Titus Thotawatte
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Titus Thotawatte | |
|---|---|
| Born | Thotawattege Don Manuel Titus de Silva 17 April 1927 Columbo, Sri Lanka |
| Died | 15 October 2011 (aged 84) |
| Alma mater | Ananda College, Colombo, Heywood Institute of Art[1] |
| Occupation(s) | film director, screenwriter, editor |
Titus Thotawatte (Sinhala:ටයිටස් තොටවත්ත) was a Sri Lankan director and editor who made several popular Sri Lankan action movies in the 1960s and 1970s and later developed Sinhala children's programmes. Thotawatte died on 15 October 2011 in Colombo.[2]
Early life
He was born Thotawattege Manual Titus de Silva on 17 April 1927 in Colombo.[3] He was the fourth child in a family of five children, with 3 elder brothers and one younger sister. He attended Ananda College in Colombo and studied art under J.D.A. Perera and Stanley Abeysinghe and Matara Technical College.
Career
Thottawatte joined Lester James Peries and Willie Blake[4] as editor to make Rekava in 1956.[5] It was an attempt to make a truly Sinhalese movie in contrast with the Southern Indian copies then in vogue.
Thottawatte debuted as a director with Chandiya in 1965. The film starred Gamini Fonseka in the first villains role of Sinhala Cinema.[6] Other early films include Kauda Hari (1969), Thewatha (1970) and Haralaksaya (1971).[7]
In 1980,Thotawatte wrote and directed the children's movie Handaya,[7] which was awarded Best Picture at the Sarasaviya Film Festival.
In the 1980s and 1990s, he dubbed English cartoons such as Bugs Bunny and Doctor Dolittle into Sinhala for Sinhalese audiences. These continue to air on Sinhala Television channels. Thotawatte created puppet characters like Eluson.
Recognition
When the first National Media Awards took place in Sri Lanka, Thotawatte, was awarded a gold medal for his contribution to television and media in Sri Lanka.
References
- ^ http://archives.sundayobserver.lk/2001/pix/PrintPage.asp?REF=/2011/10/23/mon03.asp
- ^ "Sri Lanka News-Adaderana-Truth First – VIDEO: Titus Thotawatte passes away". Adaderana.lk. Retrieved 15 November 2011.
- ^ "Features | Online edition of Daily News - Lakehouse Newspapers". archives.dailynews.lk. Retrieved 30 July 2017.
- ^ "Online edition of Daily News – Features". Dailynews.lk. 21 June 2004. Archived from the original on 22 November 2011. Retrieved 15 November 2011.
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- ^ "|| Impact". Sundayobserver.lk. 22 October 2006. Retrieved 30 July 2017.
- ^ a b "Sinhala Cinema Database". Films.lk. Retrieved 15 November 2011.