Tissa Abeysekera: Film Personality turned Littérateur
K S Sivakumaran
The late Tissa Abeysekera was a phenomenon both in writing and
speech. He handled them in both Sinhala and English like his mentor, Dr
Lester James Peries. Both received their doctorates for their life long
achievements. The comparisons stop there for they were different
personalities with a few strings of commonality. The point here is not
comparisons but see Tissa as a sort of innovator in his two different
media: cinema and literature.
Dr. Tissa Abeysekera |
There are many who had estimated and evaluated his valuable
contributions already but my attempt would be simpler based primarily on
my personal associations with him.
I came to be associated with him for the first time during the 1960s
when the now defunct Film Critics & Journalists Association (FCAJA) was
doing a marvellous service in understanding the cinema in many ways,
particularly making us view international cinema. The untiring work of
the late Neil I Perera, the late A J Gunawardene and Gamini
Haththotuwegama and later Tissa Abeysekera should be remembered and
recorded. In these endeavours I saw Tissa active with his independent
views and articulated speech both in Sinhala and English. I became an
admirer of him.
Shooting Viragaya |
Tissa’s books |
Mahagedera |
My association with him was minimal and not so close at the
beginning. He invited me to a special showing of his documentary in
Thamil called Kamam (Agriculture). It featured the versatile Sillayoor
Selvarajan (a multi-faceted personality who had contributed immensely to
Lankan culture both in Thamil and Sinhala) and Kamalini Selvarajan (well
known media personality) who became his spouse later.
When Chitra Ranawaka nee Malalasekera was the director of the English
Service of the Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation (SLBC) he compiled and
presented “The Arts Magazine,” which was originally compiled and
presented by the evergreen and versatile broadcaster and thespian, the
late Vernon Abeysekera and produced by yet another colourful
personality, Delorine Brohier. May I add that I had been invited to
appear in the presentations of both.
Since then my relationship with him became stronger and recognizable
even during his tenure as the Chairman of the National Film Corporation
and the Director of the National Television Training Institute and later
connected with the SAARC writers Meeting.
It’s only after that he came into full limelight with his brilliant
efflorescing of English Writing in Lanka. After reading his fiction and
criticism in English my admiration of his creative talents almost
doubled.
Of course I liked his films and commentaries and voicing commercials
in English and Sinhala and his frequent lectures and speeches in English
on various occasions. I liked his film *Viragaya* based on the novel of
the giant Martin Wickremsinghe best. I think he made Sanath Gunathilake
become an ‘actor’ from being a mere popular and glamorous star. In this
piece I am not particularly writing about Tissa as an actor or a
filmmaker or a
cinematographer or a script writer. That every knowledgeable critic
knows.
And yet another occasion where Tissa and I took part separately in
seminars was in New Delhi when the organization known as Katha conducted
a three-day seminar on Literature and environmental issue. That was
indeed a memorable occasion of two Lankans meeting again in a foreign
clime. Adieu my friend Tissa Abeysekera.
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