Tissa Abeysekera a true son of the soil

Priyanka KURUGALA

Tissa Abeysekera although well-versed in the culture and customs of the West, never forgot his roots that were firmly planted in Lankan soil.

Hence he was able to utilize his knowledge of the West and most importantly our own culture and tradition in making films of his day which we value, Cultural Affairs Minister T B Ekanayake said.

Tissa Abeysekara was a multifaceted artiste proficient in 15 disciplines.

He is a short story writer, script writer, dialogue writer, short film director, teledrama director, cinema writer and arts critic, copy writer for advertisements, poet and lyricist, announcer, actor, etc.

Addressing the Tissa Abeysekera Sameepa Roopa, Abhinandana ceremony, Minister Ekanayake said that his ministry would extend all support and financial help to print the commemorative volume in honour of late Tissa Abeysekera, the veteran artiste.

The minister welcomed the initiative of the Tele Makers Guild to hold a commemorative ceremony for the late artiste in May.

The inaugural ceremony to introduce the event was held under the patronage of Minister T. B Ekanayake at the Colombo Sausiripaya auditorium with the participation of the officials of his ministry and the members of the Tele Makers Guild.

Late Abeysekera, a visionary took pains in training future film and teleartistes.

When Dr. Martin Wickramasinghe's novel Viragaya was made to a film he made it compulsory that the artistes involved perform physical exercises to relate to the characters in the novel.

The coffee table book which will be authored by Ajith Galappathi would be released on the commemoration day.

This book will include his life and times, his creative life, his classical and critical works and a record of his services to the film industry.

The Guild will conduct a series of competitions including a short film contest.

There will be training programmes, for young and upcoming artistes.

Tower Hall Foundation Director Douglas Siriwardana, National Film Corporation Chairman Asoka Serasinghe, Tissa Abesekera's wife Asanka Abeysekera, Tele Drama Director Sudath Rohana also spoke.