 'Sanda Mudunata'". Sunday Times. Retrieved 25 July 2019.
  4. ^ "රන් දම්වැල් ස්වාධීන රූපවාහිනියේ". Sarasaviya. Retrieved 11 March 2017.
  5. ^ "Muthu and Menaka as lovers in Adare Ahasa Tharam". Sarasaviya. Retrieved 17 November 2017.
  6. ^ "Thrillers and chillers!". Daily News. Retrieved 2 May 2011.
  7. ^ "Ayemath Adaren back". Sarasaviya. Retrieved 15 August 2019.
  8. ^ ""Bharyavo" now on Sirasa". Sarasaviya. Retrieved 15 August 2019.
  9. ^ "'Jeewa Chakra' brings world-renowned literature on miniscreen". Sunday Times. Retrieved 11 December 2019.
  10. ^ "'Situ Medura' conflicts of crumbling class". Retrieved 31 December 2019.
  11. ^ "He cares me always". Sarasviya. Retrieved 27 September 2015.
  12. ^ "On location of Ammawarune". Sarasviya. Archived from the original on 14 March 2018. Retrieved 27 September 2015.
  13. ^ "Is Sinhawalokanaya a Bollywood copy?". Sarasaviya. Retrieved 17 November 2017.
  14. ^ "Apata Sadunu Ape Lokaya". Sarasaviya. Retrieved 1 October 2020.
  15. ^ "ගැහැනු හැමදාම දැනෙන්න හෙව්වේ පිරිමි ආදරයක්". Sarasaviya. Retrieved 23 October 2023.
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