Vijaya Ramanayake
| Vijaya Ramanayake | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Wijasiri Prathapasinghe Ramanayake |
| Also known as | Vijay Ramanayake, Vijaya Ramanayaka |
| Born |
1 April 1945 Matara, Sri Lanka |
| Died | 26 October 2016 (aged 71) Colombo, Sri Lanka |
| Occupation(s) | film producer, music producer, songwriter, journalist, author |
| Labels | Tharanga |
Vijaya Ramanayake (Sinhalese: විජය රාමනායක ; 1 April 1945 – 26 October 2016) is a Sri Lankan film and music producer, songwriter, journalist and author. He was the founder and producer of Tharanga Music and Film. Ramanayake was the first to introduce compact cassette tapes to Sri Lanka.
Vijaya Ramanayake was born 1 April 1945 in Matara, Sri Lanka to Don Deonis Ramanayake (Dondra Head Lighthousekeeper) and Dona Coraneliya Wimala. In his late teens, Ramanayake came to Colombo and worked as an advertising canvasser for the Lakehouse newspaper organisation and then as a journalist. Ramanayake authored two books, one of which is a children's book.
In 1978, Ramanayake began Tharanga Records, and quickly dominated the music market. He produced music for several popular Sri Lankan musicians including W. D. Amaradeva, Clarence Wijewardena, Vijaya Kumarathunge, Milton Perera and Neela Wickramasinghe. Under the Tharanga label he released Sri Lanka's first audio cassette; Milton Mallawarachchi's Anytime, Anywhere. In the late 1970s and 1980s many of the country's top hits where produced and in some cases even written by Ramanayake. The countries key classical music titles are owned and distributed under the Tharanga label.
In the early 1980s Ramanayake expanded the Tharanga label into production and distribution of popular feature films in Sri Lanka.
His first film in 1981 Aradhana (Invitation) is a tale of love, separation and reconciliation, directed by Wijaya Dharmasri and featuring Malani Fonseka, Ravindra Randeniya, Anoja Weerasinghe and Ramanayake's then 3-year-old son Tharanga. The film was both a critical and a popular success.
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