Po Par Gyi ( my, ဖိုးပါကြီး, ; March 1917 – January 14, 1980) was a popular traditional Burmese opera performer and two-time

Myanmar Academy Award The Myanmar Motion Picture Academy Awards are presented annually to honour both artistic and technical excellence of professionals in the Burmese Film Industry of Myanmar. The awards ceremony has been held annually since 1952. Each winner is pr ...

winning

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 ...

known for his comic roles.

Biography

Po Par Gyi was born Nyunt Hlaing in Bassein,

Irrawaddy Division Ayeyarwady Region ( my, ဧရာဝတီတိုင်းဒေသကြီး , , ; formerly Ayeyarwady Division and Irrawaddy Division), is a region of Myanmar, occupying the delta region of the Ayeyarwady River (Irrawaddy River). It is bor ...

(now Pathein, Ayeyarwady Region) to San Pe, a Customs Inspector and his wife Hla. He graduated from

Hinthada Hinthada ( my, ဟင်္သာတမြို့; formerly Henzada) is a city located on the Irrawaddy River in Ayeyarwady Region, Burma (Myanmar). In the 1983 census the city itself had a population of 82,005. By 2010 it had grown to 170,312. ...

Government High School in 1936. Pursuing his interest in

singing Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...

and

dancing Dance is a performing art form consisting of sequences of movement, either improvised or purposefully selected. This movement has aesthetic and often symbolic value. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoire ...

, he got his first break in 1938 with a starring role in a silent film ''Lu Pyo Tho'' produced by the Rangoon Film Company. But he would achieve fame in traditional Burmese opera. During the Japanese occupation (1942–1945), he moved to

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 became an opera actor in Director Kyaw Aye's ''Ye Ye Khaw Daw'' Opera. He continued to gain success in opera after Burmese independence in 1948. His notable opera performances include ''Pyo Letsaung'', ''Nge Kyun Swe'', and ''Ko Kyait Ta Ko Loat''. Between 1960 and 1961, he starred in the renowned opera ''Po Par Gyi''. His best opera performances are considered to be ''Chin Taung Nga Lone'' and ''Gon Ne Marna''. Po Par Gyi also found success in films as a comic actor and focused on his film career from the 1960s onwards. He starred in dozens of movies from the 1940s until his death in 1980.

Awards

In 1958, he was awarded the title ''

Wunna Kyawhtin This article considers the religious, military and civil orders, decorations and medals of Union of Myanmar. Religious honorary orders Before and after Myanmar's independence, governments presented two religious orders, Abhidhaja Maha Ratht ...

'', the highest honor given to an artist by the Burmese government. He also won two Burmese Academy Awards, for his roles in '' Phoe Pyonn Cho'' (1955) and '' Ta Kha Ga Ta Bawa'' (1978).

Filmography

*'' Phoe Pyonn Cho'' (1955) *''

Chit Khae Tar A Mhan Par Pae ''Chit Khae Tar A Mhan Par Pae'' ( my, ချစ်ခဲ့တာအမှန်ပါပဲ) is a 1958 Burmese drama film, directed by Shwe Baw, starring Myint Aung, Phoe Par Gyi and Kyi Kyi Htay. It was the first Burmese coloured feature m ...

(1958)'' *'' Tein Hlwar Moht Moht Lwin'' (1967) *''

Kyaukme A Kyin Thar ''Kyaukme A Kyin Thar'' ( my, ကျောက်မဲအကျဉ်းသား) is a 1969 Burmese black-and-white action drama film, directed by San Shwe Maung starring Win Oo, Khin Than Nu, Aung Lwin, Phoe Par Gyi and San San Win. Cast *W ...

'' (1969) *''

Hmone Shwe Yee ''Hmone Shwe Yee'' ( my, မှုံရွှေရည်, ), is a 1970 Burmese black-and-white drama film starring Win Oo, Khin Than Nu and Aung Lwin. The film won the Best Picture Award and Win Oo won the Best Actor Award in 1970 Myanmar M ...

'' (1970) *'' Ta Kha Ga Ta Bawa'' (1978) {{authority control 1980 deaths 1917 births Burmese male silent film actors Burmese male stage actors People from Ayeyarwady Region 20th-century Burmese male actors Recipients of the Wunna Kyawhtin