Chandran Rutnam is a

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...

n filmmaker and entrepreneur. Rutnam has hosted numerous Hollywood films for their location shoots in Sri Lanka and

Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...

. He was the Line Producer/Production Supervisor on several international productions including the Sri Lankan location shoot of

Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation, commonly known as Paramount Pictures or simply Paramount, is an American film production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the flagship namesake subsidiary of Paramount ...

' ''

Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom ''Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom'' is a 1984 American action-adventure film directed by Steven Spielberg from a script by Willard Huyck and Gloria Katz, based on a story by George Lucas. It is the second installment in the Indiana Jone ...

'' (1984) and '' Indochine'' (1992). He is the President and Chief Executive Officer of the Asian Film Location Services which mostly hosts foreign films to be shot in South and South East Asia.

Steven Spielberg Steven Allan Spielberg ( ; born December 18, 1946) is an American filmmaker. A major figure of the New Hollywood era and pioneer of the modern blockbuster, Spielberg is widely regarded as one of the greatest film directors of all time and is ...

once referred to Rutnam as "Our most valued friend in the Far East". Rutnam has also worked with Sir David Lean, Sir Carol Reed, John Boorman,

George Lucas George Walton Lucas Jr. (born May 14, 1944) is an American filmmaker and philanthropist. He created the ''Star Wars'' and ''Indiana Jones'' franchises and founded Lucasfilm, LucasArts, Industrial Light & Magic and THX. He served as chairman ...

and Regis Wargnier. Rutnam wrote the screenplay, produced, directed and edited the film '' The Road from Elephant Pass'', which was a Finalist Award Winner at the New York International Television and Film Awards in 2011. He also wrote the adapted screenplay and produced and directed, '' A Common Man'' which starred Sir Ben Kingsley and Ben Cross. The film was nominated for the four main awards at the Madrid International Film Festival in 2013, winning the Best Picture, Best Director and the Best Actor awards. Rutnam was the founder of Lionair, a defunct Sri Lankan airline, and owns the Asian Aviation Centre, an aeronautical engineering and flying academy.

Family

Rutnam was born to a Tamil father James T. Rutnam and a Sinhalese mother Evelyn Wijeyaratne. He lived in

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

, US for 38 years and now resides in Colombo, Sri Lanka. He is a brother of Jayam Rutnam, the founder of the Sri Lanka America Association of Southern California (SLAASC). Asian Aviation Hangar

Life and career

Rutnam was a school boy when David Lean arrived in Sri Lanka to shoot his

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

epic, '' The Bridge on the River Kwai''. The film crew hired a house that belonged to his parents for the shooting. Due to this exposure, to the consternation of his parents, he dropped out of school and went to London to pursue his dream of a career in films. He later moved to the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

and attended the film school at the

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in ...

and the San Fernando Valley College of Law. While working in Hollywood studios, Rutnam's break in selling Sri Lankan locations to international filmmakers came when he managed to convince John Derek, director of '' Tarzan the Apeman'', to shoot the film in Sri Lanka rather than in Africa. Rutnam also dreamt of making a mark in the

aviation Aviation includes the activities surrounding mechanical flight and the aircraft industry. ''Aircraft'' include fixed-wing and rotary-wing types, morphable wings, wing-less lifting bodies, as well as lighter-than-air aircraft such as h ...

field. He stated, "I was the sort of guy who would go to an

airport An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial Aviation, air transport. They usually consist of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surf ...

and watch the planes taking off. I remember as a kid, I went to the

Colombo Colombo, ( ; , ; , ), is the executive and judicial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by population. The Colombo metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of 5.6 million, and 752,993 within the municipal limits. It is the ...

port and watched the ships coming and going out. I do not know whether it was wanderlust or freedom of movement. I do not know which one it was. Some years ago a friend of mine and I decided that we should have an

airline An airline is a company that provides civil aviation, air transport services for traveling passengers or freight (cargo). Airlines use aircraft to supply these services and may form partnerships or Airline alliance, alliances with other airlines ...

." He founded Asian Aviation Centre and Lionair. Lionair was established in October 1993 and started its operations on 24 October 1994. Lionair suspended its domestic services when Lionair Flight 602, an Antonov An-24 aircraft went missing shortly after it took off from

Jaffna Jaffna (, ; , ) is the capital city of the Northern Province, Sri Lanka, Northern Province of Sri Lanka. It is the administrative headquarters of the Jaffna District located on a Jaffna Peninsula, peninsula of the same name. With a population o ...

in 1998, but resumed services in October 2002.

Flight International ''Flight International'', formerly ''Flight'', is a monthly magazine focused on aerospace. Published in the United Kingdom and founded in 1909 as "A Journal devoted to the Interests, Practice, and Progress of Aerial Locomotion and Transport", i ...

5–11 April 2005

Filmography

Theatrical releases

Awards and nominations

Gallery

File:William Holden and Chandran Rutnam while shooting The Bridge on the River Kwai.jpeg,

William Holden William Franklin Holden (né Beedle Jr.; April 17, 1918 – November 12, 1981) was an American actor and one of the biggest box-office draws of the 1950s. He won the Academy Award for Best Actor for the film '' Stalag 17'' (1953) and the Pri ...

and Chandran Rutnam during the shooting of '' The Bridge on the River Kwai'' File:George Lucas and Chandran Rutnam.jpeg,

and Chandran Rutnam File:Chandran Rutnam with John and Bo Derek.jpeg, Chandran Rutnam with John Derek and Bo Derek File:Harrison Ford and Chandran Rutnam in Sri Lanka.jpg,

Harrison Ford Harrison Ford (born July 13, 1942) is an American actor. Regarded as a cinematic cultural icon, he has starred in Harrison Ford filmography, many notable films over seven decades, and is one of List of highest-grossing actors, the highest-gr ...

and Chandran Rutnam on the set of ''

'' which was shot in Hantana, Sri Lanka in 1983 File:Steven Spielberg with Chandran Rutnam in Sri Lanka.jpg,

and Chandran Rutnam on location in Sri Lanka during the filming of ''

'' File:Chandranratnum2.JPG, Rutnam with

at a benefit honoring Spielberg (December 9, 2009) File:Anton Wickremasinghe, Chandran Rutnam and Alfred Hitchcock at the Academy Awards in Los Angeles.jpeg, Anton Wickremasinghe, Chandran Rutnam (center) and

Alfred Hitchcock Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock (13 August 1899 – 29 April 1980) was an English film director. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in the history of cinema. In a career spanning six decades, he directed over 50 featu ...

at the

Academy Awards The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence in ...

in Los Angeles.

References

External links

*
''Uththareethara: Chandran Rutnam'' (documentary video)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rutnam, Chandran Sri Lankan film directors Sinhalese people Living people Film producers from California American film directors of Sri Lankan descent American male screenwriters Sri Lankan emigrants to the United States Sri Lankan Tamil people Sri Lankan film producers 1948 births Film directors from Los Angeles Screenwriters from California American film editors