Anjalin Gunathilaka

Angelina Rachel De Lanerolle Sinhalese ඇන්ජලීන් ගුණතිලක 23 December 1939 – 29 March 2019 Popularly Known As Angeline Gunathilake Or Anjalin Gunathilaka Was A Sri Lankan Singer Primarily Involved As A Playback Singer In Sinhala Film Industry. Considered As The Silver Bell Of Sinhala Cinema Gunathilaka Involved For More Than 5000 Playback Songs With A Musical Career That Spanned Nearly Six Decades. She Was As An A-Grade Singer Graduated From Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation. Angeline Gunathilaka Was Born On 23 December 1939 In Matara District As The Seventh Of A Family With 10 Siblings. She Went To St. Mary's Convent Matara For Primary Education. Her Father Worked At Department Of Railways. Due To The Trasferring Of Post Of His Father She Moved To Coloombo At The Age Of 8. Then Attended To St. Thomas' College Kotte For Secondary Education. She Married Leslie Gunathilaka On 29 March 1966. The Couple Has 2 Daughters. Her Grandson Imalka Jude Malwatte Continued In Music Career. At The Age Of 8 Years Gunathilaka Joined The Amateur Programme Of Then Radio Ceylon And Secured The Second Place In A Musical Talent Show. After That She Studied Music Under Maestro Sunil Santha. At The Age Of 13 Years She Was Selected To The Lamapitiya Programme Conducted By Veteran Lyricist And Broadcaster Karunaratne Abeysekera. Gunathilaka Started Her Singing Career With The Solo Song Adara Ambare. While She Performed In Lamapitiya Program She Attended To A Singing Competition Called Tharu Thenuma Organized By Sri Murugan New Art Films. She Won The Competition And Selected For First Playback Singing. Her Debut As A Playback Singer Came Through The Film Sohoyuro Screened In 1958. In The Same Year She Sang First Duet Of Her Career With Sunil Artigla. After That She Collaborated With Morris Dahanayake R. Sivananda And V. Vardaraja For Duets. Apart From Singing She Studied Dance Under The Maestro Panibharatha. She Rose To Prominence Within A Small Period Of Time Where She Met P.L.A Somapala. He Invited Gunathilaka To Record Songs Under HMV Label. She Recorded Songs With Chithra Somapala And Mohideen Baig For The 2500th Buddha Jayanthi Commemoration. Not Only In Buddhist Songs She Involved For Many Christmas Songs In Which She Sung Together With C.T. Fernando Under The Influence Of Father Marcelline Jayakody. She Continued To Blossom In Sri Lankan Music Industry Where She Started To Play Duets With Wally Bastian. She Sang Virindu Songs For The Film Deyyange Rate As Well. From 1958 To 1999 Gunathilaka Devoted Her Voice For Many Actresses Across The Generations Which Included - Florida Jayalath Vijitha Mallika Lina De Silva Sandya Kumari Swarna Kahawita Anoja Weerasinghe Malani Fonseka Sumana Amarasinghe Sonia Disa Kanthi Lanka Manel Wanaguru Sabeetha Perera Sangeetha Weeraratne Dilhani Ekanayake And Many More. With This Vast Range Of Vocal Performances She Holds The Record For The Most Number Of Playback Singing By A Female Singer In Sinhala Cinema. Gunathilaka Was Widely Popularized With The Duet Sang With H.R. Jothipala. The Two Has Contributed To The Vast Number Of Films Across Many Genre.
On 23 August 2014 She Performed A Live In Concert At Bandaranaike Memorial International Conference Hall. Anjalin Gunathilaka Died 29 March 2019. read less