Magnificent Mavens
Sarasavi Awards recognizes aces for their lifetime
achievements:
Ranapala Bodhinagoda Memorial
Literary Award - Amaranath Jayatilaka
"I have known Amaranath Jayatilaka for a number of years. He is
deeply interested in the cinema as an art form and is himself a
sensitive filmmaker..."
- Satyajith Ray (January 16, 1979)
Amaranath initiated his career as a film essayist and critic in 1960.
He is among those who have singularly authored a large number of books
on art and cinema.
He went to Culcutta in 1961 to take up filmmaking studies. His
encounter with Marie Seton, an advisor to Indian government on film
studies, immensely changed Amaranath's life. Seton who had completed the
biography of Satyajith Ray, paved the way for Amaranath to be a student
of the legendary filmmaker. On Amaranath's invitation Marie Seton came
to Sri Lanka in 1962 to inaugurate the Cinema Sixteen Society the
precursor of the film society movement.
"It's an amazing thing to recollect," Jayatilaka muses, "then Indian
Premier Jawaharlal Nehru was to visit Ceylon with his daughter Sreemathi
Indira Gandhi. Seton was a friend of Indira, so she had told her about
my invitation. Indira had taken steps to have her onboard. I went to
airport to welcome them. Seton introduced me to Indira." Amaranath has
regularly attended film festivals around the world, and participated in
25 editions of the International Film Festivals held in India since
1965. He has also served as a member of the International Jury of
Critics in India, Tokyo and Mannheim International Film Festivals.
"I see this as an inspiration to my future works," says Jayatilaka
who is currently working on an English picture titled 'Awakening of a
Lotus' based on a Buddhist theme.
Jayatilaka is also working on bringing Patachara into cinema dubbed
in Hindi and other Indian languages.
Amaranath's first film was in 1967. His Arunata Pera was screened in
14 mainstream international film festivals, which is also the first and
only Sinhala film preserved in Modern Art Museum in New York.
His film Siripala saha Ranmenika is the first and only film to be
bought by India. He has served as a consultant to National Film
Corporation twice.
He was also the Sri Lankan correspondent in Indian magazines 'Cine
Advance', 'Film World' and 'Cinema India International'. He was
instrumental in changing the Indian attitude about Sri Lankan cinema
before 1965. Presently he is the honourary advisor to The Buddhist, the
first ever Buddhist Television Channel in Sri Lanka.
[ Some of his most significant
creations Cinema]
* 1968 Adarawanthayo
* 1970 Priyanga
* 1972 Tilaka Haa Tilaka
* 1977 Siripala haa Ranmenika
* 1977 Nivena Ginna
* 1978 Ek Davasak Re
* 1985 Adara Geethaya
* 1985 Arunata Pera
* 2005 Bheeshanaye Aturu Katavak [Short films]
* George Keith: Kala Yogi
* Unity Among Buddhists |
