after the end of school life, kantha joined the b. a. w. jayamanne's minerva drama group. she won a reputation as a singer who sang for the discs during the gramophone era along with eddie jayamanne, mohideen baig and a.m.u raj. she became the first comic actress in sri lankan cinema with the role of "josi baba" in sri lanka's first film "kadawunu poronduwa" in 1947. she also sang the song "nonage ale ge meda sale" with eddie jayamanne.