Rookantha Gunathilake
| Rookantha Gunathilake (රූකාන්ත ගුණතිලක) |
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|---|---|
| Born |
Mario Glory Rookantha Gunathilake 5 September 1959 Kegalle, Sri Lanka |
| Nationality | Sri Lankan |
| Other names | Ruka |
| Education | St. Anthony's College, Kandy |
| Occupation | Singer, songwriter |
| Spouse(s) | Chandralekha Perera |
| Children | Raini Charuka, Trinita Windy |
Mario Glory Rookantha Gunathilake (Sinhalese: රූකාන්ත ගුණතිලක) (born 5 September 1959) is a Sri Lankan singer and songwriter. He started his career as a solo singer in late 1980s. He frequently duets with his wife Chandralekha Perera. His daughter Raini Charuka Gunathilake is also a singer and an actress.
Rookantha is one of the most successful musicians in Sri Lankan disco industry. His albums have sold around 10,000 copies in Sri Lanka. He is known as the person who changed the Sri Lankan music industry in the 80s with his songs.
Rookantha Gunathilake was born in Kegalle to a middle-class family in Sri Lanka. He loved music from a very young age. As a result, his parents sent him to a music teacher nearby to teach him to play the piano.
Rookantha once said in a radio interview that one of his music teachers at school was not that friendly and punished him several times for not using correct fingering in piano. Also, he found out that he is getting restricted to what the teacher wanted him to learn.
He attended St. Mary's College, Kegalle for primary education. He learned music at his school, St. Anthony's College, Kandy from great musicians such as Stanley Peiris and Cyril Brown.
Rookantha Gunathilake originally pursued a career as a composer in 1976. In 1985, he found himself without a singer to provide vocals on one of his compositions, "Bambara Pahasa." He provided the vocals himself, beginning his career as a singer with a deadline hanging over him.
His fourth album "Charuka", named after his daughter Raini Charuka Gunathilake, was released in 1997.
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