the fifteenth sumathi awards ceremony was celebrated at the sugathadasa indoor stadium on 16 october 2009 with the participation of shiranthi rajapaksa as the chief guest. 40 awards were given at the ceremony under 6 categories. in the best award category, sumathi award for the best teledrama actor was won by sriyantha mendis and best teledrama actress was duleeka marapana. in popular award category, chandika nanayakkara won the most popular actor award for the second consecutive time, whereas umayangana wickramasinghe won the most popular actress award. the u.w. sumathipala memorial award was given to, veteran artist sunil ariyaratne and veteran actress sriyani amarasena. out of 40 awards given, teledrama "ridee ittankaraya" won 7 awards including best actress, director, cameraman and supporting actor.