Amaranath Jayathilake

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Amaranath Jayathilake
අමරනාත් ජයතිලක
Born(1937-05-20)20 May 1937
Colombo, Sri Lanka
Died25 September 2013(2013-09-25) (aged 76)
Colombo, Sri Lanka
Burial placeKanatte Cemetery
NationalitySri Lankan
OccupationDirector, Screenplay writer, Journalist, Writer
Years active1961–2008

Amaranath Jayathilake (20 May 1937 – 25 September 2013) as Sinhala: අමරනාත් ජයතිලක, was a journalist, writer and filmmaker in Sri Lankan cinema.[1][2]

Personal life[]

He was born on 20 May 1937 in Colombo, Sri Lanka.

On 4 September 2013, he was hospitalized following an accident and treated at Ward 74 of the Colombo National Hospital.[3] He died on 25 September 2013 at the age of 77 while receiving treatments.[4] His body was buried next day at 10.00 am in Kanatte Cemetery, following his last request that his body should be buried without any decorations or ceremony.[5][6]

Career[]

Jayathilake started his film writing career with the Lankadeepa newspaper in 1961.[7] In November of the same year, he went to Calcutta, India to study film production.[8] During this period in India, he studied cinema with the Indian filmmaker Satyajit Ray, was also a pioneer in introducing cinema to Sri Lanka. He visited leading studios in Madras, Bombay and studied film technology, mechanics and technology.[9]

In 1962, an organization called the "Sixteenth Cinema Kundaliya" was established to build a cinematic literature and film culture in Sri Lanka where he pioneered to brought Marie Sitton, Film Counselor to the Government of India, a Film Expert at the British Film Institute to the festival. In the same year, he also contributed to the success of the Film Commission of Sri Lanka. Under his guidance, a Satyajit Ray Film Festival has been organized in Sri Lanka for the first time. Meanwhile, Jayathilake was also the pioneer in introducing Banga cinema to Sri Lanka. After return to Sri Lanka, he served as the founding vice president of the Film Critics and Writers Association in 1967.[9]

He made his maiden cinema direction with the film Adarawanthayo in 1968.[10] Then he made nine more feature films where Satyajit Ray's cinematic style can be seen in several films. With the film, he introduced Victor Rathnayake in background music.[11] In 1977, he directed the film Siripala saha Ranmenika. The film became a huge blockbuster hit and eventually broke all previous revenue records in Sinhala cinema. It is also the first Sinhala film to be purchased by India.[9] In the same year, he released his next film Nivena Ginna. In 1981, he directed the film Eka Dawasak Re which received critics acclaim.

In 1984, he directed the film Aruna Pera which was invited to screen in all 14 major film festivals in India. In 1985, he won the Awards for Best Screenplay and Best Director for the film Arunata Pera at the 7th Presidential Film Festival.[8] In the same year, he won Awards for Best Screenplay and Best Director at 12th OCIC Award Ceremony for the same film. In 1999, he was honored with "Syril B Perera" Award at the 25th OCIC Award Ceremony.[1] In addition to that, Arunata Pera is the first and only Sinhala film to be preserved in the Museum of Modern Art in New York, USA. In total, the film won nine Presidential awards and nine SIGNIS OCIC awards.[9]

He is the pioneer of Sri Lankan film literature where he wrote many books such as 'Chithrapata Parichaya' on various subjects with the aim of making film a classical art in Sri Lanka.[5] He also edited an English film magazine called "Film Frame" and started a magazine called "Chithrapata Maadya" on behalf of the Film Sub-Panel under the Arts Council of Sri Lanka and was its Assistant Editor. It is the first academic film magazine published in Sinhala language. Meanwhile, he became the Sri Lanka correspondent for the English language newspaper "Cine Advance" published in India. He later became a local correspondent for the Indian monthly magazines called "Film Ward" and "Cinema India International".[9][7]

Jayathilake wrote articles for over 20 years for the Japanese monthly magazine "Film & TV Marketing", and for 30 years for the film annual Guide, the "International Film Guide". He is a two-time member of the Advisory Board of the National Film Corporation of Sri Lanka and also served as a member of the Jury at Film Festivals in India, Japan and Germany. In 2003, he directed his final feature film Bheeshanaye Athuru Kathawak.[12] The film also screened at International Film Festival, Rotterdam.[13][14][15] In mid 2000s, he studied cinema while staying in Hollywood, USA. In 2008, he was honored at the Film Writers' Awards Ceremony held under the patronage of veteran journalist Arthur U. Amarasena.[9]

Filmography[]

Year Film Roles Ref.
1968 Adaravanthayo Director
1970 Priyanga Director [16]
1976 Thilaka Ha Thilakaa Director
1977 Siripala Ha Ranmanika Director [17]
1977 Nivena Ginna Director
1981 Eka Dawasak Re Director
1984 Adara Geethaya Director
1984 Arunata Pera Director, Scriptwriter
1994 Yuwathipathi Director
2004 Bheeshanaye Athuru Kathawak Director [18]

References[]

  1. ^ a b "Amaranath Jayathilake අමරනාත් ජයතිලක 1937 – 2013". Digital Identity of Sinhala Cinema. Retrieved 30 June 2021.
  2. ^ "Amaranath Jayathilake". National Film Corporation of Sri Lanka. Retrieved 30 June 2021.
  3. ^ "Amaranath Jayatilleke at the hospital". Sarasaviya. Retrieved 30 June 2021.
  4. ^ "Film director Amaranath Jayatilleke passes away". Hiru News. Retrieved 30 June 2021.
  5. ^ a b "Even immortal loses at death: Amaranath Jayathilake". Sarasaviya. Retrieved 30 June 2021.
  6. ^ "Amaranath Jayathilake departs". Sri Lanka Mirror. Retrieved 30 June 2021.
  7. ^ a b "Journalists who made films". Sarasaviya. Retrieved 30 June 2021.
  8. ^ a b "Filmmaker Amaranath Jayathilaka Dies". Divaina. Retrieved 30 June 2021.
  9. ^ a b c d e f "The memory of the movies gone with Amaranath Jayatilleke". Divaina. Retrieved 30 June 2021.
  10. ^ "Amaranath Jayatilleke passes away". Dinamina. Retrieved 30 June 2021.
  11. ^ "In the cold shade of the distant Himalayas: Dr. Victor Ratnayake". Sarasaviya. Retrieved 30 June 2021.
  12. ^ "Amaranath's latest appearance on disappearance". Sunday Times. Retrieved 28 November 2019.
  13. ^ "Amarnath's new film for Rotterdam Festival". The Sunday Times. Retrieved 11 March 2017.
  14. ^ "Bheeshanaye Athuru Kathawak". The Sunday Times. Retrieved 11 March 2017.
  15. ^ "Treat film-making as business". Daily News. Retrieved 11 March 2017.
  16. ^ "Sinhala Movie Descriptions: Sidādiyen Hayak, Priyangā, Ohoma Hon̆dada, Thuṁman Handiya, Nim Walalla". Sarasaviya. Retrieved 30 June 2021.
  17. ^ "Siripala and Ranmenika highlighted the poetic mind of the misguided man". Sarasaviya. Retrieved 30 June 2021.
  18. ^ "New film by Amarnath". Sunday Times. Retrieved 27 November 2019.

External links[]

Retrieved from ""