Titus Thotawatte , a pathfinder
 This
week’s column is dedicated the veteran artist and film director Titus
Thotawatte. Born Emmanuel Titus de Silva on April 17, 1929 in Borella
and fondly known as 'Timama' , Titus Thotawatte played a pivotal role in
the formation of truly an indigenous cinema together with pioneers such
as Dr. Lester James Peries.
Although born into a business family of T.G.M Julius de Silva and
Sisiliya Hettiarachchi, Titus was destined to stir a different course of
life from his businessman father, embarking on a not so promising career
in the early days of Sri Lankan cinema at the Government Film Unit (GFU).
As described by Dr. Lester James Peries, the GFU was a ‘ most wonderful
training unit ever, even in Asia! The equipments were fabulous and all
brand new-Western Electric recordings from Hollywood, all the cameras
from Germany, very good back up staff, a very good laboratory run by
Italians.” It was such a wonderful and well-equipped GFU that Titus
Thotawatte joined in 1952 as a trainee technician. He learnt documentary
film making, editing, sound editing and laboratory work under a team of
well-experienced professionals such as Ralph Keene, Federico sera and
Giorgio Calabria.
Formative years
It is pertinent, at least, briefly, to examine the formative years of
Titus Thotawatte and how his school days and activities shaped the
artist and brilliant director of films. During his school days at Ananda
College (1934-1945), Thotawatte used the name Titus de Silva.
Subsequently, however, he changed his name to Titus Thotawatte
apparently due to the influence of school of Hela Haula of Cumaratunga
Munidasa. Among his contemporaries at Ananda College were Somadasa
Elvitigala and Pragnasoma Hettiarachcchi. About 1943, together with his
colleagues Thotawatte formed the college’s Art Society. It could be
surmised that it was the Art Society and its numerous activities which
germinated an abiding interest in young Thotawatte, at first, in the
arts and culture and later in cinema. Although he could not sing,
Thotawatte learnt music from Ananda Samarakoon and Manipuri dance under
Master Sukhendra Datt from Bengali. He further learnt dancing from
Shesha Palihakkara’s Saradapani Kalayatanaya (School of dancing). His
abiding interest in arts, sculpture and photography led to learn drawing
at Heywood College under legendary teachers such as J.D.A Perera and
Stanley Abeysinghe and photography from the Government Technical College
in Maradana.
Breakthrough in career
Although Titus Thotawatte was a film fan and inquisitive more than
others about the technical aspects of film making, the breakthrough came
when he joined the Government Film Unit (GFU) in 1952 as a trainee
technician. It was with the film Karathivu Dupathe Malu Allana Minnisu
(The fishermen of the island Karathivu ) made by Pragnasoma
Hettiarachchi that he came into the field of cinema. He joined Dr.
Lester James Peries in Ralph Keene’s feature film Nelungama (1954).
Having spotted his talents Dr. Lester James Peries invited him to join
him in the making documentary films such as Conquest in the Dry Zone and
Be Safe or be sorry (1955). With Dr. Lester James Peries and others,
Titus Thotawatte resigned from the GFU to make Rekawa (1956). Thotawatte
edited Sandeshaya (The Message) in 1960 before editing Ranmuthu Duwa
(1962). Ranmuthu Duwa was a watershed in Sinhala cinema on account of
its being the first ever colour film in Sinhala with its breathtaking
underwater photography depicting the rich marine life in Sri Lankan
waters.
Prominent among the films he directed are Kauda Hari (1969), Thevata
(1970), Haralakshaya (1971), Sagarika (1974), Sihasuna (1974), Mangala
(1976) Maruva Samaga Vase (1977) and Handaya (1979) which won the award
for the best children’s film in 1980 at the Salano Film Festival in
Italy.
Career in television
One of the salient features of Titus Thotawatte’s career is his
ability to change his medium from silver screen to the small screen
amply demonstrating his mastery in the areas of dubbing, applying
cinematic technique in medium of television. Titus was among the
pioneers who moulded the medium of television as a meaningful mode of
mass entertainment. Being a bilingual Thotawatte saw the need to dub
some of the best movies, cartoons, teledramas and documentaries in
Sinhala making them accessible to the mass audience.
The first ever dubbing of such television programs were done under
his direction at the GFU since national television (Sri Lanka Rupavahini
Corporation being the only television channel in the country).
Thotawatte began experimenting with dubbing around 1983 almost in
parallel with the SLRC telecasting profiting from his earlier
experiences of dubbing films such as Angulimala, Nantu Lechchemi (Haralaskhaya)
and Three Yellow Cats. The first ever dubbed cartoon films which were
telecasted on national television were the children’s cartoon films
Ahala Pahala and Loku Bas Podi Bas.
The programs Thotawatte dubbed into Sinhala became very popular among
the viewers. In addition to his creative genius, Sinhalese dubbing and
particularly the apt title he put for them proved his substantial
knowledge of Sinhalese and English. Children’s cartoon films such as
Doctor Do Little ( Dostara Hodahitha) and Top Cat (Pissu Poosa) became
extremely popular among the children functioning them as model programs
for private television channels to emulate. Thotawatte was innovative
not only in indigenising foreign cartoons but also devising novel terms
in enriching the technical lexicon in Sinhalese. Some of the new
Sinhalese terms he introduced are Asi Disi (audio-visual), Sakili roo
(cartoon), Ataroo (moppet ), Roosapu salasma, Eliganveema (lighting) and
Upasirasi (sub-titles). His legacy of such outstanding works include
Sinhalese dubbed Oshin, R.K Narayanan’s Malgudi Days, The Count of Monte
Cristo , Robin Hood and kung fu TV series.
Titus and awards
It was Titus Thotawatte’s lifelong dedication to the media of cinema
and television which won local and international acclaim as a gifted
artist, director, editor and master in dubbing English television
programs into Sinhalese. His rich legacy of creations both in cinema and
in television bears testimony to his hard work and meticulous studies in
the fields. His outstanding creations won awards on their technical and
creative merits.
It should be stated to his credit that the few awards he won were
those he earned by his sheer dint of perseverance and for his creative
excellence and not on account of his friends and creed being dominated
the award committees. In essence, Titus Thotawatte was a man of
substance who did not, at any point in his illustrious career, suffer
from award dependency as many pseudo artists and literati today. |
