{{short description|Sri Lankan filmmaker (1949–2026)}} {{Infobox person | name = Sena Samarasinghe <br/>සේන සමරසිංහ | other_names = | image = | image_size = | alt = | caption = | birth_date = {{Birth date|1937|11|25|df=yes}} | birth_name = Nandasena Samarasinghe | birth_place = Kegalle, British Ceylon | death_date = {{death date and age|2026|1|29|1937|11|25|df=yes}} | death_place = Kegalle, Sri Lanka | resting_place = | resting_place_coordinates = <!-- {{coord|LAT|LONG|display=inline,title}} --> | education = S. Thomas' College, Bandarawela <br>S. Thomas' College, Gurutalawa | years_active = 1968–2010 | party = | spouse = Leela Samarakoon | children = 5 | relatives = Bandu Samarasinghe | awards = Rana Thisara Award | signature = | website = | footnotes = | occupation = Director, producer, businessman }}

'''Nandasena Samarasinghe''' (25 November 1937 – 29 January 2026) ({{langx|si|සේන සමරසිංහ}}) was a Sri Lankan filmmaker and film producer in Sri Lankan cinema.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Filmmakers of Sinhala Cinema: Sena Samarasinghe |url=https://www.films.lk/sinhala-cinema-artist-sena-samarasinghe-684.html |access-date=2026-02-13 |website=films.lk}}</ref><ref name= careerlife>{{Cite web |title=සරසවිය සම්මානය නිසා අලුත් චිත්‍රපටයක් කරන්න හිතෙනවා: ප්‍රවීණ සිනමාවේදී සේන සමරසිංහ |url=https://sarasaviya.lk/සරසවිය-සම්මානය-නිසා-අලුත/ |access-date=2026-02-22 |website=sarasaviya.lk}}</ref> In a career spanned for about three decades, Samarasinghe directed 16 films in various genres and introduced many actors, actresses and musicians who later became stars in Sinhala cinema.<ref name= life>{{Cite web |title=Veteran film director Sena Samarasinghe passes away |url=http://www.adaderana.lk/news.php?nid=117765 |access-date=2021-06-03 |website=adaderana.lk}}</ref><ref name= career>{{Cite web |title=ජනපි‍්‍රය සිනමාවේ ස්වර්ණමය පරිච්ඡේදයක නිම���ව |url=https://sarasaviya.lk/ජනපි්රය-සිනමාවේ-ස්වර්ණ/ |access-date=2026-02-22 |website=sarasaviya.lk}}</ref>

==Personal life== He was born on 13 April 1948 in Randeniya, Kegalle, British Ceylon as the eldest of the family.<ref name= careerlife /> He received his primary education from Mahamaya Girls' College, Kandy and then from S. Thomas' College, Bandarawela.<ref name= career /> He completed his GCE Ordinary Level from S. Thomas' College, Gurutalawa.<ref>{{Cite web |title=ප්‍රවීණ චිත්‍රපට අධ්‍යක්ෂ සේන සමරසිංහ දිවි ගමනට සමුදෙයි |url=https://www.dinamina.lk/2026/01/29/breaking-news/260165/ප්රවීණ-චිත්රපට-අධ්යක්-2/ |access-date=2026-02-22 |website=dinamina.lk}}</ref> During school times, he excelled in sports Tennis, volleyball, cricket, swimming as well as education.<ref name= life />

His father was from Matara area and married a woman from the Rambukkana area and started an oil mill. His mother died when he was 13 years old. His father also got severely ill several times with heart failure, so focused on business at very young age.<ref name= career /> He had two younger sisters and two younger brothers.<ref name= careerlife />

Apart from cinema, he engaged as a businessman in the Rambukkana area with many businesses such as a tile factory, a garment factory, an engineering factory, an oil mill, a private bus service called Kegalle Tours.<ref name= songs>{{Cite web |title= Veteran Filmmaker Sena Samarasinghe passes away|url=https://dailynews.lk/2026/01/29/local/942240/veteran-filmmaker-sena-samarasinghe-passes-away/ |access-date=2026-02-13 |website=dailynews.lk}}</ref> He was first married to Helpandeniya Walawwe Leela Samarakoon.<ref name= career /> The couple has two daughters and son. After his wife died, he married a second time where he has a daughter and a son from that marriage.<ref name= careerlife />

In 1971, his house was set on fire. So, he stayed with his family for a few days at the house of Stanley Abeyratne in Welisara, a friend from Lake House. After few months, he came back to Rambukkana and started his business.<ref name= career />

