Raigam Tele'es


Raigam Tele'es is an award bestowed to distinguished individuals involved with the Sri Lanka's television screen, each year by the Kingdom of Raigam, Sri Lanka in recognition of the various contributions made by them to the Sri Lankan teledrama industry, television programs and media sector in the preceding year. The Raigam Tele'es is one of the most popular television program events in Sri Lanka. The awards were first introduced in 2005 and continuously undertaken without interruptions.

History

Established exclusively for the recognition and appreciation of the efforts and achievements of artists, technicians and everyone associated with the tele-drama industry, Raigam Tele Awards Ceremony this time promises to be the biggest and the best awards ceremony held in Sri Lanka.

Awards given

In 2005, the award ceremony was started with 19 award which was increased up to 52 awards in 2011. The awards are categorized into four sections as Best Award category, Popular Award category, Talent Awards and Prathibha Prabha Award. In 2010 Raigam Tele'es, award for the popular mega teledrama was given to Ithin Eeta Passe directed by Chandika Wijayasena and produced by ITN and Nilwala Video Team. However, the award did not given in next years.

Best awards

1st Raigam Tele'es 2004

The first Raigam Tele'es Awards ceremony was celebrated on 8 December 2005 at the BMICH. During the ceremony, 19 awards were given under 2 categories. The teledramas that were telecast from January 1 to December 31, 2004 were selected for the ceremony. The teledramas should be less than 50 episodes and must be locally produced. The final date to submit the dramas with VHS or CD copies was August 30.

2nd Raigam Tele'es 2005

The second Raigam Tele'es Awards ceremony was celebrated in 2006. During the festival, Suminda Sirisena won the Best Actor award and Chandani Seneviratne won the Best Actress Award.

3rd Raigam Tele'es 2006

The third Raigam Tele'es Awards ceremony was celebrated on 18 May 2007 at the BMICH. The judge panel was headed by Senior Lecturer of Kelaniya University, Dr. Patrick Ratnayake. 30 Awards were awarded with cash prizes.

4th Raigam Tele'es 2007

The fourth Raigam Tele'es Awards ceremony was celebrated o 9 May 2008 at 7.00 p.m. at the BMICH. Speaker W.J.M. Lokubandara participated as Chief Guest. In the best award category, Raigam Tele'es Award for the best teledrama actor was won by Vishwajith Gunasekara and best teledrama actress was Chandani Seneviratne. In popular award category, Amila Abeysekara won the most popular actor award, whereas Chathurika Peiris won the most popular actress award. The Prathibha Prabha award was given to veteran media personality Shan Wickremesinghe of TNL for his contribution to the Sri Lankan television media.

5th Raigam Tele'es 2008

The fifth Raigam Tele'es Awards ceremony was celebrated on 16 May 2009 at BMICH, where 38 awards were given at the ceremony under 4 categories. In the best award category, Raigam Tele'es Award for the best teledrama actor was won by Janak Premalal and best teledrama actress was Nilmini Tennakoon. In popular award category, Amila Abeysekara won the most popular actor award, whereas Nehara Peiris won the most popular actress award.< The Prathibha Prabha award was given to veteran director Titus Thotawatte. Out of 38 awards given, teledrama Karuwala Gedara won 8 awards including best actor, actress, director, script and television series.

6th Raigam Tele'es 2009

The Press Conference for the 6th Raigam Tele Awards Ceremony was held on 9 February 2010 at the Galle Face hotel. The Awards ceremony was celebrated on 7 May 2010 at the Sri Lanka Exhibition and Convention Centre. In the best award category, Raigam Tele'es Award for the best teledrama actor was won by Jayalath Manoratne and best teledrama actress was Duleeka Marapana. In popular award category, Menaka Rajapakse won the most popular actor award, whereas Nehara Peiris won the most popular actress award for the second consecutive time. The Prathibha Prabha award was given to veteran actor Sathischandra Edirisinghe for his contribution to the performing arts of Sri Lanka. Out of the awards given, teledrama Karuwala Gedera won eight awards including best actor, best director, best cameraman and best art director.

