Somasiri Dehipitiya
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Dehipitiyage Don Somasiri (January 29, 1933 – April 27, 1982), popularly as Somasiri Dehipitiya, was a popular
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 character actor. He is best known for performances in
Dharmasena Pathiraja Pathiraja Navaratne Wanninayake Mudiyanselage Ranjith Dharmasena (28 March 1943 – 28 January 2018) was a Sri Lankan film director and screenwriter. He has been referred to as a 'rebel with a cause', an ‘''enfant terrible'' of the '70s', and ...
and
Vasantha Obeysekera Vasantha Obeysekera (1937 – 2017), was a Sri Lankan film director and screenwriter A screenwriter (also called scriptwriter, scribe, or scenarist) is a person who practices the craft of writing for visual mass media, known as screenwr ...
films.


Personal life

Dehipitiya was born on January 29, 1933, in
Gampaha Gampaha (Sinhala: ගම්පහ ; Tamil: கம்பஹா ) is an urban city in Gampaha District, Western Province, Sri Lanka. It is situated to the north-east of the capital Colombo. It is the sixth largest urban area in Western Provinc ...
, Sri Lanka. His father, Wilson Dehipitiya worked in the Railway Department. His mother Catherine Wingasinghe was a housewife. He completed education from Gampaha Primary School and later at Galahitiyawa Central College. After completing his primary education, he began work as a
civil servant The civil service is a collective term for a sector of government composed mainly of career civil service personnel hired rather than elected, whose institutional tenure typically survives transitions of political leadership. A civil service offic ...
eventually reaching a position at the Vehicles Department -
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 ...
in the engineer division. While appearing in cinema and theatre, he professionally worked as a store keeper in the Irrigation Department. His younger brother, Chandrasiri Dehipitiya was also a renowned actor, art director and sculptor. Chandrasiri was the artistic director of the film 'Ves Gatto'. He was also a member of the choir in the play 'Maname'. Chandrasiri died on 9 December 2020. Dehipitiya was married to his longtime partner Rupa Ranasinghe who worked as a dance teacher in government schools and also acted as a dancer in about four films including ''Laa Dalu'' and ''Akkara Paha''. He was a father of one son: Damith Sirilal, and one daughter: Nayananjali, who specializes in advertising as well as film costume design. Damith is a Regional Manager at a private bank who is three years older than Nayananjali. In 1981, he suffered from jaundice. He died of
alcoholism Alcoholism is the continued drinking of alcohol despite it causing problems. Some definitions require evidence of dependence and withdrawal. Problematic use of alcohol has been mentioned in the earliest historical records. The World He ...
in 1982.


Career

He displayed his artistic talents since the age of ten, where in 1951 he greeted the then Prime Minister DS Senanayake with a warm welcome who came to his college. He later moved to drama and later won the Best Actor award for his role in ''Manamula'' at the 1954 School Drama Competition. Somasiri then entered radio at a young age with many talents. He once played the flute and at one time exhibited his talents as a radio dramatist. Meanwhile, veteran radio artist
Gemunu Wijesuriya Gamunu Mahinda Wijesuriya (5 August 1934 – 19 March 2007: as ), was an actor in Sri Lankan cinema, theatre, radio and television as well as a broadcaster, comedian, singer and radio program producer. Personal life Wijesuriya was born on 5 Au ...
saw his talent and took steps to introduce Somasiri to the public stage. He started to act in stage plays such as ''Mati Karaththaya'', ''Rathnawali'' produced by P. Welikala as well as Mahagamasekera's ''Kundalakeshi'', ''Swarnahansi''. Then he joined
Ediriweera Sarachchandra Veditantirige Ediriweera Ranjitha Sarachchandra (born Veditantirige Eustace Reginold de Silva; 3 June 1914 – 16 August 1996), popularly known as Ediriweera Sarachchandra ), was a Sri Lankan playwright, novelist, poet, literary critic, essayist ...
for his numerous stage plays such as ''Pabawathi'', ''Raththaran'', ''Elowa Gihin Melowa Awa'' and ''Kundala Keshi''. Then he acted in Dayananda Gunawardena's ''Ibi Katta'', ''Amathi Pattama'', and Neil Wijesinghe's ''Ane Massine''. Dehipitiya made his acting debut in Siri Gunasinghe's landmark ''
Sath Samudura ''Sath Samudura'' (English language, "Seven Seas") is a landmark Sri Lankan film directed by professor Siri Gunasinghe and released in 1967. This film was critically acclaimed and is considered a major work in Sri Lankan cinema. It depicts the ...
'' in 1967. Throughout the 1970s and early-1980s, he was a mainstay in alternative cinema with roles in such critically acclaimed works as ''
Thun Man Handiya ''Thun Man Handiya movie'' ( Sinhala for ''Three Way Junction'') is a 1970 dramatic film made by Sri Lankan artist Mahagama Sekera. It is autobiographical and recounts Sekera's childhood though the character of Sirisena. Plot The film is set in ...
'' (1970), ''Ves Gatho'' (1970), ''Hara Lakshaya'' (1971), ''Ahas Gauwa'' (1974), ''Sihasuna'' (1974), ''Walmath Wuvo'' (1977), ''Deviyani Oba Koheda'' (1977), ''Eya Dan Loku Lamayek'' (1977), ''
Bambaru Awith ''Bambaru Avith (The Wasps are Here)'' () is a 1978 Sri Lankan Sinhala drama film directed by Dharmasena Pathiraja and produced by director himself with Thilak Godamanne for Saranga Salaroo. It explores tradition and exploitation following the ...
'' (1978), ''Anupama'' (1978), ''Sarungale'' (1979), ''Podi Malli'' (1979), ''Siribo Aiyya'' (1980), Para Dige (1980), ''Karumakarayo'' (1980), ''Soldadu Unnahe'' (1981), ''Sagarayak Meda'' (1981) and ''Ridi Nimnaya'' (1982). Dehipitiya also dabbled as an assistant director with ''Ves Gatho'' in 1970 and as a playback singer in ''Walmath Wuvo'' with
Cyril Wickramage Cyril Wickramage (born 26 January 1932: Sinhala:සිරිල් වික්‍රමගේ) is an actor and director in Sri Lankan cinema, theater and television as well as a singer. Wickramage is known for participating mainly in artistic ...
. In 1980, Dehipitiya won the award for the Best Supporting Actor for his role in ''Siribo Ayya'' in Presidential Award Ceremony.


Legacy

The 40th Commemoration Ceremony was held on Saturday 23rd at 3.00 pm at the Tharangani Hall of the National Film Corporation. After that, the film ''Diyamanthi'' was screened.


Filmography


References


External links


Sri Lanka Sinhala Films Database - Somasiri Dehipitiya
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Dehipitiya, Somasiri 1933 births 1982 deaths Sri Lankan male film actors 20th-century Sri Lankan male singers 20th-century Sri Lankan male actors