Hettiarachchige Emanuel Aloysius Rodrigo (1933–17 March 1997), better known as Prem Jayanth, was an actor in

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 cinema as well as a producer and art director. Considered as the first male superstar in Sinhala cinema, Jayanth rose to prominence with starring roles in the popular films Sujatha (1953) and '' Seda Sulang'' (1955).

Personal life

Jayanth was born in Layards Broadway, Grandpass and attended Joseph’s College, Grandpass and St. Lucia's College Colombo 13. Jayanth married actress Nanda Leelanayake sometime in the 1960s and had seven children, two boys - Jagath and Janith - and five girls - Sunila, Sandhya, Anusha, Nirma and Shiroma. His son, Jagath Rohan appeared in few film including the 1980 film ''Sabeetha''. Jayanth died on 17 March 1997 at the age of 64. Nanda died on 26 September 2014 at the age of 84.

Cinema career

He entered the school stage. In 1932, he first joined the public stage through the stage drama ''Carnival'' produced by A. D. J. Mathupala. Jayanth began his film career with a small role in the 1952 film ''Unmathu Wishwasaya'' directed by B. A. W. Jayamanne. His breakthrough came when he was cast in the lead male role in the 1953 film ''Sujatha'' opposite Florida Jayalath. The film became a big hit and established Jayanth and Jayalath as major stars. They reappeared together in the 1955 film ''Seda Sulang'' which was also popular featuring the only songs sung by

Lata Mangeshkar Lata Mangeshkar (; born Hema Mangeshkar; 28 September 1929 – 6 February 2022) was an Indian playback singer and occasional music composer. She is considered to be one of the greatest and most influential singers of the Indian subcontinent. He ...

for a Sri Lankan film. Jayanth had a major role in ''Warada Kageda'' in 1953. Jayanth subsequently acted in ''Awishwasaya'', ''Purusha Rathnaya'' (1959) and ''Sithaka Mahima'' (1964) before reuniting with Jaylath in her directorial effort ''Sweep Ticket'' (1965). In 1967 he portrayed a role in ''Sarana'' directed by Ashoka David. He quit from acting after the film ''Sarana''. Jayanth started his company Seven Arts around 1972 and produced such films as ''Sahanaya'' (1972), ''Hondata Hondai'' (1973), ''Kawda Raja'' (1976), ''Sabeetha'' (1980), ''Senasuma'' (1981) and ''Mala Giravi'' (1984). He was also active as a designer of film cutouts and was the art director of ''Wahal Doopatha'' (1968) and ''Deviyani Oba Kohida'' (1977).

Filmography

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jayanth, Prem 1933 births 1997 deaths Sri Lankan male film actors 20th-century Sri Lankan male actors People from Colombo District