7th Raigam Tele'es 2010

The Press Conference for the 7th Raigam Tele Awards Ceremony was held on 18 January 2011 at the Grand Oriental Hotel. The Awards ceremony was celebrated on 13 May 2011 at the Sugathadasa Indoor Stadium.

8th Raigam Tele'es 2011

The Press Conference for the 8th Raigam Tele Awards Ceremony was held on 10 January 2012 at the Grand Oriental Hotel. The Awards ceremony was celebrated on 11 May 2012 at the Grand Banquet Hall of Waters Edge. In the best award category, Raigam Tele'es Award for the best teledrama actor was won by Bimal Jayakody and best teledrama actress was Damitha Abeyratne. In popular award category, Saranga Disasekara won the most popular actor award, whereas Nehara Peiris won the most popular actress award for the fourth consecutive year. The Prathibha Prabha award was given to veteran actor, script writer and novelist Tony Ranasinghe. Out of the awards given, teledrama Swayanjatha won many awards including best actress, supporting actor, best female singer and best music director.

9th Raigam Tele'es 2012

The Press Conference for the 9th Raigam Tele Awards Ceremony was held on 27 February 2013 at the Sri Lanka Foundation Institute, Colombo. The Awards ceremony was celebrated on 17 May 2013 at the Water's Edge. 57 awards were given at the ceremony. 568 applications were considered for the awards, which is recorded as the most number of applications received for the Raigam Tele'es. In the best award category, Raigam Tele'es Award for the best teledrama actor was won by Sriyantha Mendis and best teledrama actress was Kanchana Mendis. In popular award category, Saranga Disasekara won the most popular actor award for the second consecutive time, whereas Asha Edirisinghe won the most popular actress award. The Prathibha Prabha award was given to veteran director and artist Dharmasena Pathiraja.

10th Raigam Tele'es 2013

The Press Conference for the 10th Raigam Tele Awards Ceremony was held on 11 February 2014 at the Sri Lanka Foundation Institute. For the first time, a Nominations Ceremony was held on 6 June 2014 at the BMICH. Honorable Minister for Cultural Affairs T.B.Ekanayake took part as the chief guest. The Awards ceremony was celebrated on 6 June 2014 at the Water's Edge with the participation of former Prime Minister and Senior Minister for Good Governance and Infrastructure Development Honorable Ratnasiri Wickramanayake as the chief guest. 56 awards were given under five categories. In the best award category, Sumathi Award for the best teledrama actor was won by Jackson Anthony and best teledrama actress was Nilukshi Fernando. In popular award category, Jagath Chamila won the most popular actor award, whereas Asha Edirisinghe won the most popular actress award. The Prathibha Prabha award was given to the veteran dramatist Jayalath Manoratne. Out of 46 awards given, teledrama Appachchi won 9 awards, including best director, script and television series.

11th Raigam Tele'es 2014

The Press Conference for the 11th Raigam Tele Awards Ceremony was held on 27 January 2015 at the Sri Lanka Foundation Institute. The Nominations Ceremony was held on 26 May 2015 at the Kingsbury Hotel, Colombo. The Awards ceremony was celebrated on 12 June 2015 at the Nelum Pokuna Theatre. Chief Guest of the Evening was the Former Prime Minister and Senior Minister for Good Governance and Infra-structure Facilities Hon. Ratnasiri Wickramanayake. 55 awards were given under five categories. In the best award category, Raigam Tele'es Award for the best teledrama actor was won by Vishwajith Gunasekara and best teledrama actress was Chandani Seneviratne. In popular award category, Saranga Disasekara won the most popular actor award, whereas Udari Warnakulasooriya won the most popular actress award. The Prathibha Prabha award was given to veteran actor Cyril Wickramage.

12th Raigam Tele'es 2015

The Nominations Ceremony for the 12th Raigam Tele Awards Ceremony was held on 13 May 2016 at the Kingsbury Hotel, Colombo. The Awards ceremony was celebrated on 3 June 2016 at the Nelum Pokuna Theatre. Chief Guest of the Evening was His Excellency the President Maithreepala Sirisena. 47 awards were given under five categories. In the best award category, Raigam Tele'es Award for the best teledrama actor was won by Roshan Ravindra and best teledrama actress was Menaka Peiris. In popular award category, Saranga Disasekara won the most popular actor award, whereas Shalani Tharaka won the most popular actress award. The Prathibha Prabha award was given to the veteran cinema actor, Ravindra Randeniya. Out of 47 awards given, teledrama Daskon won 14 awards, including best supporting actor, director, script and television series.

