1. Rookantha Gunathilake

Mario Glory Rookantha Goonatillake (Sinhala: රූකාන්ත ගුණතිලක) (born 5 September 1959) is a Sri Lankansinger 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 Goonatillake is also a singer and an actress and Windy Goonatillake upcoming singer as well.

Rookantha is one of the most successful musicians in Sri Lankanpop and sentimental^{[disambiguation needed]} industry. He is known as the king of Pop amongst Sri Lankans^{[according to whom?]} His albums have sold around 15,000 copies in Sri Lanka.^{[citation needed]} He is known as the person who changed the Sri Lankan music industry in the 1980s with his songs.^{[according to whom?]}

• 1Life and career

Life and career[edit]

Rookantha Gunathilaka Songs. A Nuwan Kone. Adara Mage Jesuni. Adare Sanathani. Anatha Maruthe Kunatu Sagare. Ba Ba Ba Badagini. Bambara Pahasa Labana Malak Do. Chandralekha Perera Chandrasena Hettiarachchi Chithra Somapala Christopher Paul Clarence Wijewardena Danapala Udawaththa Dayan Witharana. Mario Glory Rookantha Goonatillake (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. Who changed the Sri Lankan music industry in the 1980s with his songs.

Early years[edit]

Rookantha Goonatillake 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 was 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.

Music[edit]

Rookantha Goonatillake 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.^{[citation needed]}

His fourth album Charuka, named after his daughter Raini Charuka Goonatillake, was released in 1997.^{[citation needed]}

^[1]The exclusive concert of Rookantha and Chandralekha is 'Ru Sanda Rae' which means 'Beauty Moon Night'. Kernel pdf repair. The first concert was staged at the Elphinston Theatre in Colombo, Sri Lanka in February 1993. To-date it has been staged in many places around the globe including Italy, France, Denmark,Sweden, Germany,Australia,New Zealand,Canada, UK, USA, UAE, and many more The 'Ru Sanda Rae' concert has been staged more than 300 times and still counting.^{[citation needed]}

Personal life[edit]

Rookantha is married to singer and former actressChandralekha Perera. They have two daughters, Raini Charuka Goonatillake (born 10 April 1991) and Windy Goonatillake. Since December 2005, Rookantha and Chandralekha reside in New York City with their family.^{[citation needed]}

Most recent tour, Ru Sanda Rae, took place in between 2005 and 2006.^{[citation needed]}

Rookantha Gunathilake

The mega show of 'Rookantha-Chandralekha Live at Stadium' was held in August 2009 at the Sugathadasa Indoor Stadium.^[2] . Many crowds had to turn around as the tickets were SOLD OUT weeks before the concert overcrowding the Sugathadasa Stadium with over 15,000 heads. Since then, the family has been traveling back and forth holding ‘Ru Sanda Rae’ concerts around the country.

Discography[edit]

• Aadara Reka (1983)
• Bambara Pahasa (1988)
• Diganthaye (1992)
• Charuka (1997)
• Mayime Idan
• Rookantha Non-Stop (Ru hedu gee)
• H.R. Jothipala Tribute Album

Singles[edit]

References[edit]

1. ^'Rooka shaken after fire disaster'. Daily Mirror. 2004. Archived from the original on 30 September 2007. Retrieved 6 June 2007.
2. ^Rookantha Chandralekha Live at Stadium^{[unreliable source?]}

External links[edit]

• Rookantha Songs Miyuru Gee Library