Malini Fonseka

Acting

Malini Fonseka

Born — Died

1947-04-30 — 2025-05-24

Place of birth

Colombo, Sri Lanka

Known for

Acting

Credits

29 titles

Wanniarachchige Malini Senehelatha Fonseka, popularly as Malini Fonseka (Sinhala:මාලිනී ෆොන්සේකා) (born 30 April 1947, in Kelaniya) is a Sri Lankan film actress and former member of Sri Lanka Parliament, who became known as the "Queen of Sinhalese cinema". Her cinema career that has spanned seven decades began with Tissa Liyansooriya's Punchi Baba in 1968. She first became widely known when she won the 'Best Actress Award' at the 1969 National State Drama Festival This was followed by Sarasaviya Best Actress Awards for Hingana Kolla in 1980, Aradhana in 1982 and Yasa Isuru in 1983. In 2010, she was named by CNN as one of Asia's 25 greatest film actors of all time.

Known for

Malaki Duwe Numba poster
NR

A renowned YouTuber and single mother's romance with a celebrity author sparks turmoil in her fractured family, forcing her teenage daughter to confront past wounds—until an unexpected act of sacrifice heals long-broken bonds.

Malaki Duwe Numba

2025

Baddegama poster
6.6

Baddegama or, more correctly, Beddegama is a 1980 award winning Sinhalese language film directed by Lester James Peries that follows the lives of village people in British Colonial Sri Lanka. The film is based on the 1913 book titled as "The Village in the Jungle" by Leonard Woolf. Silindu is a hunter in a small village where he and his family endure a life of hardships. After facing disease and poverty under colonial rule, the final blow comes when Silindu is tried for murder.

Baddegama

1980

Dancing Star poster
NR

The story revolves around a young, aspiring dancer named Shiroshi (played by newcomer Shiroshi Romeshika) who enters a competitive dance world. She is guided and groomed for stardom by Ravindra (played by Ravindra Randeniya), a middle-aged mentor figure.

Dancing Star

2009

Thousand Thoughts poster
7.0

Lalith is a chief Clarke of a Government Department. He falls in love with Nilanthi, a newly recruited typist. But Nilanthi is attracted to another handsome young Clarke in the same department named Sagara. Lalith detests this. He starts to suspect each and every act of Sagara and Nilanthi. ‘Dahasak Sithivili’ is based on Lalith’s efforts to prevent himself from getting carried away by these endless suspicions.

Thousand Thoughts

1968

Muwan Pelessa poster
NR

Kadira saves Namali from death. Namali is in love with Uku Banda, an arch rival of Kadira. Kadira saves another woman and keeps her safe. Stories spread around the village about Namali and Kadira. One day Namali finds refuge with Kadira.

Muwan Pelessa

1979

Ayu poster
8.0

After getting in a car accident, a pregnant woman discovers a deadly secret about her life that begins to destroy everything and everyone she loves until she decides to escape her present and journey out digging deep hoping to find answers

Ayu

2025

Film credits

2000s · 6 titles

Dancing Star poster
NR

The story revolves around a young, aspiring dancer named Shiroshi (played by newcomer Shiroshi Romeshika) who enters a competitive dance world. She is guided and groomed for stardom by Ravindra (played by Ravindra Randeniya), a middle-aged mentor figure.

Dancing Star

2009

Flowers of the Sky poster
6.5

A Silver screen idol of yesteryear a faded star today. In the web of a scandal the limelight is all her again. A long forgotten secret resurfaces making her undertake the most painful journey ever.

Flowers of the Sky

2008

Little Angel poster
8.0

Punchi Suranganavi (Little Angel) is a 2002 Sri Lankan Sinhala children's film directed by Somaratne Dissanayake and produced by Renuka Balasooriya. It stars two child artists Tharaka Hettiarachchi and Nithyavani Kandasami in lead roles along with Sriyantha Mendis and Dilani Abeywardana.

