Nalaka Vithanage is a

filmmaker Filmmaking (film production) is the process by which a motion picture is produced. Filmmaking involves a number of complex and discrete stages, starting with an initial story, idea, or commission. It then continues through screenwriting, castin ...

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

cinema Cinema may refer to: Film * Cinematography, the art of motion-picture photography * Film or movie, a series of still images that create the illusion of a moving image ** Film industry, the technological and commercial institutions of filmmaking ...

theater Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actor, actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The p ...

and television. He is the son of popular dramatist

Bandula Vithanage Bandula de Silva Vithanage (born 11 September 1940 – died 1 September 2014 as බන්දුල විතානගේ) inhala was an actor and director in Sri Lankan cinema, stage drama and television as well as a translator, director, play ...

Personal life

Nalaka was born on 16 February. He was educated at

Nalanda College Colombo ''Āpadāna Sobhinī Panñā'' , motto_translation = Character Illumines Wisdom , established = , founder = Patrick de Silva Kularatne , type = National , grades = 1 ...

and has been keenly interested and involved with his passion for stage and teledrama creations and film making while at school. He completed his higher studies in commerce and business studies. In 2001 he went New Zealand for further studies. He returned Sri Lanka in 2004. His father

was a renowned dramatist in Sri Lanka who had a career that spanned for more than five decades. Vithanage is one of the earliest pillars of Sri Lankan art and drama, where he is the pioneer to introduce Shakespearean theater to Sri Lankan theater with several plays such as ''Veniciye Velenda'', ''Macbeth'', ''Twelfth Night'', ''Hamlet'' and ''Romeo and Juliet''. He died on 1 September 2014 at Colombo National Hospital at the age of 73. Nalaka has one sister, Vajirakumari Vithanage. His cousin sister

Yashoda Wimaladharma Yashoda Wimaladharma ( Sinhala: යශෝධා විමලධර්ම) is a Sri Lankan actress in Sri Lankan cinema, stage drama and television. Often referred to as the "innocent on the small screen", Wimaladharma excelled in cinema, telev ...

is a popular actress in Sri Lanka cinema, theater and television.

Career

During his higher education, Nalaka joined the stage plays produced by his father such as ''Veniceye Velenda'', ''Senehebara Dolly'' and ''Romaya Gini Gani''. In 2004, he made his maiden stage drama production ''Rathri Bojanaya''. The play was based on the French play ‘Don’t Dress for dinner’ of Mark Camollte and translated by his father. Then he made three more stage dramas: ''Kasi Malla'' (2006), ''Upanda Maranaya'' (2009), and ''Breaking News''. The play ''Kasi Malla''entered last round of the State Drama festival in that year and won a Merit award for the Best Actor. Meanwhile he also made the script of the television serials ''Dekona Gini'' and ''Allapu Gedara'' which were aired in Swarnavahini. In 2012, he made his debut cinema direction ''Anithya'', a romantic drama. In the same year, Nalaka made the post-war thriller film ''Roopantharana'', which was later released in 2014. In 2013, he started his third cinema direction with the title ''Agni Warsha''. However, after completing the shooting, the film was renamed as ''Nilanjana''. Shooting was completed in 2014. The film was screened in 2017. In 2017, he made the romantic film ''Sarungal'' which was screened at the MPI theaters in 2018. The film received mixed reviews from critics. In 2019, he directed the action film ''Ethalaya'' where he was also the screenwriter of the film. The film was released in 2020 in the midst of Corona outbreak.

Directed filmography

General references

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vithanage, Nalaka Living people Sri Lankan music video directors Sri Lankan film directors Alumni of Nalanda College, Colombo Year of birth missing (living people)