Duleeka Marapana Death Rumours Are False: The Veteran Is Alive and Well

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When news of veteran actress Chula Padmendra’s sudden death was still fresh in the public mind, another beloved name began trending for the worst possible reason. Social media posts claimed that Duleeka Marapana, a familiar face across Sri Lankan theatre, cinema and television for decades, had died, while other posts insisted she was critically ill in hospital. The claim spread quickly and alarmed her fans and fellow artistes. Factcrescendo set out to check whether any of it was true. Here are the posts that carried the claim.

Social Media Posts:

Facebook | Archived Link  Facebook | Archived Link

Since yesterday (1st), further posts had also spread on Facebook claiming she was seriously ill and hospitalized, as follows.

Facebook | Facebook | Facebook

We set out to verify the accuracy of these posts, as follows.

Fact-Check:

No Sri Lankan Media Reported Her Death

Had a well-known local artiste truly passed away, Sri Lanka’s mainstream media would have reported it. Our review confirmed that no print, electronic or digital news outlet had carried any report of Duleeka Marapana’s death.

She Mocked the Death Hoax on Her Own Facebook Page

Responding to the posts claiming she had died, the actress herself pushed back satirically on her official Facebook page, as follows.

We reviewed Duleeka Marapana’s official Facebook page and found that she remained actively engaged in her artistic work. Even today (1st), through a Facebook live video, she addressed viewers about the upcoming shows of a stage play scheduled at the Namel Malini Punchi Theatre in Borella and explained how tickets could be purchased.

Since this made it that the claims of her being hospitalized in critical condition were also false, we contacted her directly by phone to inquire further.

Duleeka Marapana Confirmed She Is Alive and Well

Duleeka Marapana confirmed that false reports had been circulating claiming she had been hospitalised and had then died. She said she had not been hospitalised at all and had, in fact, been out attending an artistic engagement that very day. She added that friends and well-wishers had been calling her in alarm since the previous day because of these social media posts and confirmed that she was in good health.

She further said that various political supporters, seeking to defame her for political gain, had been creating and spreading such fake news. In particular, she noted that following the death of actor Chula Padmendra, that incident had been exploited to fabricate similarly malicious false claims about her own death.

The Political Backdrop That Fuelled These Posts

Following the recent sudden death of veteran actress Chula Padmendra, political activists resurfaced statements she had allegedly made in the past criticising former President Mahinda Rajapaksa. Highly disparaging remarks then began circulating on social media, implying that her death was a consequence of those political statements. These posts went further, representing the “Aragalaya” (Struggle) movement by linking Chula Padmendra’s death to other prominent artistes who had spoken out against the then government, and suggesting that they too were now facing “political punishment” in the same way. It was in this vein that malicious posts also spread on social media claiming Duleeka Marapana was either critically ill in hospital or had died.

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Conclusion:

Our fact-check finds that the social media claims of actress Duleeka Marapana’s death or serious illness are false. She remains actively engaged in her usual artistic work, and she herself confirmed that the claims spreading on social media are untrue.

The hoax gained traction by riding on the genuine, recent death of veteran actress Chula Padmendra and the political controversy surrounding it. Duleeka Marapana confirmed by phone that she had never been hospitalised, that she was in good health, and that the reports were fabricated by political detractors seeking to defame her.