Salutations begin on April 22, by the Gurukula Felicitations Committee, with Chief Organiser, H.D. Premaratne at the helm, formed mainly of past pupils of Kelaniya Gurukula Maha Vidyalaya which moulded Malini's early education and discovered her acting talent.

The ceremony which will be held at Vidyalankara Pirivena, Peliyagoda, headed by Ven. Weliwitiyawe Kusala Dhamma Maha Nayaka Thera, Chancellor, University of Kelaniya, is a unique rallying around Malini of her Gurukula contemporaries, such as Karu Heenatigala - Committee Chairman and Gamini Kariyawasam - Director-General of Consular Affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Sathischandra Edirisinghe who hails from her village.

Felicitations begin at 4 p.m., commencing with Prof. Sunil Ariyaratne's discourse on Malini's contribution to the stage, cinema and rupavahini. This, followed by a second discourse, will culminate with an award being presented to the actress. A pooja begins at 6 p.m. with an invoking of blessing on her by Ven. Uduwe Dhammaloka Thera, with participation expected from Members of Parliament and Ministers.

In another ceremony at 2 p.m. on the same afternoon, the road connecting Pattiya Junction and Biyagama Road, currently called "Station Road", will be re-named as "Malini Fonseka Mawatha", a stirring gesture from the village which produced this illustrious actress. The move, on a request by former students at Gurukula, has been unanimously approved by the local authorities.

A Seven-Day Festival, screening films of the era of 1967-1998, which endeared Malini to the masses, earning her fame and popularity, begins on April 23 at Elphinstone Theatre, Maradana, and will continue until 29. It is an act to rekindle memories of Malini and the Sinhala cinema which branched and grew with her while ushering back the days when film audiences thronged local theatres.

It is also a festival with a difference, in that, instead of the screening of the usual one-film-a-day, there will be a screening of three films a day, at 10 a.m., 2 p.m. and 6 p.m. All the living artistes and technicians who took part in the making of the three films will be invited to the six o'clock screening which will become a venue for re-introducing them and paying homage to them.

The Felicitation Committee consists of Prof. Sunil Ariyaratna-President, Dhammika Dissanayake-Secretary, Sunil Fonseka-Treasurer, as well as Dharmasiri Gamage, Ravindra Randeniya, Bandula Padmakumara, Sathischandra Edirisinghe, Buddhi Kirthisena, Tissa Nagoda Withana, Melroy Salgadu and Anoja Weerasinghe, among others. The festival is open to the public, with advance bookings opening from April 22.

The week-long tribute to Malini culminates on April 30 in a 2 1/2 hour felicitation ceremony, named "A Life Dedicated to Art", at the BMICH at 7 p.m. President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe have been invited to honour the occasion as Guests of Honour and President Chandrika Kumaratunga has already confirmed her participation.

The chief guest will be Dr. Lester James Peries, with the presence of a prestigious Indian artiste also expected. The programme contains 15 songs, selected from the best among the film sequences starring Malini. Yashoda, Dilhani and Sangeetha, the new generation artistes will join their performances to enliven four songs in a choreography by Channa Wijewardena, Kulasiri Budawatta, Sweenitha Perera, Jerome de Silva and the 81-year-old S. Malal who taught the budding Malini dancing in school.

The close of the felicitations will be marked by a lifetime achievement award being presented to the actress whose evocative and interpretative performances on Sinhala screen dominated and changed the face of local cinematic expression from1963-2003, crystallising the name of "Malini Fonseka" in the chronicles of Sinhala cinema.