Thukha ( my, သုခ, ; 14 January 1910 – 7 December 2005) was a six-time Burmese Academy Award winning

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 ...

writer A writer is a person who uses written words in different writing styles and techniques to communicate ideas. Writers produce different forms of literary art and creative writing such as novels, short stories, books, poetry, travelogues, p ...

song writer A songwriter is a musician who professionally composes musical compositions or writes lyrics for songs, or both. The writer of the music for a song can be called a composer, although this term tends to be used mainly in the classical music gen ...

script writer A screenplay writer (also called screenwriter, scriptwriter, scribe or scenarist) is a writer who practices the craft of screenwriting, writing screenplays on which mass media, such as films, television programs and video games, are based. T ...

film 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 (), lite ...

and

film producer A film producer is a person who oversees film production. Either employed by a production company or working independently, producers plan and coordinate various aspects of film production, such as selecting the script, coordinating writing, di ...

. His film production company, Thukha Films Company, won Best Picture Award for twice. Thukha directed 33 films and is considered the most successful Burmese film director.

Biography

Born Thein Maung in the Irrawaddy delta in

British Burma British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

, Thukha began writing poems as a middle school student. He became familiar with classical Burmese music at an early age thanks to his grandfather, a

harpist The harp is a stringed musical instrument that has a number of individual strings running at an angle to its soundboard; the strings are plucked with the fingers. Harps can be made and played in various ways, standing or sitting, and in orc ...

. Thukha studied at

Kyaiklat Kyaiklat ( my, ကျိုက်လတ်မြို့ ဓမ္မပါလ) is a town in the Ayeyarwady Region of south-west Myanmar. It is the seat of the Kyaiklat Township in the Pyapon District. Populated places in Ayeyarwady Region T ...

and

Pyapon Pyapon ( my, ဖျာပုံမြို့; Mon: , ) is a town and seat of Pyapon District in the Ayeyarwady Division of Myanmar, along the Pyapon River, a tributary of the Ayeyarwady River. It is located about inland from the Andaman Sea ...

National Schools. Thukha began his writing career at age 19 with a short fiction work "Zabe Pwint" ("Jasmine Petal") in ''Kawi Myetmhan'' magazine under the pen name Sein Thein Dan. He began using the pen name ''Thukha'' – meaning "pleasure" when he began writing fiction for ''Shwin-Pyaw-Pyaw'' magazine. Of his novels, ''Gon-Ye-Matu-Lo-La'' (''Am I Not an Equal for You?'') and ''Di-Saung-Hayman'' (''This Winter'') were the most successful. He also wrote many books on Buddhism, including Loka Niti,

Mangala Sutta Mangala (Sanskrit: मङ्गल, IAST: ) is the personification, as well as the name for the planet Mars, in Hindu literature. Also known as Lohita (), he is the celibate deity of anger, aggression, as well as war. According to Vaishnavism, ...

Metta Sutta The Mettā Sutta is the name used for two Buddhist discourses (Pali: '' sutta'') found in the Pali Canon. The one, more often chanted by Theravadin monks, is also referred to as ''Karaṇīyamettā Sutta'' after the opening word, ''Karaṇīyam'' ...

and

Dhamma Rasa Dharma (; sa, धर्म, dharma, ; pi, dhamma, italic=yes) is a key concept with multiple meanings in Indian religions, such as Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism and others. Although there is no direct single-word translation for '' ...

. Thukha wrote more than 100 novels and 200 short stories. Thukha started his film career in 1938. His script for '' Chitthamya'' (''As Much As I Love'') brought widespread fame and won respect and acknowledgment from the filmmaking community. The Myanmar Writers’ Association awarded him an honorary prize for his first directing project. Out of the 33 films he made over the course of his career, six of them won the

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 ...

's best director award. Thukha was also a talented songwriter. "

Bawa Thanthaya Bawa may refer to: People Surname * Avantika Bawa (born 1973), Indian-American artist, curator, and professor * Gurmeet Bawa (born 1944), Indian Punjabi singer * Hemi Bawa, Indian painter and sculptor * Kamaljit S. Bawa (born 1939), Indian evol ...

