Enriching the biography tradition
Nuwan Nayanajith chronicles the life and times of
Titus Totawatta:
Sachitra MAHENDRA
Titus Totawatta knew his skills, but did he fully realize he would
inscribe his position as the first ever local visual editor? And editing
was not his one and only skills. He could dance, direct, paint, script,
perform, and pioneer dubbing and subtitling; he could poise a balance in
his skill-montage.
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Nuwan Nayanajith. Picture by Ruwan de Silva |
Confined to bed, Titus turned 80 with his larger than life legacy.
Who will have the strength to chronicle his life story for the sake of
posterity? Someone should roll up the sleeves, however hard it may sound
and seem.
Nuwan Nayanajith - the child watched his creations such as Dostara
Honda Hitha on small screen in the 1980s - has braved the odds: 400-page
Sonduru Adiyuru Sakasuvano ('Humane Editor and Director') with over 200
rare photographs.
"In fact it is Atula Ransirilal of Sri Lanka Rupavahini Corporation (SLRC)
who invited me to shoulder the effort. I was already occupied with my
MPhil, but I was onboard because I deemed this as a national
requirement." Nuwan says.
But still it posed a challenge. Because Titus Totawatta was not fond
of going down memory lane - it made him sob. Nuwan could not get a word
from him. He knew Nuwan has taken up the project, and he wants to get it
read by either his wife or servant - that is it. Nuwan had to associate
Titus' contemporaries and articles on him and his fields.
The work is not just another biography - actually it is only the
chapter one that deals with the biography - but a critical study of his
contribution as a dancer, director, painter, scripter, performer and so
on. "His contribution as a visual editor is remarkable, not only because
he was the first local to be in the field, but because he introduced
many editing patterns. He experimented quite a lot. His films bear
testimony to that."
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Book launch |
| Sonduru
Adiyuru Sakasuvano will be launched at Kularatne Hall, Ananda
College on November 5 to mark Titus Totawatta's 80th birthday at
3 p.m. The event is organized by Old Anandians' Media Circle and
SLRC. Joe Abeywickrama, SLRC Chairman Professor Ariyaratna
Atugala, Silumina Editor Karunadasa Sooriarachchi, SLRC Dubbing
and Subtitling Division Head Atula Ransirilal and author Nuwan
Nayanajith will deliver short speeches. Karunaratna Amarasinghe,
Anura Bandara Rajaguru and Rasadari Peiris will moderate the
function. Dancing is by Sankha Prasad Peiris. Dancing troupe
includes Ashen Manjula, Paboda Sandeepani, Buddhika Jayaratne,
Rajitha Hiran Chamikara, Sujeewa Priyalal, Buddhika Rambukwella,
Vishva Kodikara, Anusha Damayanthi, Suresh Gamage, Manjula
Moragaha, Oshadi Hewamadduma, Sujani Menaka Dasanayaka and
Yureni Noshika. |
Titus' Haralakshe was directed and edited without a script. His
Thevatha in 1970 was a collection of three short films, which are now
studied in a modern perspective. Sihasuna was filmed by a television
camera long before the television stepped in. 1974's Handaya is his most
celebrated work which tore up the path for the children's cinema.
It was an epoch-making event when Lester James Peries left the
Government Film Unit - famously referred to as GFU - for the sake of
better prospects in filming. Only one or two joined hands with him, and
apparently Titus was one. At the GFU, Titus and et al had the chance of
studying every feature of filming, from laboratory matters to sound
effects, under German masters: Julio Petroni, Fedrico Sera, George
Culubria and Ralph Keen. Titus edited Lester's Rekhava the first local
artistic cinematic work.
Titus studied cinema heart and soul in England and France. In Germany
he followed courses on dubbing for the small screen. International
exposure sharpened him to be brave enough to experiment. "He was
instrumental in ballet dancing with Sesha Palihakkara. He was in the
local dancing troupe that performed before the Queen in Ceylon, 1954. He
did set designs for the ballets too. On painting he introduced the mode
of modern arts. He studied under Stanley Abeysinghe and J. D. A. Perera."
Titus reached the heights of the career in the 1980s, when Nuwan was
in the first generation of children to watch television. Dostara Honda
Hita, Ha Ha Hari Hava, Monte Cristo and Malgudi Davasa were results of
his dubbing and subtitles.
"These creations enlivened our knowledge on folklore and language. It
sprinkled fresh water to our minds fed up with common horror movies
shown on the tv earlier. As children of that period, we could have that
benefit of that. I see the difference largely when I watch what the tv
has to offer children nowadays." Nuwan recalls.
Nuwan is influenced by three major biographies: Marlon Brando: Songs
my mother taught me by Robert Lindsay; Autobiography of an Actor by
Shivaji Ganeshan; and The Last Emperor: Dilip Kumar by Sanjit Narwekar.
"These biographies were either critical studies or mere biographical
notes of the particular celebrity. But I tried to apply both these modes
in my biography. A biography should give away the particular period and
the subject of the personality." Creativity and criticism are two paths,
adds Nuwan, and these two should be essentially mingled in a biography.
"Otherwise it will turn out just to be another gossip bag. Who will
be benefited by reading a intimate affairs of a personality? But when
intimate affairs lead to the very same person's creativity, it is
important. D. H. Lawrence's 'Lady Chatterley's Lover' is said to have
been based on his personal experiences."
Sonduru Adiyuru Sakasuvano
(Humane Editor and Director)
Chapter 1 -
Biographical note from
birth to present.
Chapter 2 -
Editor
Chapter 3 -
Director
Chapter 4 -
SLRC period
Chapter 5 -
Vision and philosophy
Chapter 6 -
Directory of works and awards
Bibliography.
Page count:
400 pages (Art matt pages with 200 rare photographs)
Price: Rs. 1750
Publisher: S.
Godage Book Emporium
The book can be purchased at a discounted rate at the launch.
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