D. B. Nihalsinghe
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D. B. Nihalsinghe is a Sri Lankan film director and film industry pioneer. His best known work is Welikathara.
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[edit] Biography
[edit] Early life
Nihalsinghe was an accomplished cadet at Ananda college and originally hoped to join the army. By the time he left school he had become more interested in film. As a present for completing the SSC examination, Nihalsinghe's father veteran journalist D.B. Dhanapala presented him with a 16mm Bolex cine camera.[1]
Nihalsinghe got an opportunity to enter the film field when a friend of his father offered him a job as a cameraman for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation in Colombo which he took. In 1965 he was offered a post with Hearst Metrotone News on the weekly newsreel, Metro News for the Military Assistance Command in Vietnam.[1]
[edit] Film career
On his return to Sri Lanka, Nihalsinghe was asked to be cameraman and editor of Sath Samudura. He brought to the film a newsreel look, hand-holding the heavy 35 mm film camera a point which was noted by reviewers.[1]
Nihalsinghe received the Cardiff Commonwealth Film Festival award for his first film Bakhti. In 1971, he made the groundbreaking Welikathara in cinemascope. Maldeniye Simiyon (1986) won star Anoja Weerasinghe a 'Silver Peacock' in Delhi. Kelimadala (1992) won a dozen awards at the Sarasaviya film festival. Ridi Nimnaya (1982) starred Sanath Gunatileke.[1]
[edit] Industry work
At the age of 28, Nihalsinghe became the youngest person to hold the post of Director of the Ceylon Government Film Unit. He was instrumental in introducing 35 mm film to Sri Lanka to replace 120 film. He brought in practice cameras from East Germany amid much controversy.[1]
To offset foreign domination of Sri Lankan theaters (80 percent), Nihalsinghe raised the quota for Sinhala film up to 59 percent as founding CEO and General Manager of the State Film Corporation.[1]
In 1979, Nihalsinghe left the SFC and fromed the Tele-Cine Limited with the help of Hemasiri Premawarne and Chandra Seneviratne. In this position, he oversaw the first television series in South Asia, Dimuthu Muthu, starring Devika Mihirani and Amarasiri Kanlansooriya.[1]
In 1995 Nihalsinghe resigned from TCL and joined the Malaysian ASTRO.[1]
