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Asoka (1955 Film)
Asoka is a 1955 Sri Lankan romantic musical based on the Bollywood film '' Sheesa''. Cast * Sumith Bibile as Sarath * Pushpa Janet as Asoka * Ananda Weerakoon as Harry * Punya Heendeniya * Eddie Yapa as Pattiya * Benjamin Fernando as Seeya * D. J. Samarakkody * Sumith Dissanayake as Doctor * Prema Kanthi * Wimala Kumari as Sisi * Sheela Renuka as Sarath's sister * S. H. Jothipala as Goviya * Oliver Silva as Thel Veda * Dharmadasa Kulatunga as Beggar * W. Chularatne as Donald * Noel Perera * Marcus Perera * N. R. Dias * G. S. B. Rani * Seetha Nanayakkara * E. Marshall Perera Songs The songs were recorded by the cast for the movie and by prominent playback singers for general release: *"Katharagamey" – Jikki, Dharmadasa Walpola and chorus (lyrics by Abeysekera) *"Sataneki Jivithe" – Dharmadasa Walpola (lyrics by Abeysekera) *"Thanivay Upanne" – Mohideen Baig (lyrics by Abeysekera; melody from 1954 Bollywood film ''Dost'') *"Maruwa Maruwa" – G. S. B. Ra ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sirisena Wimalaweera
Sirisena Wimalaweera ( si, සිරිසේන විමලවීර; born 23 June 1901 – died 24 August 1963) was a Sri Lankan filmmaker and theater master. He made several critically acclaimed films from 1949 to 1960. He is the first independent Sinhalese and Sri Lankan to direct a Sinhala film and first Sinhala Independent Producer. Personal life Wimalaweera was born on 23 June 1901 in Tangalle. He was a man of good knowledge about different languages such as Bengali, Gujarati, Hindi, Urdu, etc. At the age of eleven, he traveled to India with his uncle to study Ayurvedic medicine. But, unfortunately, he got the idea of doing drama. He has two daughters - Somawathi and Premawathi; and three sons, Daya, Upasena and Ranjith. His elder son Daya Wimalaweera was a popular film director, cameraman, script writer and also a producer. Upesena Wimalaweera is also a sound engineer and editor. Wimalaweera was rushed to the Khalil Private Hospital in Maradana and was 62 years old when ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mohideen Baig
Kala Suri Alhaj Kareem Mohideen Baig ( si, මොහිදින් බෙග්, ar, محي الدين بيك; 5 December 1919 – 4 November 1991), popularly as Mohideen Baig, was a Sri Lankan musician. One of the most influential singers in Sinhala music, Baig is known particularly for his Buddhist devotional music. He is a Muslim who moved to Sri Lanka from Salem in Tamil Nadu, but of a Hyderabadi Muslim origin. He was considered a highly influential multicultural figure in the country's arts history. Baig is the first award winning citizen of Sri Lanka. Personal life Born on 5 December 1918 in Salem South India as the third of the family, Baig belonged to an Indian tribe called Pathan. Baig's paternal lineage is descended from a pro-Islamic lineage with a centuries-old history. His father Kareem Baig served as a police officer in Salem. Bijan B was his mother. He was educated at a school in Salem and received his primary education in music from several music teachers in S ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sri Lankan Black-and-white Films
Shri (; , ) is a Sanskrit term denoting resplendence, wealth and prosperity, primarily used as an honorific. The word is widely used in South and Southeast Asian languages such as Marathi, Malay (including Indonesian and Malaysian), Javanese, Balinese, Sinhala, Thai, Tamil, Telugu, Hindi, Nepali, Malayalam, Kannada, Sanskrit, Pali, Khmer, and also among Philippine languages. It is usually transliterated as ''Sri'', ''Sree'', ''Shri'', Shiri, Shree, ''Si'', or ''Seri'' based on the local convention for transliteration. The term is used in Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia as a polite form of address equivalent to the English "Mr." in written and spoken language, but also as a title of veneration for deities or as honorific title for local rulers. Shri is also another name for Lakshmi, the Hindu goddess of wealth, while a ''yantra'' or a mystical diagram popularly used to worship her is called Shri Yantra. Etymology Monier-Williams Dictionary gives the meaning of the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1955 Films
