Thotawattege Don Manuel Titus de Silva (
Sinhala:ටයිටස් තොටවත්ත), popularly as Titus Thotawatte, was a Sri Lankan director and editor who made several popular
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 ...
n action movies in the 1960s and 1970s and later developed Sinhala children's programmes. Thotawatte died on 15 October 2011 in Colombo.
Early life
He was born on 17 April 1927 in Colombo. He was the fourth child in a family of five children, with 3 elder brothers and one younger sister. He attended
Ananda College
''Appamādo Amathapadan''
(Buddhist quote from the Apramada Vagga in the Dhammapada)
, motto_translation = Heedfulness, Punctuality leads to Nirvana
, location = P De S Kularatne Mawatha
, city = Colom ...
in Colombo and studied art under J.D.A. Perera and Stanley Abeysinghe and Matara Technical College.
Career
Thottawatte joined
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 ...
and Willie Blake as editor to make ''
Rekava
''Rekava'' (Sinhala for "Line of Destiny") is a 1956 film based on village life and mythical beliefs in Sri Lanka (then Ceylon). It is the first Sinhala film fully shot in Ceylon and was film shot outdoors in the country. It was also the first ...
'' in 1956. It was an attempt to make a truly
Sinhalese
Sinhala may refer to:
* Something of or related to the Sinhalese people of Sri Lanka
* Sinhalese people
* Sinhala language, one of the three official languages used in Sri Lanka
* Sinhala script, a writing system for the Sinhala language
** Sinha ...
movie in contrast with the Southern Indian copies then in vogue.
Thottawatte debuted as a director with ''
Chandiya
Chandiya or Chandia is a village near the town Anjar, the taluka of Kutch district in the Indian state of Gujarat.
Village is located 21 km from nearest town Anjar.
History
Many castes and religious groups live in Chandiya, such as So ...
'' in 1965. The film starred
Gamini Fonseka
Kala Keerthi Sembuge Gamini Shelton Fonseka () (21 March 1936 - 30 September 2004 as :si:ගාමිණී ෆොන්සේකා, ගාමිණී ෆොන්සේකා), was a Cinema of Sri Lanka, Sri Lankan film actor, film director ...
in the first villains role of Sinhala Cinema.
Other early films include ''Kauda Hari'' (1969), ''Thewatha'' (1970) and ''Haralaksaya'' (1971).
In 1980,Thotawatte wrote and directed the children's movie ''
Handaya
''Handaya'' ( si, හඳයා, italic=yes) is a 1979 Sri Lankan Sinhala black-n-white children's film directed and produced by Titus Thotawatte for Thotawatte Salaroo. The film is cited as a legend in Sinhala cinema history. It stars many child a ...
,''
which was awarded Best Picture at the Sarasaviya Film Festival.
In the 1980s and 1990s, he dubbed English cartoons such as
Bugs Bunny
Bugs Bunny is an animated cartoon character created in the late 1930s by Leon Schlesinger Productions (later Warner Bros. Cartoons) and voiced originally by Mel Blanc. Bugs is best known for his starring roles in the '' Looney Tunes'' and '' ...
,
Doctor Dolittle
Doctor John Dolittle is the central character of a series of children's books by Hugh Lofting starting with the 1920 ''The Story of Doctor Dolittle''. He is a physician who shuns human patients in favour of animals, with whom he can speak in the ...
and
Top Cat
''Top Cat'' is an American animated sitcom produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions and originally broadcast in prime time on the ABC network. It aired in a weekly evening time slot from September 27, 1961, to April 18, 1962, for a single season of ...
into Sinhala for Sinhalese audiences with the popular titles ''Ha Ha Hari Hawa'', ''Dosthara Honda Hitha'' and ''Pissu Pusa'' respectively. He is considered to be the pioneer of dubbing programmes in Sri Lanka. These continue to air on Sinhala Television channels. Thotawatte created puppet characters like Eluson.
When the first National Media Awards took place in Sri Lanka, Thotawatte, was awarded a gold medal for his contribution to television and media in Sri Lanka.
Filmography
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Thotawatte, Titus
1929 births
2011 deaths
Sri Lankan film directors