==Career== After completing school education, he engaged with cinema under the guidance of his friend Gamini Fonseka. When he resided in Abeyratne's house, Sena used to visit studios and observed how films are made.<ref name= career /> During this period, he met Milton Jayawardena and told about his intentions to produce a film.<ref name= careerlife /> In 1973, he became the producer of the blockbuster film ''Sadahatama Oba Mage'' directed by Milton Jayawardena.<ref name= songs /> With the film, he introduced his nephew Bandu Samarasinghe to the cinema,<ref>{{Cite web |title=ඔයා වැඩිකල් ජීවත්වෙයි කියලා ඔයා හිතනවද? ජෝ දවසක් බන්දුගෙන් අහලා|url=https://www.deshaya.lk/article/52/හදසර/21759/ඔයා-වැඩිකල්-ජීවත්වෙයි-කියලා-ඔයා-හිතනවද---ජෝ-දවසක්-බන්දුගෙන්-අහලා|access-date=2026-02-22 |website=deshaya.lk}}</ref> where he later became a legend in comedy films as well as the musician Sarath Dassanayake.<ref name= life /><ref>{{Cite web |title=අපි ඔබව කැන්දන් යන්නෙ රන් මල්මාලා දාලා…!|url=https://sinhala.mawratanews.lk/news/cinematographer-sena-samarasinghe-who-enriched-sinhala-cinema-with-its-traditional-style-celebrates-his-eighty-sixth-birthday-sri-lanka-latest-news/|access-date=2026-02-22 |website=mawratanews.lk}}</ref>

His maiden film direction came through the film ''Kasthuri Suwanda'' in 1974,<ref>{{Cite web |title=කස්තුරි සුවඳ තැවරෙන සිනෙ ඡායාව අද|url=https://www.dinamina.lk/2023/08/18/featured/15035/කස්තුරි-සුවඳ-තැවරෙන-සිනෙ/|access-date=2026-02-22 |website=dinamina.lk}}</ref> which became very popular.<ref name= life /> With that success, he directed the films in the same year ''Nilla Soya'' and ''Susee''. With his film, he released several popular film songs such as “Bodhiye Viharaye”, “Hada Viman Dorin”, “Kendan Yannam Ran Mal Mala Daala” and “Nilla Nagana Swarna Kikini Rawe”.<ref name= songs /> In 1978, he directed the film ''Asha Desin'', where the film included five popular songs including, "Muwa Madahase", "Ananga Ran Gee", and "Vikasitha Pathuman". After that success, he then directed ''Mal Kekulu'' in 1980 and ''Chanchala Rekha'' in 1981.<ref>{{Cite web |title=ගාමිණීට ජෝති වෙනුවට මිල්ටන් පෑහුණු දා සිට…- නිශාන්ත ගම්මුදුවත්ත|url=https://www.slleader.lk/entertainment/7136-2022-06-19-08-24-49|access-date=2026-02-22 |website=slleader.lk}}</ref><ref name= career /> The film ''Chanchala Rekha'' made a hallmark in Sinhala film songs,<ref name= careerlife /> where many popular songs were recorded for the film, such as: "Keena Dam Mitak", "Mee Amba Aththe Koho Koho" and "Hasa Kelum Udawe".<ref name= career /><ref>{{Cite web |title=දංචූටි නිසා වෙළෙන්දන් අපට බඩු අඩු මිලට දුන්නා |url=https://sarasaviya.lk/දංචූටි-නිසා-වෙළෙන්දන්-අප/ |access-date=2026-02-22 |website=sarasaviya.lk}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=එක මවු කුසයේ උපදීවා |url=https://sarasaviya.lk/එක-මවු-කුසයේ-උපදීවා/ |access-date=2026-02-22 |website=sarasaviya.lk}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=ඇරිෆ්ලෙක්ස් කැමරාව දුටු සුදු ජාතික කාන්තාවට සැමියා සිහි වෙයි |url=https://sarasaviya.lk/ඇරිෆ්ලෙක්ස්-කැමරාව-දුටු/ |access-date=2026-02-22 |website=sarasaviya.lk}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=ඇස් නැති මා නුඹේ ඇසින් ඒ ලස්සන දුටුවා ඒත් නුඹේ රුව දකිනට මදි මා පින් කෙරුවා|url=https://sarasaviya.lk/ඇස්-නැති-මා-නුඹේ-ඇසින්-ඒ-ලස/ |access-date=2026-02-22 |website=sarasaviya.lk}}</ref>

He later contributed with another song creations to Sri Lankan cinema through his films such as ''Aethin Aethata'' (1983), ''Yali Hamuwennai'' (1986) and ''Bambara Kalape'' (1991) including: "Kandam Yannam Ranmal", "Bodhiye Viharaye" and "Obai Matai Mawu". Meanwhile, he started to work with Pakistan as a co-producer to bring foreign exchange to the country and develop Sinhala cinema and made the films: ''Sadākal Oba Radēvā'', ''Sinha Pataw'' (1986), ''Dōnkāraya'' (1987), ''Ayyā Nagō'' (1988), ''Sebaliyō'' (1989), ''Oṭṭuyi Bæruvaṭa'' (1993), ''Sāgara Peraḷiya'' (1998) and ''Okkoma Kapatiyo'' (1999).<ref name= career /><ref name= careerlife /> Almost all of his films were screened more than 100 days in theatres.<ref>{{Cite web |title=ජනප්‍රියත්ව සම්ප්‍රදාය සිනමාවට ගෙනා|url=https://www.divaina.lk/breaking-news/57704|access-date=2026-02-22 |website=divaina.lk}}</ref>

