Undying memories of irreplaceable Jothi

83rd birth anniversary falls tomorrow

The 83rd birth anniversary of Sri Lanka’s undisputed playback king H.r.jothipala falls tomorrow, February 12. Hettiarachchige Reginald Jothipala was the most prolific playback singer in the Sinhala cinema rendering his magical screen voice to all classes of actors ranging from Eddie Jayamanne, Ananda Jayaratne, Gamini Fonseka, Vijaya Kumaratunga, Sanath Gunathilake, Ravindra Randeniya and several others, to young generation stars like Damith Fonseka, Lal Weerasinghe and other newcomers. The old boy of St. Lawrence College, Maradana and St. John’s College, Dematagoda was in the habit of patronizing tea kiosks in the area to listen to songs since his family did not possess a radio. He made his debut as a playback singer in Cyril P. Abeyratne’s Surathalee singing ‘Siriyame Sara’ in 1956, but prior to that he had sung for the late Sirisena Wimalaweera’s ‘Podi Putha’. This song was mysteriously slashed from the film when it was released. According to records, Jothi was selected for the film by music director B.s.perera but it had been rejected by the Indian film composer who had said that Jothi did not possess a screen voice. When Surathalee producer Jabir A. Cader wanted to hear one of his songs to consider him for the film, poor Jothi was again helpless since he did not possess enough money to cut a record. It was veteran musician Stanley Omar who came to his rescue and helped him out at this crucial stage. This paved him the way to sing ‘Siriyame Sara’ which is popular even today. Jothi was fortunate to have worked with almost all reputed directors in the country. In the early stages of his melodious career, Jothi clinched the rare opportunity of working with prolific film maker Dr. Lester James Peries’ ‘Sandeshaya’ in which he sang the evergreen number ‘Puruthugeesikara’. He was the undisputed choice in films that were made in the late sixties and through the seventies, the period during which he also grew as an actor too. Though Jothi was criticized for singing to the tunes of popular Hindi songs – which he did competently – he also sang under the batons of Pandit W.D. Amaradewa, P.V. Nandasiri, Premasiri Khemadasa and Sarath Dassanayake. He sang for hundreds of films including popular hits like Kasthuri Suwanda, Thushara, Sweep Ticket, Hitha Honda Minihek, Kawda Raja, Hondata Hondai, Wasana, Sangeetha, Hathara Denama Soorayo and others. The award-winning singer also played some memorable roles in Ethulweema Thahanam, Sulalitha Sobani, Sujeewa, Sukiri Kella and others.