Chanu Dissanayake’s beautiful face is very familiar to people as she is the star of the movie U Turn currently being shown in local cinemas. The M Entertainment remake of the 2016 Kannada movie has moviegoers thronging the cinemas these days. Here, Chanu portrays a young journalist investigating causes of road deaths. She breaks new ground with U Turn as this is her movie debut. It also speaks much of this young girl’s talent for her to be given the starring role in her first movie.
Her exposure as a TV presenter plus her involvement with drama and dancing both at school and university level would have also helped her bag the top role. In fact, producer M Entertainment was looking for someone with her attributes and she was asked to come for an audition.
Obviously, Chanu was no stranger to the camera and among the shows which took her to the homes of thousands of Sri Lankans was Penthlon which she did with popular TV presenter Kingsley Rathnayake. 
So, it was a confident Chanu who faced the camera and breezed through her audition.
She loved every moment of her role in U Turn backed by the support of Director, Channa Deshapriya and the cast.
She considers herself privileged to have had the opportunity to act with veteran actress Veena Jayakody and is also grateful for the chance she had to appear with well known Silver Screen personalities like Hemal Ranasinghe,Bimal Jayakody, Thumindu Dodantenne and Gamya Wijeyadasa.
This talented and daring girl loves nothing better than a challenge. So, when it came to having to ride a motor bike in U Turn she took it in her stride. She bought a scooter and practiced in her hometown of Matara, closely supervised by her father.
However, despite her careful practicing nearly came a cropper with her motor bike riding. It happened when they were filiming on the Ragama flyover.
While riding a motorbike she accelerated instead of braking but being undaunted managed to diffuse the situation with the help of others who rushed to her rescue.
Just Twenty six year old Chanu is Manager, at Tea A. F. Jones, a Maharaja Group Company. While handling the complexities of the tea trade she also works as a tea taster breaching a male dominated bastion.
An old girl of Sujatha Balika Vidyalaya, Matara, Chanu got three A’s for her A/Level exam offering Sinhala, Logic and Political Science. She then entered the hallowed portals of the University of Colombo to read for her B.A Arts Special Degree in Sociology.
While in school Chanu was involved in acting and dancing. During her undergrad days she honed her acting abilities by attending classes and workshops conducted by Mahendra Perera and Prof. Mangala Dissanayake. She has appeared in Dissanayake’s Julius Caesar and KaviHora.
She is an avid reader and loves the work of Mahagama Sekera.
She appreciates Hindi music and is a fan of Nanda Malini and Sanka Dineth.
Very much her own person she does not follow fashion trends blindly. A firm believer that your dress reflects your personality it is this maxim she follows when choosing her attire. She keeps herself well groomed at all times with regular visits to the salon but does not go overboard with beauty aids or techniques.
Despite her busy schedule of doing two jobs working in the tea industry and the TV industry she keeps trim by exercising when she can.
As a Buddhist she believes that it is the teachings of the Buddha you should follow and practice rather than indulging in rituals.
An only child she makes a beeline for her home in Matara whenever she gets the chance to relax, spend quality time with her parents and enjoy the company of friends and relatives there.
Chanu is a classic example of beauty and brains combined. A daring and brave personality she believes in meeting the challenges of life head on. Leading an honest life, working hard and helping others in the true Buddhist spirit of compassion are key in her life.
What of the future? She is ambitious to do well in chosen careers and hinted at happy news to come.
Good luck Chanu. May success follow you wherever you go and whatever you do!
U Turn (Sinhala: Š) is a 2019 Sri Lankan Sinhala mystery thriller film directed by acclaimed cinematographer Channa Deshapriya in his directorial debut.The movie is produced by Maharaja Entertainments as a Sirasa Movie. The movie features Hemal Ranasinghe Thumindu Dodantenna, Bimal Jayakody, Gamya Wijayadasa with debut actress Chanu Dissanayake in lead roles. The music of the film is composed by Chinthaka Jayakody with Bharadwaj composing music for the song. The official trailer was released on 28 October 2019.
The movie is a remake of the 2016 Kannada (India) film U Turn - there by becoming the first Sinhala remake of a Kannada movie.