Other than film production, Samarasinghe also involved in producing cassettes.<ref name= career />

In 2023, he was honored with Rana Thisara Award for the contribution to the Sinhala cinema.<ref name= songs /><ref name= career /> In September 2024, he was honored with cash prizes and award certificates at the 1st Award festival conducted by Ceylon Artists Council.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Ceylon Artists Council සම්මාන උලෙළ|url=https://sarasaviya.lk/ceylon-artists-council-සම්මාන-උලෙළ/|access-date=2026-02-22 |website=sarasaviya.lk}}</ref>

==Death== Sena Samarasinghe died on 29 January 2026 at the age of 88.<ref>{{Cite web |title=සේන සමරසිංහ දිවි ගමනට සමුදෙයි |url=https://www.divaina.lk/main-news/57841 |access-date=2026-02-22 |website=divaina.lk}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Veteran film director Sena Samarasinghe passes away |url=http://www.adaderana.lk/news.php?nid=117765 |access-date=2026-02-22 |website=adaderana.lk}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Veteran Filmmaker Sena Samarasinghe passes away|url=https://dailynews.lk/2026/01/29/local/942240/veteran-filmmaker-sena-samarasinghe-passes-away/ |access-date=2026-02-22 |website=dailynews.lk}}</ref>

==Filmography== {| class="wikitable" |- ! Year !! Film !! Roles !! Ref. |- | 1973 || ''Sadahatama Oba Mage'' || Producer || |- | 1974 || ''Kasthuri Suwanda'' || Director || <ref>{{Cite web |title=''කස්තුරි සුවඳ'' සිකුරාදා රූපවාහිනියෙන්|url=https://mirrorarts.lk/news/6674-2023-08-17-10-33-00|access-date=2026-02-22 |website=mirrorarts.lk}}</ref> |- | 1974 || ''Susee'' || Director || |- | 1976 || ''Nilla Soya'' || Director, producer || <ref>{{Cite web |title=සිංහල සිනමා විස්තරය - 75|url=https://archives.sarasaviya.lk/2012/08/09/?fn=sa1208096|access-date=2026-02-22 |website=sarasaviya.lk}}</ref> |- | 1978 || ''Asha Dasin'' || Director, producer || |- | 1980 || ''Mal Kekulu'' || Director, assistant producer || <ref>{{Cite web |title=සිංහල සිනමා විස්තරය - 94|url=https://archives.sarasaviya.lk/2013/07/25/?fn=sa13072516 |access-date=2026-02-22 |website=sarasaviya.lk}}</ref> |- | 1981 || ''Chanchala Rekha'' || Director, producer || <ref>{{cite web | url=https://sarasaviya.lk/ඇස්-නැති-මා-නුඹේ-ඇසින්-ඒ-ලස/ | title=ඇස් නැති මා නුඹේ ඇසින් ඒ ලස්සන දුටුවා ඒත් නුඹේ රුව දකිනට මදි මා පින් කෙරුවා | publisher=Sarasaviya | access-date=2 May 2026}}</ref> |- | 1983 || ''Aethin Aethata'' || Director, producer || <ref>{{Cite web |title=හොර තාපසයාට මල්, පහන්, පලතුරු පූජා|url=https://archives.sarasaviya.lk/2015/01/22/?fn=sa1501223 |access-date=2026-02-22 |website=sarasaviya.lk}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=සිංහල සිනමා විස්තරය - 122|url=https://archives.sarasaviya.lk/2013/07/25/?fn=sa13072516|access-date=2026-02-22 |website=sarasaviya.lk}}</ref> |- | 1986 || ''Sinha Pataw'' || Director, co-producer || |- | 1986 || ''Yali Hamuwennai'' || Director || |- | 1987 || ''Donkaraya'' || Director, co-producer || |- | 1988 || ''Ayya Nago'' || Director, co-producer || |- | 1989 || ''Sebaliyo'' || Director, co-producer || |- | 1991 || ''Bambara Kalape'' || Director, producer || |- | 1993 || ''Ottui Baruwata'' || Director, co-producer || |- | 1998 || ''Sagara Peraliya'' || Director, co-producer || |- | 1999 || ''Okkoma Kapatiyo'' || Director, co-producer || |}

==References== {{reflist|30em}}

==External links== * {{IMDb name|id=nm5552930}} * [https://archives.sarasaviya.lk/2017/06/15/?fn=sa1706156 සදාදර සිනමාකරු සේන සමරසිංහ]

{{authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Samarasinghe, Sena}} Category:1949 births Category:2026 deaths Category:Sri Lankan film directors Category:Sri Lankan film producers Category:People from Kegalle District