Last rites of Malini Fonseka with state honours today

The final rites of Sri Lankan cinema icon and veteran actress Malini Fonseka, widely celebrated as the “Queen of Sri Lankan Cinema,” is scheduled to be performed with full state honours this evening (26) at Independence Square in Colombo.

The remains of the late veteran actress lie in state at the Tharangani Hall of the National Film Corporation and is scheduled to be taken to Independence Square, Colombo 07, at 8.00 a.m. today.

Afterward, the public will be given an opportunity to pay their final respects from 9.00 a.m. to 3.00 p.m.

At 3.30 p.m., the body is scheduled to be taken to a special platform built for Buddhist religious rites by artists and past and present students of Gurukula College in Kelaniya, where she studied.

The body will then be taken to the funeral pyre at 5.45 p.m.

Meanwhile, the police have announced that traffic will be restricted in the area around Independence Square due to the funeral of Malini Fonseka.

Accordingly, no road closures will be enforced for the funeral procession or the ceremony. However, traffic entering Nidahas Mawatha from the Independence Roundabout will be restricted for approximately 15 minutes as the funeral procession travels from the Ministry of Public Administration Junction to Independence Square via Nidahas Mawatha.

Veteran actress Malini Fonseka, passed away on May 24 at the age of 78, while receiving treatment at a private hospital in Colombo. 

She first rose to prominence after winning the Best Actress Award at the 1969 National State Drama Festival. Her cinematic acclaim grew rapidly with multiple Sarasaviya Best Actress Awards for her performances in Hingana Kolla (1980), Aradhana (1982), and Yasa Isuru (1983).

Over the years, she acted in nearly 150 films, including international collaborations such as Pilot Premnath (1978), where she starred alongside Indian Tamil cinema legend Sivaji Ganesan.

Internationally, Fonseka was recognized with a Special Jury Award at the Moscow International Film Festival in 1975, and an award at the New Delhi Film Festival in 1977—becoming the first Sri Lankan actress to gain such global recognition. In 2010, she was named one of Asia’s 25 Greatest Film Actors of All Time by CNN.

Honoured both locally and globally, she was a cultural icon whose legacy continues to inspire generations in Sri Lankan arts and cinema.