On April 23, 1951, he launched a radio program called "Yawwana Samajaya". He took Rathna to
Radio Ceylon on November 29, 1951, when she was 20 years old. Her first radio play was aired on December 21, 1951, which was based on a short story by T.G. W. de Silva and produced by P. Welikala. The show was very popular and became a hallmark in Sinhala drama history where disciples imagined a village called "Muwan Palessa". Since
Muwan Pelessa was only launched in late 1963, the SLBC has no record of it, and the only evidence to show that it was begun on March 12, 1964, was a photo of its founder Somaratne. By the late 1960s it had reached the peak of its popularity. She continuously worked in the play for 50 years along with
Wijeratne Warakagoda until resigned due to prolonged illness. Her maiden cinema acting came through 1967 blockbuster movie
Sath Samudura directed by
Siri Gunasinghe. Since then she appeared in more than 30 films particularly in motherly roles. During the shooting of tele serial
Sudu Piruwata, Kekunawela was badly injured due to wasp sting. Then the shooting was cancelled for few weeks. Apart from radio, she also worked with many stage dramas such as
Ane Massine,
Uthure Rahula and
Boralle Gedara. Entering the stage with the drama
Uthure Rahula, she became a hotly debated role playing the role of
Sirimavo Bandaranaike. While working in the teledrama
Korale Mahaththaya in 2017 at Ranminitenna Cinema Village, Kekunawela fell over due to a pain in legs. It was later revealed that it was due to diabetes and induced coma. She has been unable to stop her bleeding after a heart surgery. Since then, she quit from acting. ==Awards==