Chandran Rutnam
Chandran Rutnam is a Sri Lankan filmmaker and entrepreneur.[2][3]
Chandran Rutnam | |
|---|---|
 Rutnam in 2006 | |
| Born | 22 July 1948[1] |
| Nationality | Sri Lankan |
| Citizenship | Sri Lankan |
| Education | S. Thomas' College, Gurutalawa |
| Occupation(s) | Film Director, Producer, Screenwriter, Entrepreneur |
| Years active | 1975 – Present |
| Known for | Film-making, Aviation |
| Title | President and CEO of Asian Film Locations Services Ex-Chairman of Lionair Chairman of Asian Aviation Centre |
| Children | 5 |
| Awards | Sarasaviya Award - Best Camera
Presidential Awards - Best Picture New York International Television and Film Awards - Best Film Madrid International Film Festival - Best Director |
| Website | Asian Film Locations Services Asian Aviation Centre |
Rutnam has hosted numerous Hollywood films for their location shoots in Sri Lanka and Malaysia.[2][3] He was the Line Producer/Production Supervisor on several international productions including the Sri Lankan location shoot of Paramount Pictures' Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984) and Indochine (1992).[2][3] 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 once referred to Rutnam as "Our most valued friend in the Far East".[3][4][5][6] Rutnam has also worked with Sir David Lean, Sir Carol Reed, John Boorman, George Lucas and Regis Wargnier.[2]
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.[4][5] 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.[2][7]
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 Dr. James T. Rutnam and a Sinhalese mother Evelyn Wijeyaratne. He lived in Los Angeles, California 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).[2]
Life and career
Rutnam was a school boy when David Lean arrived in Sri Lanka to shoot his Second World War epic, The Bridge on the River Kwai. The film crew hired a house that belonged to his parents for the shooting.[4][5] 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 and attended the film school at the University of Southern California 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.[4][5][6]
Rutnam also dreamt of making a mark in the aviation field. He stated, "I was the sort of guy who would go to an airport and watch the planes taking off. I remember as a kid, I went to the Colombo 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."[8] 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 in 1998, but resumed services in October 2002.[9]
Filmography
Theatrical releases
Awards and nominations
| Year | Award | Category | Nominated work | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990 | Sarasaviya Award | Best Camera | Witness to a Killing – Janelaya | Won |
| 1999 | Presidential Awards | Best Picture | Pilgrimage - Theertha Yathra | Won |
| 2011 | New York International Television and Film Awards | Best Film | The Road from Elephant Pass | Won (Finalist Award) |
| 2013 | Madrid International Film Festival | Best Director | A Common Man | Won |
Gallery
William Holden and Chandran Rutnam during the shooting of The Bridge on the River Kwai
George Lucas and Chandran Rutnam
Chandran Rutnam with John Derek and Bo Derek
Harrison Ford and Chandran Rutnam on the set of Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom which was shot in Hantana, Sri Lanka in 1983
Steven Spielberg and Chandran Rutnam on location in Sri Lanka during the filming of Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
Rutnam with Steven Spielberg at a benefit honoring Spielberg (December 9, 2009)
Anton Wickremasinghe, Chandran Rutnam (center) and Alfred Hitchcock at the Academy Awards in Los Angeles.
References
- "Chandran Rutnam". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved March 5, 2023.
- "RUTNAM: like in the movies". Daily News. September 25, 2013. Archived from the original on December 3, 2014. Retrieved April 2, 2015.
- "Breaking the artificial barriers". Sunday Observer. February 11, 2007. Archived from the original on July 22, 2011. Retrieved April 2, 2015.
- "Dream locales in Lanka". Nirupama Subramaniam. Archived from the original on December 26, 2005. Retrieved February 4, 2008.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - "Moving movie man dreams on". Bandula Jayasekara. Retrieved February 4, 2008.
- "Hollywood gets Tsunami plea". BBC. January 19, 2005. Retrieved February 5, 2008.
- "Lankans' film wins three awards". The Island. July 8, 2013. Retrieved July 9, 2013.
- "Demand for local pilots increasing". The Associated Newspapers of Ceylon Ltd. August 31, 2009. Archived from the original on October 19, 2012. Retrieved 2011-04-29.
- Flight International 5–11 April 2005
External links
