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15 Facts About Robin Tampoe

1.

Rabindra Coomaraswamy, popularly known by his stage name Robin Tampoe, was a film maker of Sri Lankan cinema.

2.

One of the earliest pillars in Sinhala cinema, Tampoe hailed from the Sri Lankan Tamil community but most of his movies were made in the Sinhala language.

3.

Robin Tampoe was born on 29 December 1930 in Jaffna to a family of lawyers.

4.

Robin Tampoe's great-grandfather Tamodan Pillai McQueen Tampoe was a retired magistrate and judge.

5.

Robin's grand father Gurusami Thananiel Hunt Tampoe was a lawyer in the District Court.

6.

Robin Tampoe's father William McGowan Sellasamy was a lawyer, film producer and a director.

7.

Robin Tampoe is involved in importing foreign language films for television, dubbing television programs and children's movies for Sri Lankan television stations, with his own recording and dubbing studios.

8.

Robin Tampoe is a registered sound engineer under the National Film Corporation of Sri Lanka.

9.

Rita died on 16 July 2018, whereas Robin Tampoe died on 22 March 2000, at the age of 69.

10.

Robin Tampoe generated his own interest in cinema after observing his father who directed the early Sinhala films including Sepali, Samiya Birindage Deviyaya, Landaka Mahima, and Waradata Danduwam.

11.

Robin Tampoe engaged in an import-export film trade with South Indian film distributors, notably the renowned director and studio owner T R Sundaram of Modern Studios, Salem.

12.

Meanwhile, William and Robin Tampoe laid a foundation in regional film cooperation between Ceylon and India.

13.

Robin Tampoe's studio became a training ground for several local actors, actresses, music directors, cameramen and technical assistants.

14.

Robin Tampoe introduced the cameraman Timothy Weeraratne and renowned actresses Suvineetha Weerasinghe and Nita Fernando to Sinhala cinema.

15.

Robin Tampoe later contributed to the organization of the first festival of Sinhala films at the Shanthi cinema in Jaffna.