Chandran Rutnam (born 22 July 1940) is a Sri Lankan filmmaker and entrepreneur.
Rutnam has hosted numerous Hollywood films for their location shoots in Sri Lanka and Malaysia. 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). 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". Rutnam has also worked with Sir David Lean, Sir Carol Reed, John Boorman, George Lucas and Regis Wargnier.
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. 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.
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 James T. Rutnam and a Sinhalese mother Evelyn Wijeyaratne. He lived in Los Angeles, California, US 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).
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. 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.
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." 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.Flight International 5–11 April 2005
Filmography Theatrical releases Year Film Director Producer Writer Editor Other Notes 1981 Tarzan, the Ape ManProduction Manager 1984 Indiana Jones and the Temple of DoomProduction Manager Adara Kathawa1986 Lord Mountbatten: The Last ViceroyProduction Manager The Kiss of the Cobra 1987 Der Stein des Todes1988 Farewell to the KingProduction Manager The Further Adventures of Tennessee BuckProduction Manager A Dangerous Life1989 The Iron TriangleProduction Manager Shadow of the Cobra1990 Witness to a Killing - Janelaya Ghosts Can't Do ItAssociate Producer1992 SpooksProduction Manager Indochine Production Supervisor Fifty/FiftyProduction Manager 1993 La porte du ciel(français) Production Supervisor Le prix d'une femme(français) Production Supervisor Poronduwa - The Promise1994 Le Livre De CristalProduction Supervisor1995 Madara Parasathu Beyond RangoonProduction Manager L'enfant des Rues(français)Production Supervisor1996 Robo WarriorsProduction Supervisor Bloodsport 2 VictoryProduction Supervisor CaughtProduction Supervisor1997 Les mystères de SadjurahProduction Supervisor Paradise RoadProduction Supervisor Bloodsport III The Second Jungle Book: Mowgli & BalooAssociate Producer Mother Teresa: In the Name of God's Poor1998 D'or et de Safran(français)Production Supervisor The Son of SandokanProduction Manager Iqbal(Italino)Production Supervisor 1999 Pilgrimage - Theertha Yathra2000 Straße ins Paradies(Deutsch)Production Supervisor Der Kaptan(Deutsch)Production Supervisor2001 Un dono Semplice(Italino)Production Supervisor2002 Mansion by the Lake - Wekanda Walauwa Love 2002 The Hostages Production Supervisor2003 Mother Teresa of CalcuttaProduction Manager The Sleeping Dictionary2006 Spie Lies & AlibisProduction Supervisor WaterProduction Manager Fisherman's Daughter – Dheewari2009 VictoryProduction Supervisor The Road from Elephant Pass 2010 Agyaat 2011 ReadyLine Producer2012 Mille SoyaCo-Producer Train to KandyExecutive Producer Jism 2 Production Supervisor2013 A Common Man 2014 According to Mathew TBA Rizana – A Caged BirdDirector
Awards and nominations Year Award Category Nominated work Result1990Sarasaviya AwardBest Camera Witness to a Killing – Janelaya1999Presidential AwardsBest Picture Pilgrimage - Theertha Yathra2011New York International Television and Film AwardsBest Film The Road from Elephant Pass(Finalist Award)2013Madrid International Film FestivalBest Director A Common Man
Gallery
See also Evelyn Rutnam Institute for Inter-Cultural Studies Cinema of Sri Lanka
References
External links
Uththareethara: Chandran Rutnam (documentary video)