13th Raigam Tele'es 2016

The Press Conference for the 13th Raigam Tele Awards Ceremony was held on 7 February 2017 at the Sri Lanka Foundation Institute. The Nominations Ceremony was held on 19 May 2017 at the Kingsbury Hotel, Colombo. Previously the award ceremony was scheduled to be held on 3 June 2017 at Nelum Pokuna Theatre, but due to unfavorable weather conditions prevailed in the country, it was postponed. The Awards ceremony was celebrated on 24 June 2017 at the Nelum Pokuna Theatre. 57 awards were given under five categories. In the best award category, Raigam Tele'es Award for the best teledrama actor was won by Pubudu Chathuranga and best teledrama actress was Umali Thilakarathne. In popular award category, Ruwan Perera won the most popular actor award, whereas Nayanathara Wickramarachchi won the most popular actress award. The Prathibha Prabha award was given to the Queen of Sinhala cinema, Malini Fonseka. Out of 38 awards given, teledrama One Way won 14 awards, including best actor, actress, director, script and television series.

14th Raigam Tele'es 2017

The Press Conference for the 14th Raigam Tele Awards Ceremony and Nominations was held on 12 March 2018 at the Sri Lanka Foundation Institute. Nomination Ceremony was held on 9 March 2018, where nominations for 18 awards under “Excellence in Tele-drama” category, and 19 awards under “Excellence in Television Media Programmes” category were announced. At the nomination evening, first ever Sri Lankan mobile app was launched as well to vote popular category actor, actress and teledrama. The Award ceremony was held on 24 March 2018 at Nelum Pokuna Theatre. The ceremony awarded 57 awards which included 11 jury awards, 20 media excellence awards, 23 teledrama excellence awards and 3 special excellence awards. In the best award category, Raigam Tele'es Award for the best teledrama actor was won by Mahendra Perera and best teledrama actress was Nadee Kammalweera. In popular award category, Thumindu Dodantenna won the most popular actor award. For the second consecutive time, Nayanathara Wickramarachchi won the most popular actress award. The Prathibha Prabha award was given to the veteran dramatist, Wijeratne Warakagoda. Out of 57 awards given, teledrama Badde Kulawamiya won 12 awards, including best actor, actress, director, script and television series.

15th Raigam Tele'es 2018

The 15th Raigam Tele'es Award Ceremony was held on 23 March 2019 at Nelum Pokuna theater by celebrating crystal jubilee. Nomination Ceremony was held in March 2019 at Kingsbury Hotel, Colombo. Critically acclaimed teledrama Koombiyo awarded as the best teledrama of the year. A new award was given to the Best tele film, which was won by Giri Durga by Diluka Prasad telecasted by TV Derana. TV Derana along with Sirasa TV jointly won the award for the best program provider channel of the year. Award for the best dubbing program won by Adhiraja Dharmashoka of TV Derana. Program Kalabara of ITN won the award for the best magazine program.
The ceremony awarded 59 awards which included 11 jury awards, 20 media excellence awards, 25 teledrama excellence awards and 3 special excellence awards. In the best award category, Raigam Tele'es Award for the best teledrama actor was won by Roshan Ravindra and best teledrama actress was Chandani Seneviratne. In popular award category, Raween Kanishka won the most popular actor award. For the third consecutive time, Nayanathara Wickramarachchi won the most popular actress award. The Prathibha Prabha award was given to the veteran actress, Sriyani Amarasena. Out of 59 awards given, teledrama Koombiyo won 7 awards, including best upcoming actor, supporting actor, director, editing and television series.

16th Raigam Tele'es 2019

The 16th Raigam Tele Awards nominations ceremony was held at the Kingsbury Hotel recently. The theme of this year's Raigam Festival is "16 Independence". The Award Ceremony will be held on 21 March 2020 at Nelum Pokuna theater.