The year 1955 in film involved some significant events. __TOC__ Top-grossing films (U.S.) The top-grossing hits of 1955 in the United States. Top-grossing films by country The highest-grossing 1955 films from countries outside of North America. Events * January 7 – U.K. release of the Halas and Batchelor film animation of George Orwell's ''Animal Farm'' (completed April 1954), the first full-length British-made animated feature on general theatrical release. *February 24 - 12th Golden Globe Awards announced: '' On The Waterfront'', Marlon Brando, & Judy Garland win * March 18 – The film adaptation of Evan Hunter's novel ''Blackboard Jungle'' previews in New York City, featuring the single " Rock Around the Clock" by Bill Haley & His Comets over the opening credits, the first use of a rock and roll song in a major film. Teenagers jump from their seats to dance to it. * June 1 – Premiere of Billy Wilder's film of ''The Seven Year Itch'' featuring an iconic scene of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tamil Cinema
Tamil cinema, also known as Kollywood is a part of Indian Cinema; primarily engaged in production of motion pictures in the Tamil language. Based out of the Kodambakkam neighbourhood in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, it is popularly called ''Kollywood'' - a portmanteau of the words Kodambakkam and Hollywood. The first Tamil silent film, ''Keechaka Vadham'', was directed by R. Nataraja Mudaliar in 1918. The first Tamil talking feature film, ''Kalidas'', a multilingual directed by H M Reddy was released on 31 October 1931, less than seven months after India's first talking motion picture ''Alam Ara''. By the end of the 1930s, the legislature of the State of Madras passed the Entertainment Tax Act of 1939. Tamil film industry established in Madras (now Chennai), then became a secondary hub for Hindi cinema, other South Indian film industries, as well as for Sri Lankan cinema. Over the last quarter of the 20th century, Tamil films from India established a global presence through distri ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Anarkali (1953 Film)
''Anarkali'' is a 1953 Indian historical drama film, directed by Nandlal Jaswantlal, and written by Nasir Hussain and Hameed Butt, based on the historical legend of the Mughal emperor Jahangir (Salim). As per the legend, Jahangir revolted against his father Akbar over his love for a common girl called Anarkali. It was the top grossing Hindi film in the year of its release - 1953. Another film on the same theme was ''Mughal-e-Azam'', released in 1960, which turned out to be one of the biggest box office success in the history of Indian cinema and a major critical success as well. Plot Shahenshah Jalal-ud-din Akbar is the grandson of Babur, and the son of Humayun. He is known to have ruled over Hindustan with a humane and just heart. He knew in order to garner the support of the Hindus, he must treat them sensitively, allow them to worship freely, and in order to maintain this peace, he married Jodha Bai, a Hindu Rajput, the sister of Raja Bhagwant Das. Through this marriage ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lata Mangeshkar
Lata Mangeshkar () (born as Hema Mangeshkar; 28 September 1929 – 06 February 2022) was an Indian playback singer and occasional music composer. She is widely considered to have been the greatest and most influential singers in India. Her contribution to the Indian music industry in a career spanning eight decades gained her honorific titles such as the "Queen of Melody", "Nightingale of India", and "Voice of the Millennium". Lata recorded songs in over thirty-six Indian languages and a few foreign languages, though primarily in Marathi, Hindi, and Bengali. Her foreign languages included English, Indonesian, Russian, Dutch, Nepali, and Swahili. She received several accolades and honors throughout her career. In 1989, the Dadasaheb Phalke Award was bestowed on her by the Government of India. In 2001, in recognition of her contributions to the nation, she was awarded the Bharat Ratna, India's highest civilian honour; she is only the second female singer, after M. S. Subbulakshmi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hemant Kumar
Hemanta Mukhopadhyay (16 June 1920 – 26 September 1989), known professionally as Hemant Kumar and Hemanta Mukherjee, was a legendary Indian music composer and playback singer who primarily sang in Bengali and Hindi, as well as other Indian languages like Marathi, Gujarati, Odia, Assamese, Tamil, Punjabi, Bhojpuri, Konkani, Sanskrit and Urdu. He was an artist of Bengali and Hindi film music, Rabindra Sangeet, and many other genres. He was the recipient of two National Awards for Best Male Playback Singer and was popularly known as the "voice of God". He Completed his B.E & M.Tech Engineering Degree from Jadavpur University. Early life and education Hemanta was born in Varanasi, in the house of his maternal grandfather who was a physician. His paternal family originated from the town of Jaynagar Majilpur, and migrated to Kolkata in the early 1900s. Hemanta grew up and attended the Nasiruddin School and later the Mitra Institution school in the Bhowanipore area, where h ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ananda Samarakoon