" ( pi, Bhava " Samsara"; "Life,Samsara or The life in Samsara") and " Gon" ("Status") were among his most popular songs. "Bawa Thanthaya" compares people to travelers on a train getting on and off at every station, illustrating the cycle of death and rebirth. "Gon" poked fun at people’s devotion to money and status. Thukha was a devout

Buddhist Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...

and included Buddhist morals and concepts in all his films and novels. He directed three documentaries related to

Buddhism Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and gra ...

for Burmese television. Although he received success and recognition for both his writing and directing work, Thukha's first priority was always writing. His former pupil and close colleague, director Maung Hnin Moe, said: "He preferred writing to other jobs. He always put the title Writer and Director before his name." "Because he could not read or write in his old age," Maung Hnin Moe said, "he was thinking all the time and it is a great loss that he could not transform his thoughts into a form of work such as a book or film." Thukha was profoundly respected for his altruistic attitude and works. He was the founder and president of the

Free Funeral Service Society The Free Funeral Service Society (Yangon) ( my, နာရေးကူညီမှုအသင်း, abbreviated FFSS), a civil society organisation based on Yangon, Myanmar, founded by Burmese film director Thukha, provides free funeral service ...

, which volunteers its funeral services to any family regardless of race, religion or social standing. He was also known for his efforts to rename the full moon day of Pyatho (which normally falls in January) as

Mothers' Day Mother's Day is a celebration honoring the mother of the family or individual, as well as motherhood, maternal bonds, and the influence of mothers in society. It is celebrated on different days in many parts of the world, most commonly in the ...

, as well as for his campaign for younger generations to pay more respect to their mothers. On October 26, 2000,

Yangon University '') , mottoeng = There's no friend like wisdom. , established = , type = Public , rector = Dr. Tin Mg Tun , undergrad = 4194 , postgrad = 5748 , city = Kamayut 11041, Yangon , state = Yangon Regio ...

conferred the

Doctor of Letters Doctor of Letters (D.Litt., Litt.D., Latin: ' or ') is a terminal degree in the humanities that, depending on the country, is a higher doctorate after the Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degree or equivalent to a higher doctorate, such as the Doctor ...

(Honoris Causa) degree on U Thukha for his significant and outstanding contributions and abilities.

Partial filmography

*''Chitthamya'' (''As Much As I Love'') (1938) *''Chit Anumyu'' (''Love Atom'') (1948) *''Aw Meinma'' (''Oh Woman'') (1954) *'' Bawa Thanthayar'' (''Life's Samsara'') (1956) *'' Zagar Pyaw Thaw Athe Hnalone'' (''Talking Heart'') (1968) *''

Kyun Ma Mhar Main Ma Thar ''Kyun Ma Mhar Main Ma Thar'' ( my, ကျွန်မမှာမိန်းမသား) is a 1970 Burmese black-and-white drama film, directed by Thukha starring Soe Naing, Daisy Kyaw Win, Tin Tin Nwet and Thein Maung. Cast *Soe Naing as S ...

'' (''I'm the Girl'') (1970) *''

Aww Main Ma Main Ma ''Aww Main Ma Main Ma'' ( my, သြော်မိန်းမမိန်းမ) is a 1972 Burmese black-and-white drama film, directed by Thukha starring Nyunt Win, Cho Pyone, Kyauk Lone, Thein Maung and Jolly Swe. Cast *Nyunt Win as Dr. Ky ...

'' (1972) *'' Bal Thu Pyaing Lo Hla Par Taw Naing'' (''Who Can Be More Beautiful?'') (1973) *''Shwe-Chi Ngwe-Chi Tan-Ba-Lo'' (''Gold and Silver Ribbons'') (1975)People Magazine Online - people.com.mm
/ref> *'' Ta Oo Ka Saytanar Ta Oo Ka Myittar'' (1976) *'' Chit A Mhya'' (1979) *''

A Kar Ka A Chit A Hnit Ka Myittar ''A Kar Ka A Chit A Hnit Ka Myittar'' ( my, အကာကအချစ်အနှစ်ကမေတ္တာ) is a 1979 Myanmar, Burmese Black and white, black-and-white drama film, directed by Thukha starring Kawleikgyin Ne Win, Kyaw Hein and Swe ...

'' (1979)

References

{{authority control 2005 deaths 1910 births Burmese film directors Burmese male film actors Burmese Theravada Buddhists Burmese writers Burmese screenwriters 20th-century Burmese male actors People from Ayeyarwady Region Recipients of the Alinkar Kyawswar 20th-century screenwriters