Somapala Dharmapriya (29 September 1940 – 14 September 1992) ( si, සෝමපාල ධර්මපි්රය), was an
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 ...
in
Sri Lankan cinema as well as a cinematographer.
Personal life
Fernando was born on 29 September 1940 in Jaffna even though lived in Moratuwa. He was educated at Lakshapathiya Student College, Moratuwa,
Prince of Wales' College, Moratuwa and Hunumulla Central College.
In March 1990, he suffered from a malignant cancer of the tongue.
Doctors had his tongue amputated and underlying teeth were also removed. He could not speak and quit from cinema. There was also a film festival conducted by Lester to help him. In the final days, he only depend on melted food. He died on 14 September 1992 at the age of 51. He was married to Princy de Silva.
Career
In 1956 he entered cinema as a child artist with the film ''Rekava'' directed by
Lester James Peries
Sri Lankabhimanya Lester James Peries ( Sinhala: ශ්රී ලංකාභිමාන්ය ලෙස්ටර් ජේම්ස් පීරිස්; 5 April 1919 – 29 April 2018) was a Sri Lankan film director, screenwriter, a ...
with the role "Sena".
Because he spent six months in Alawwa, Bandarawela and Kelaniya for about a month for filming, he lost the school and then attended to another school. He was highly popularized with the film. After that film, Dharmapriya acted in several commercially successful films directed by Lester, including ''Delovak Athara'', ''Desa Nisa'' and ''Gehenu Lamai''. However, he preferred to study cinematography and the technical side of cinema. Then, he studied cinematography under Willie Blake and worked as an assistant cinematographer in the films ''Gamperaliya'' and ''Delowak Athara''.
His maiden cinematography came through the film ''Adarawanthayo'' directed by
Amaranath Jayathilake. He was the chief cinematographer in the films ''Pem Kurullo'', ''Bonikka'', ''Mawubima Nathnam Maranaya'', ''Adara Kathawa'', ''Salambak Handai'', ''Salli Thibunata Madi'' and ''Mawubime Weerayo''.
Filmography
References
External links
අපි දෙන්නා මුණගැහුණේ "රේඛාව" හින්දා : සුමිත්රා පීරිස්රේඛාව-මනමේ සර්වකාලීනයි
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dharmapriya, Somapala
1940 births
1992 deaths
Sri Lankan male film actors
Sinhalese male actors
Sri Lankan cinematographers