Mario Glory Rookantha Goonatillake is a Sri Lankansinger and songwriter. He started his career as a solo singer in late 1980s. He frequently performs duets with his wife, Chandralekha Perera. His daughters Raini Charuka and Windy are both singers. Rookantha is one of the most successful musicians in Sri Lankan pop and industry. He is known as the King of Pop amongst Sri Lankans His albums have sold around 15,000 copies in Sri Lanka. He is known as the person who changed the Sri Lankan music industry in the 1980s with his songs.
Life and career
Early years
Rookantha Goonatillake was born in Kegalle to a middle-class family in Sri Lanka. He loved music from a very young age. As a result, his parents sent him to a music teacher nearby to teach him to play the piano. Rookantha once said in a radio interview that one of his music teachers at school was not that friendly and punished him several times for not using correct fingering in piano. Also, he found out that he was getting restricted to what the teacher wanted him to learn. He attended St. Mary's College, Kegalle for primary education. He learned music at his school, St. Anthony's College, Kandy from great musicians such as Stanley Peiris and Cyril Brown.
Music
Rookantha Goonatillake originally pursued a career as a composer in 1976. In 1985, he found himself without a singer to provide vocals on one of his compositions, "Bambara Pahasa." He provided the vocals himself, beginning his career as a singer. His fourth album Charuka, named after his daughter, Raini Charuka, was released in 1997. The exclusive concert of Rookantha and Chandralekha is 'Ru Sanda Rae' which means "Beauty Moon Night". The first concert was staged at the Elphinston Theatre in Colombo, Sri Lanka in February 1993. To-date it has been staged in many places around the globe including Italy, France, Denmark, Sweden, Germany, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, UK, USA, and the UAE. The 'Ru Sanda Rae' concert has been staged more than 300 times and still counting.
Personal life
Rookantha is married to singer and former actress Chandralekha Perera. They have two daughters, Raini Charuka and Windy. Since December 2005, Rookantha and Chandralekha reside in New York City with their family. Most recent tour, Ru Sanda Rae, took place in between 2005 and 2006. The mega show of 'Rookantha-Chandralekha Live at Stadium' was held in August 2009 at the Sugathadasa Indoor Stadium. Many crowds had to turn around as the tickets were sold out weeks before the concert overcrowding the Sugathadasa Stadium with over 15,000 people. Since then, the family has been traveling back and forth holding ‘Ru Sanda Rae’ concerts around the country.
