the seventh sumathi awards ceremony was celebrated in year 2001, where 34 awards were given at the ceremony under 5 categories. in the best award category, sumathi award for the best teledrama actor was won by sriyantha mendis and best teledrama actress was malani fonseka. in popular award category, channa perera won the most popular actor award,whereas yashoda wimaladharma won the most popular actress award for the fourth consecutive time. the u.w. sumathipala memorial award was given to, veteran actress iranganie serasinghe and queen of sinhala cinema, malani fonseka. out of 34 awards given, teledrama "kemmura" won 6 awards, including best actress, director, television series and supporting actress.