the second sumathi awards ceremony was celebrated in 1996, where 33 awards were given at the ceremony under 5 categories. in the best award category, sumathi award for the best teledrama actor was won by lucky dias and best teledrama actress was chandani seneviratne, whereas both won popular award categories as well. for the first time, u.w. sumathipala memorial award was introduced, where veteran director titus thotawatte won this lifetime award. out of 33 awards given, teledrama "sankranthi samaya" won 6 awards, including best actor, music director, singer and most popular teledrama.