Honarary doctorates for Malini, Victor

The queen of the Sinhala cinema turned Parliamentarian Malini Fonseka and veteran singer Victor Ratnayake have been conferred with honorary doctorates by the University of Visual and Performing Arts, in recognition of their outstanding contributions to local art and culture.

They received their doctorates at a special felicitation ceremony, hosted by the University of Visual and Performing Arts, at the BMICH on Friday. Malini Fonseka started her acting career with her stage drama "Noratha Ratha" and entered cinema from the film "Punich Banda" in 1986. she entered the television field in 1983 by acting and directing the teledrama "Nirupamala". She was honoured as the first female director in Sri Lankan teledrama history.

Victor Ratnayake, along with H.A. Karunaratne and Nimal Welgama, were conferred with doctorates for their services to local music, art and dancing respectively.

Higher Education Minister S.B. Dissanayake and the University's Vice Chancellor, Prof. Jayasena Kottegoda were among those present.