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Fact Check
A video shows a group of artistes holding a party following the death of Sri Lankan cinema icon Malini Fonseka.
This video was from a party celebrating the successful completion of the production of a teledrama on May 12, during Vesak Poya Day, more than ten days before Malini Fonseka’s death on May 24.
Veteran actor Malini Senehelatha Fonseka, popularly known as the “Queen of Sri Lankan Cinema”, passed away on May 24, 2025, at the age of 78 while undergoing treatment at a private hospital in Colombo. Her body was first placed at her residence in Madiwela and later moved to the National Film Corporation on May 25. The following day, her body was taken to Independence Square at 8am., where fans were able to pay their final respects until 3pm and her funeral was held on May 26, 2025 with full state honors at Independence Square, Colombo 7.
Several videos went viral claiming to show the behaviour of some artistes and public figures who came to pay their last respects at the funeral, which was heavily criticised on social media. A TikTok user posted a video claiming that a group of artistes held a party following the funeral of Fonseka with the caption in Sinhala reading: “Those who held a party after Malini’s death were award-winning actors and actresses.”
These videos are also circulating on Facebook and YouTube with captions such as ‘After Funeral,’ ‘People Who Cried Near Malini?’ and ‘People Who Turned Malini Fonseka’s Funeral into a Wedding Hall.’ These posts can be seen here, here, and here.
During our initial verification, we checked whether any such news had been reported by mainstream media outlets but found nothing relevant. At the same time, we conducted a Google reverse image search on some of the key frames from the video and found no results supporting the claim.
Therefore, to verify the authenticity of the video, we checked the social media accounts of some of the artistes who appeared in it and whose faces could be clearly identified. We found that a similar video was live-streamed by Sri Lankan artiste Nilmini Tennakoon on her Facebook account on May 12, during Vesak Poya Day, over 10 days before Malini Fonseka passed away, which confirms that the party took place while Fonseka was still alive.
Tennakoon had also commented on a Facebook video making false claims, clarifying that the footage was from a party recently held by the director of the teledrama ‘Sikuru Awith’ for the cast, to celebrate the successful completion of the production.
She also posted a statement on Facebook, urging people not to share old videos of artistes or spread false information. She shared a post by ‘Sikuru Awith’ teledrama director Thilina Borelessa, which included a clarification addressing these false claims.
We also found that Angelo Gamage, an artiste who also appears in the video, posted a clarification on his Facebook account regarding these false claims.
A video claiming that a group of artistes held a party to celebrate the death of Sri Lankan cinema icon Malini Fonseka following her funeral is false. The viral footage shows a party held by the director of the teledrama, ’Sikuru Awith’, to celebrate the successful completion of the production.
Our Sources
News about Malini Fonseka’s final rites, published on the Presidential Secretariat website on 24 May 2025.
Explanation post by artiste Nilmini Tennakoon, published on her official Facebook page on 28 May 2025.
Facebook Live video by artiste Nilmini Tennakoon, uploaded on 12 May 2025.
Clarification by artiste Angelo Gamage, posted on his Facebook page on 28 May 2025.
False
