Background
Iranganie Meedeniya grew up in Moodugomuwa, near Ruwanwella in a tranquil village setting. Against her father a Rate Mahatthaya"s wishes, Meedeniya entered the University of Ceylon in 1947 with the support of her cousins.
Iranganie Meedeniya grew up in Moodugomuwa, near Ruwanwella in a tranquil village setting. Against her father a Rate Mahatthaya"s wishes, Meedeniya entered the University of Ceylon in 1947 with the support of her cousins.
University of Ceylon.
Since her debut in Rekava, Serasinghe has become recognized for playing motherly figures in various films and television serials. Early life and education Her early touches with nature would later lead her to become an environmental activist. While attending Bishop"s College she played in several end-of-term plays.
At Girls" High School, Kandy whilst pursuing a Higher School Certificate. Meedeniya took a leading role in Bernard Show"s Pygmalion.
He died in her first year away at a time when Marxist ideas were the norm.
She immersed herself in the Ceylon theater scene while there under the guidance of Professor East. F. C. Ludowyk. She also became a proficient dancer with lessons from Chitrasena. There with the help of actresses Flora Robson and Sybil Thorndyke, Meedeniya attended Bristol Old Vic Theatre School for a year and the London School of Speech Training and Dramatic Art for two years.
Theater and film Returning to Sri Lanka, Meedeniya met up with Ludowyk and Austrian Jew director Neuman Jubal and got back into theater.The Lionel Wendt Art Centre theater portion of the center opened on 12 December in 1953 with the production of Maxim Gorky"s "The Lower Depths", starring Iranganie Serasinghe and produced by Neuman Jubal.
Doing mainly English roles at first, she started playing in Sinhala theater in Henry Jayasena"s Apata Puthe Magak Nethe and followed with roles in Damma Jagoda"s Sinhala version of A Streetcar Named Desire, Ves Muhunu, and Porisadaya. The following years saw Meedeniya in constantly changing settings–teaching briefly at Musaeus College, working for The Times of Ceylon after returning from London, doing a stint at the SLBC and handling a post in the tourist trade working as a junior executive and guide of Walkers Tours and Travels (Pvt)Limited.
Meedeniya started her carrier in cinema in Lester James Peries "Be Safe or Be Sorry" for the Government Unit. Peries subsequently cast her in his debut feature film Rekava as a mother.
In 1960 Meedeniya married Winston Serasinghe who had appeared in Rekava and some other productions with her.