Giriraj Kaushalya

Silmesthri Giriraj Kaushalya (born November 13, 1964) (Sinhala: ගිරිරාජ් කෞශල්‍ය), popularly known as Giriraj Kaushalya, is a Sri Lankan actor in Sri Lankan cinema, stage drama and television. Highly versatile actor from drama to comedy, Kaushalya also has worked as an assistant director, producer, script writer and a filmmaker.

Kaushalya was born on 13 November 1964 in Kolonnawa, Colombo as the youngest of the family with four siblings. He has three elder brothers and one elder sister. He entered village school in Kolonnawa and then attended to Gurukula Vidyalaya, Kelaniya. His father was an active trade unionist in Ceylon Electricity Board and a member of the Sri Lanka Communist Party represented the Left Movement. He worked in Mahaweli Authority of Sri Lanka before entering to acting. His elder brother Lalith Janakantha is also a renowned actor in stage, television and cinema.

He met his wife Mangalika Fernando during the work in Mahaweli Authority in Lihinyagama, Mahaweli C zone in 1986. She was a draftsman and Kaushalya was a store keeper. They engaged in 1987 and wedding was celebrated in 1988. They both left the work in 1998. The couple has two daughters - Kavindya Nilupuli and Amandya Uthpali. Eldest daughter was born on 1989 and second daughter in 1994.

He got critically ill with leukemia by the end of 2021, where he quit from acting for indefinite period. He was diagnosed with the disease in late October 2021 and in hospitalized for over 40 days at a hospital in 2022.

He worked with veteran actor Sathischandra Edirisinghe in Mahaweli Authority during Mahaweli cultural unit. Then Edirisinghe invited him to play a role in his teledrama Namal Golla, which marked his first appearance in drama career. Then he acted in Kokila Ginna directed again by Edirisinghe.

His entrance to the stage drama was an accident. He used to go for plays with elder brother Lalith. His maiden performance on stage was to stand in for an absent actor in the play Dukgannarala by Prasannajith Abeysuriya. He joined veteran dramatist Somalatha Subasinghe's drama troupe and acted in her stage plays such as Mawakage Sangramaya, Antigany and some children plays like Hima Kumari and Thoppi Welenda.

He continued performed in stage dramas for many years. His popular stage acting came through Somaratne Dissanayake's Mee Pura Wesiyo, Parakrama Niriella's Sekkuwa, Rodney Warnakula's Saranga Naven Evith and Priyantha Seneviratne's Minisa.

In 1997, he got the chance to work as assistant director in popular teledrama Nonavaruni Mahathvaruni directed by Jayaprakash Sivagurunathan. He also acted in some role in the drama as well. He wrote the scripts for a number of popular television comedies like Kathura and Ethuma 1, 2. His maiden television drama direction came through Nana Kamare which was telecasted on Swarnavahini. The serial stars Bandu Samarasinghe and became a hit in that year. He also directed the serial Mithra Samagama telecasted in TV Derana.

Selected stage dramas

• Mawakage Sangramaya
• Antigany
• Mee Pura Wesiyo
• Sekkuwa
• Saranga Nawen Awith
• Minisa
• Saadaya Marai Salli Hamarai
• Comedy Buddy
• Sudu Redi Horu

Selected television serials

Kaushalya started his film career film Sanda Dadayama directed by Asoka Handagama, which is not screened yet. His first screened film is 1999 film Salupata Ahasata directed by Mario Jayathunga. Then he contributed in several blockbuster films such as Sikuru Hathe, Suhada Koka and Maya particularly as a comedian.

His maiden cinematic direction came through Sikuru Hathe in 2007. The film had positive reviews from critics and won several awards at local film festivals.

He is a recipient of awards at several local film festivals.

Raigam Tele'es Awards

Sumathi Awards