Nyi Pu ( my, ညီပု, ; 12 September 1900 – 1 September 1996) was a Burmese

actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), li ...

and

film director A film director controls a film's artistic and dramatic aspects and visualizes the screenplay (or script) while guiding the film crew and actors in the fulfilment of that vision. The director has a key role in choosing the cast members, p ...

. He was the first film actor in Burmese cinema. His youngest brother was

Tin Maung ''A1'' Tin Maung ( my, တင်မောင် ; 7 August 1908 – 4 October 2000) was a two-time Burmese Academy Award-winning film actor, director and producer. Biography Tin Maung was born in Pyay, a small town in Lower Burma during the B ...

, an accomplished

Biography

Nyi Pu was born Ba Htay on 12 September 1900 in

Prome Pyay (, ; mnw, ပြန် , ; also known as Prome and Pyè) is principal town of Pyay Township in the Bago Region in Myanmar. Pyay is located on the bank of the Irrawaddy River, north-west of Yangon. It is an important trade center for the Aye ...

(Pyay), the second son of Ba Nyunt and Nyein Shin during the British colonial era. In 1920, Ba Htay participated in the First University Strike against the British rulers. In the same year, he along with photographer Maung Maung assisted Ohn Maung who was looking to make films in Burma. In 1920, using the screen name Nyi Pu (lit. Short Brother) starred in the first-ever film ''

Myitta Nit Athuyar ''Love and Liquor'' ( my, မေတ္တာနှင့်သူရာ; ) is a 1920 Burmese black & white silent film directed by Ohn Maung, written by P Moe Nin and starring Nyi Pu. It was the first Burmese feature film, and the day it prem ...

'' in Burma. He made many more silent films in the 1920s and 1930s. After

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, he made a few more films in the 1950s and 1960s. He was chairman of

Myanmar Motion Picture Organization Myanmar Motion Picture Organization is the official non-profit organisation for the Cinema of Burma. It was established on 8 March 1946. Patron of Myanmar Motion Picture Organisation * Bogalay Tint Aung, Musician and Opera Professional * Maung K ...

from 1969 to 1972.Myanmar Motion Picture Organization's Notice Board Nyi Pu died on 1 September 1996 at

Yangon Yangon ( my, ရန်ကုန်; ; ), formerly spelled as Rangoon, is the capital of the Yangon Region and the largest city of Myanmar (also known as Burma). Yangon served as the capital of Myanmar until 2006, when the military government ...

, and was survived by his wife San Yin and their five children.

Filmography

*''

'' (actor) 1920 *''Kyay-Taw-Thu Ma Nu'' (actor) 1921 *Taw Myaing Zon Ga Lwan Aung Phan, (actor and director) 1923 *Ta Khaing Lone Shwe, (actor) 1924 *Mhaing Wai Wai, (actor) 1925 *Thamaing Nyut Paung, (actor) 1933 *Su Htoo Pan, (actor and director) 1929 *Shwe Hninzi, (actor and director) 1931 *''

Japan Yin Thwe ''The Daughter of Japan'' ( my, ဂျပန့် ရင်သွေး, ) is a 1935 Burmese black & white film directed by Nyi Pu. Its Japanese name is ''Nippon Musume''. A1 film company produced this film with PCL Film Company in Japan, Toky ...

'' (actor and director) 1935 *Kyar Thit Mae, 1923 *Pa Loat Tot Tot, (actor and director) 1925 *Sekkya Shin, (actor and director) 1925 *Shwe Min Wun, (actor and director) 1926 *Mya Ta Bat, (actor and director) 1927 *Mya Aye Yin, 1927 *Myaing Nan San, 1926 *Chit Thwe Nyi Nyi, 1931 *Chit Yay Sin, (actor and director) 1935 *Pan Thitsa, 1954 *Than Khamauk, 1935 *San Yay Yin, 1936 *Chit Lu Youn, 1938 (Audio Film) *Ko Yin Thwe, 1955 *Chit Thanthaya, 1957 *528, 1958 *Nan That Ka Pan Ta Khat, 1963 *Ma Maung Taw A Lin, 1965 *Tha Man Kyar, 1970

References

{{authority control Burmese male film actors Burmese film directors 1900 births 1996 deaths People from Bago Region 20th-century Burmese male actors