Egodahage George Wilfred Alwis Samarakoon (13 January 1911 – 2 April 1962) known as Ananda Samarakoon was a Sri Lankan (Sinhalese) composer and musician. He composed the Sri Lankan national anthem " Namo Namo Matha" and is considered the father of artistic Sinhala music and founder of the modern Sri Lankan Sinhala ''Geeta Sahitya'' (Song Literature). He committed suicide in 1962, possibly driven by unauthorized changes to lyrics in a composition. Early life and education Born on 13 January 1911 as Egodahage George Wilfred Alwis Samarakoon, to Samuel Samarakoon, Chief Clerk to British-owned Maturata Plantations and Dominga Peries in Watareka, Padukka. He was the second of four sons in a Christian family. Samarakoon received his primary education at Wewala School and thereafter attended CMS Sri Jayawardenepura College (Christian College, Kotte). His Sinhala Guru was Pandit D.C.P. Gamalathge. Later he served his Alma mater as a teacher of Music and Art. Samarakoon left for th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dharmadasa Walpola
Dharmadasa Walpola ( Sinhala: ධර්මදාස වල්පොල) (1927–1983) was the most prominent Sri Lankan male playback singer of the 1950s and 1960s. Walpola was an accomplished musician adapt at playing the flute, harmonium, violin and tabla. Biography Early life Walpola's father Palis Ayya worked with costumes for the Tower Hall theater. Walpola had to forgo his education at a young age to support his family and for a time built masks for the Sri Lankan army. At that time he won a role in Sirisena Wimalaweera's play ''Amma'' singing a virindu. He subsequently acted and sang in the play ''Wessanthara'' as well. To master the flute, Walpola began taking lessons from Eddie Master and then attended R. A. Chandrasena's Academy. Chandrasena was impressed by Walpola's ability to sing and after auditioning several songs with harmonium accompaniment, sent a good word to the Radio Ceylon broadcaster Thevis Guruge. Guruge gave Walpola a sarala gee programme with ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ananda Weerakoon
Don Ananda Weerakoon ( Sinhala:ආනන්ද වීරකෝන්) was one of the early Sri Lankan film actors in the 1950s. Life and career Early life Ananda was born as only son in a family of five children to parents Don William Weerakoon and Amarawathi Kalansuriya. He was educated at Nalanda College Colombo and was also a Bachelor of Arts degree holder. Since school days he had been keenly interested in history and arts. He first participated in a dance to welcome the Queen Elizabeth II's visit to Ceylon together with Shesha Palihakkara and Titus Thotawatte at the Colombo Regal Hall. Film acting He first started acting in a film as a young boy called "Harry" in one of the films directed by Sirisena Wimalaweera. Later on Ananda had been acting in many films directed by Sirisena Wimalaweera such as Asoka (1955 film) and Lester James Peries's Rekava film. In 2021, he was honored with lifetime achievement award during the ceremony held for 21 artists who made an invaluab ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jikki
Pillavalu Gajapathy Krishnaveni (3 November 1935 – 16 August 2004), more famously known as Jikki, was an Indian playback singer from Andhra Pradesh. She sang around 10,000 songs in Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, Malayalam, Hindi, and Sinhalese languages. Early life Jikki was born in Chennai on 3 November 1935. Her parents Gajapathi Naidu and Rajakanthamma, a Telugu family, had moved from Chandragiri, near Tirupati in Andhra Pradesh to Chennai for their livelihood. Her uncle, Devaraju Naidu, worked as a music composer with the celebrated Kannada theatre legend and movie pioneer Gubbi Veeranna and this introduced the young Jikki to the music and film world. Career Krishnaveni began her career as a child artist in 1943 and played a minor role in a Telugu movie named ''Panthulamma'', directed by Gudavalli Ramabrahmam. In 1946, she appeared in the movie '' Mangalasutram'', a remake of a Hollywood movie ''Excuse Me''. She was already being noted for her musical prowess and her lilting mell ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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