Tissa Wijesurendra

Don Bhathiyatissa Wijesurendra (තිස්ස විජේසුරේන්ද්‍ර 3 April 1949 – 11 May 2020), popularly known as Tissa Wijesurendra, was a Sri Lankan actor. One of the most popular actors of the 1970s, Wijesurendra played many dramatic roles in a career spanned for four decades. An innocent lover of Sinhala cinema at one time, Wijesurendra can be described as a symbol of popular cinema.

Personal life Wijesurendra was born on 3 April 1949 in Sarikkamulla, Panadura as the eldest of the family. He qualified to become a doctor but became an actor instead.

He was married until his death to Savithri Dias Wijesurendra, a retired teacher who formerly worked at Visakha Vidyalaya. The couple had three daughters. Their daughter Surani has been involved with few television serials and has worked as a TV host.

Cinema career During school times, he stayed at an uncle's house in Bambalapitiya because it was easy to attend tuition classes. That uncle worked at Ceylon Theaters where he was selected for a film. His maiden cinema appearance came through the 1971 film Kalana Mithuro directed by Kingsley Rajapakse. It was a remake of popular Hollywood film Dosthi and the reason to cast Tissa is that he and Sudhir Sawant of Dosthi looks similar. Kingsley Rajapaksa edited the name of "Batiyathissa" to suit the cinema. Tissa was allowed to star in a feature film Nim Walalla in 1970 directed by Ranjith Lal