Titus De Silva
| Titus Thotawatte | |
|---|---|
| Born |
Emmanuel Titus de Silva 17 April 1929 Borella, Sri Lanka |
| Died | 15 October 2011 (aged 82) |
| Alma mater | Ananda College, Colombo |
| Occupation | film director, screenwriter, editor |
Titus Thotawatte (Sinhala:ටයිටස් තොටවත්ත) (born Thotawatte Don Manuel Titus de Silva on 17 April 1929 in Borella, died on 15 October 2011) was a Sri Lankan director and editor. He made several popular and technically skilled Sri Lankan action movies in the 1960s and 1970s and later developed Sinhala children's programmes. Thotawatte died on 15 October 2011 in Colombo.
Thotawatte was born as the fourth Child in a family of five children, having 3 elder brothers and one younger sister. He attended Ananda College in Colombo and studied art under J.D.A. Perera and Stanley Abeysinghe. Subsequently, he went to Matara Technical College.
Thottawatte joined Lester James Peries and Willie Blake in making Rekava in 1956 as editor. It was an attempt to make a truly Sinhala movie to contrast with the Southern Indian copies in vogue.
Thottawatte struck out as a director with Chandiya in 1965 The film starred Gamini Fonseka in the first villain role of Sinhala Cinema. Other early films include Kauda Hari (1969), Thewatha (1970) and Haralaksaya (1971).
In 1980, Thotawatte wrote and directed the popular children's movie Handaya which was awarded the Best Picture at the Sarasaviya Film Festival.
In the 1980s and 1990s, he dubbed English cartoons like Bugs Bunny and Doctor Dolittle into Sinhala for Sinhala audiences. These continue to air on Sinhala Television channels. Thotawatte also created puppet characters like Eluson.
When The National Media Awards took place for the first time in Sri Lankan History, three Gold awards were made to veteran journalist D. F. Kariyakarawana for his contribution to newspaper journalism, Vijaya Corea in honour of his contribution towards the upliftment of Broadcasting media over a long period of time and Titus Thotawatte, the veteran film maker for his contribution to the TV media in Sri Lanka.
Titus Thotawatte – The Viceroy of Sinhala Cinema
by T.K.Premadasa (The writer is Ex- Head of Corporate Affairs and Communication of Sri Lanka Export Development Board)( This article appeared in Ceylon Daily News on 19 October 2011 and Asian Tribune on 19 October 2011– This is noted to respect Titus by writer)
Titus is one of the greatest cinematic giants produced by Sri Lanka. The vacuum left by his sudden demise, is irreparable. The entire nation owes a debt of gratitude to this remarkable veteran artiste, who sacrificed his lifetime in building an unshakable image around the globe.
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