Little Angel

2002

Mansion by the Lake poster
6.5

Very loosely based on Anton Chekhov's The Cherry Orchard, Lester James Peries's MANSION BY THE LAKE follows a family of formerly wealthy, expatriate Sri Lankan landowners, now impoverished, as they return from England to the magnificent country estate they left behind.

Mansion by the Lake

2002

Elegy For A Mother poster
NR

Sumanawathie's elder son is a Buddhist monk. Her daughter has run from home and married a man who ignores and quarrels with the daughter. Sumanawathie's younger son Saliya gets a job as a soldier. Sumanawathi gets upset as she is left alone in her house. As the film progresses she gets to know that her son has disappeared during a war operation. Her health declines rapidly. After a long time, Saliya comes again to her home alive. Meanwhile her elder son is killed by terrorists when he travels with a team to distribute goods to the poor people.

Elegy For A Mother

2006

Abá poster
8.0

The childhood story of king Pandukabhaya (474 BC - 367 BC), the 6th monarch of Sri Lanka.

Abá

2008

1980s · 5 titles

1970s · 10 titles

Muwan Pelessa poster
NR

Kadira saves Namali from death. Namali is in love with Uku Banda, an arch rival of Kadira. Kadira saves another woman and keeps her safe. Stories spread around the village about Namali and Kadira. One day Namali finds refuge with Kadira.

Muwan Pelessa

1979

Bambaru Awith poster
7.3

In a fishing village, Anton Aiya is an exploiter who outwardly resembles and acts like a regular fisherman, but he exploits and feeds off the other fishermen. In this setting, members of the urban entrepreneurial youth. They have adapted to Western culture, dressing like Westerners and preferring Western music. Conflict arises between Anton Aiya and Baby Mahattaya (Victor), a representative of the urban youth. A middle-class leftist, Weerasena, is also part of this group. The arrival of these youths has clearly caused a social crisis requiring a solution, and all Weerasena can do is stand on a platform and deliver a speech that no one listens to. He finally leaves for the city.

Bambaru Awith

1978

How to Be an Adult poster
8.0

Susila lives in a small village with her mother and two brothers. Growing up facing the bitterest realities of life, her coming of age is delayed. But once it happens, she instantaneously attracts the attention of the young men in the village leading to conflict.

How to Be an Adult

1975

The Secret poster
NR

Abirahasa is the 231st movie in Sinhala cinema.

The Secret

1971

The Treasure poster
7.0

Based on a short story written by G.B. Senanayake in one of his short story collection known as "The Revenge," the film revolves around a murder committed for the purpose of gaining access to a hidden treasure.

The Treasure

1972

Rebellion poster
10.0

The film centered around the story behind national patriot Veera Puran Appu and his Matale rebellion in 1848 for the freedom from British. Though he was executed by the British by firing squad, his influence to the country's independence has been highly praised and thus Puran Appu is highlighted as a national hero of the Sri Lankan history.

Rebellion

1978

Hathdinnath Tharu poster
NR

Film starring Vijaya Kumaranatunga and Malani Fonseka.

Hathdinnath Tharu

1973

Thushara poster
NR

Sampath, Thushara and Keerthi are batchmates. Sonia is a relation of Sampath. Thushara is Sampath's girl friend at campus. Sonia and Thushara are friends. Sonia's father and Sampath's mother tries to make them marry but Sampath doesn't have any romantic feelings for Sonia. So Sonia and specially her father does things to put apart Thushara and Sampath. One is to tell fake things to Thushara's father about Sampath and make him disappointed. Another one is attacking Sampath at a club. The story goes on as Sampath persists those challenges and finally marries Thushara and at the end of the film we get the feeling that Sonia and Keerthi find love between them too.

Thushara

1973

Pilot Premnath poster
8.0

No synopsis available yet.

Pilot Premnath

1978

Apeksha poster
NR

A romantic story of a youth of lower class and a girl who raised in a wealthy family back ground.

Apeksha

1978

1960s · 2 titles