Athula Adhikari
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Athula Adhikari අතුල අධිකාරි | |
|---|---|
| Born | Adhikari Mudalige Pubudu Athula Adikari 8 March 1966 |
| Occupations | Singer, composer |
| Spouses | Samitha Mudunkotuwa
(m. 1991; div. 2009)Amaya Adhikari
(m. 2009; div. 2014) |
| Children | 3 |
| Parents |
|
| Relatives | Premadasa Mudunkotuwa (father-in-law) Nelu Adhikari (sister) Kapila Poogalarachchi (brother-in-law) |
| Musical career | |
| Genres | |
| Instruments | Vocals, Lead Guitar, key board |
| Years active | 1980–present |
| Labels |
|
Adhikari Mudalige Pubudu Athula Adikari (born March 8, 1966), popularly known as Athula Adhikari (Sinhala: අතුල අධිකාරි), is a Sri Lankan pop musician, actor and composer.[1][2]
Athula Adhikari was born on 8 March 1966 in Maha Wewa, Chilaw, Sri Lanka as the eldest of the family.[3] His mother Lalitha Wickremanayaka was a school teacher, who died in 2016.[4] He has one younger sister, Nelu Adhikari who is also a singer. Nelu is married to the musician Kapila Poogalarachchi.
Athula is first married to longtime partner Samitha Erandathi Mudunkotuwa where they married after 8 months of dating.[5] Samitha is also a singer and her father Premadasa Mudunkotuwa was also a musician.[6] The couple has one daughter: Kavindya and one son: Shane.[7][8] After the divorce from Samitha, he married to Amaya Adhikari, who is a dancer, model, actress and choreographer.[9][10][11][12] Athula has one daughter from the second marriage. The couple separated in late 2014.[13]
His daughter Kavindya Adhikari is also a singer who continued her own pathway along with parents' legacy.[14] As an actress, she acted in the lead role in the 2018 film Gharasarapa.[15]
Career
In 1980, he entered the music industry at the age of 13. He first joined with Neil Warnakulasuriya's band "Sunflowers" as a keyboard player and became the youngest keyboard player in Sri Lanka.[16][17][18][19] His first original is "Paradeese" which was released in 1988.[20]
As a solo artist, Adhikari made several hits such as: "Me Wedikawa Jeevithe Ape", "Sililara Sitha Nayana", "Hitha Assata", "Paradeese", "Ron Podak", "Hada Hadala", and "Boho Kalak Oya". Other than solo hits, he accompanied with his wife Samitha and made several popular duets such as: "Tharuka Pelin Eha", "Alen Wela Ganna", "Iwasaida Manda", "Sanda Tharu Mal", "Sada Panak Se" and "Mage Ale".[21]
As a music composer, Adhikari worked in the first five seasons of Derana Dream Star and made many generations of young artists.[22][23][24]
On 8 December 2023, he conducted the musical concert "Athula-Samitha Love in Concert" at the Nelum Pokuna Theatre in Colombo which became highly popular.[25] After that success, he conducted the second concert titled "'Athula-Samita Love In Concert With Kavindya Adhikari 2.0" at Epitome Hotel, Kurunegala on 20 January 2024.[26]
As an actor, he acted in a teledrama in 1999 and then in the 2004 romantic drama film Selamuthu Pinna directed by Roy de Silva.[27][28][29] In 2016, he appeared in the tele serial Deviya Sugala.[30] In 2021, he acted in the soap opera Divithura.[20]
