Veteran singer Milton Mallawarachchi’s melodious songs which thrilled many generations and filled our hearts with love, still echoes in our ears.
As a renowned singer Milton had embellished our music industry by singing 850 songs. He had gained a reputation as a film playback singer. He became a Grade A singer at the Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation.
The most significant fact is that Milton Mallawarachchi had sung songs written by many veteran lyricists such as Premakeerthi de Alwis, Karunarathna Abeysekara, K.D. K. Dharmawardana, Clarence Wijewardena, Upali Dhanawalawithana and Dharmasiri Gamage.
Ranil Mallawarachchi who inherited his father’s mellifluous voice and creative spirit continues his father’s legacy. Ranil Mallawarachchi, born on October 15, 1974 had his education at Nalanda college, Colombo and studied music under the veteran musicians such as Edward Jayakody and Nanda Malini.
He honed his skills and knowledge under their guidance. He entered the music field in 1993 through his maiden music cassette. Significantly, the music for all the songs included in the cassette had been composed by veteran musicians. This must be the reason for its endless creativity.
Ranil whose gentle voice aroused golden memories in our hearts established a unique identity in the popular music culture in the country.
When asked about his maiden music cassette he remembered everyone with much love, “I have to remember my father who instructed me to control my voice when singing songs and Anil Prasanna who helped me to produce my cassette, Henry Halpita and Chandradasa Fernando. They helped me to release my first cassette.”
At the time when Ranil entered the music industry there were many singers such as Namal Udugama, Priyankara Perera and Madhumadawa Aravinda. But Ranil’s gentle voice and creativity propelled his rise up to stardom.
We can’t lose sight of the fact that it is Ranil Mallawarachchi who rekindles Milton Mallawarachchi’s golden memories for generations. The musical shows organized by him have contributed to the rejuvenation of our memories. Winding back the clock to the era of our Golden cinema, we can’t forget that there can be seen more that 80 films enriched with Milton’s songs such as ‘Poojithayo’ (1971), ‘Ran Onchilla’ (1971), ‘Seete Nottuwa’ (1971), ‘Adare Hithenawa Dakkama’ (1972), ‘ Mathara Achchi’ (1973) ‘Aradhana’.
Not surprisingly, Ranil who inherited his father’s lovable voice too had sung songs for two films. Moreover, there are more than 160 songs which bear testimony to Ranil’s creative spirit. Speaking of unforgettable memories with his father Milton, Ranil Mallawarachchi had sung a song ‘Me Lowa Gemburui’ with Milton two years before his passing away.
Current situation
At a time when there was no sophisticated technology, not only musicians but also singers had to undergo many hardships in releasing their songs. They had to go to a studio even to record a song.
However, at present many upcoming singers own home studios. There are several opportunities for musicians to release their songs. In a nutshell, If you kick a bush, many digital platforms for upcoming singers will jump out, such as YouTube, Spotify and Song clouds. People who live in this fast-paced world can’t find time to maintain a specific playlist for each occasion. They tend to be switching from digital music downloads to on-demand music streaming because they can get access to multiple music libraries.
“Nowadays we can find many opportunities to release new songs. But the path to become a singer is not rose-strewn. We have to face hardships and overcome them. We can’t find any field without challenges. Challenges are everywhere. We have to be stable and take up challenges without wavering,” said Ranil Mallawarachchi.
Ranil did not forget to remember his contemporaries such as Prince Udaya Priyantha, Asanka Priyamantha and Sathish Perera and Ishaq Beg.
According to Ranil, even though anyone can enter the music field, it is hard to stay for a long time. The most needed fact is the identity that an artiste can establish. Obviously it is true. To the best of my knowledge, most singers who became popular overnight stay in our memory only for two or three months. His son Pavan Mallawarachchi is involved in the music field.
Turning point
Is there a way to tell what goes on in between what has happened and what will happen? Certainly the answer is “no”. Even a situation and a moment which can change the direction of our lives can be a turning point in our lives. No doubt that the song ‘E Mage Malai’ with a unique rhythm sung by Ranil Mallawarachchi and Harsha Bulathsinghala became the turning point both in his life and in the popular music industry.
The song which was released in 1996 paved the way for many new songs with less adherence to the long established norms. Scintillating performance by Ranil and Harsha on the stage undoubtedly captivated our hearts. He has taken part in musical shows in many countries such as America, Australia, Melbourne, Canada and New Zealand.
“Actually though they spend a very busy life they enjoy our songs willingly. That is why they organise such musical shows,” he said.
His message
Ranil Mallawarachchi who had engaged himself in the music field for more than 20 years had elevated the music industry up to the highest position by continuing his father’s legacy for our next generation.
“Entering the music field is easy but staying in this field is the hardest part. We have to be creative and unique. If we improve our skills by exploring different styles we can approach many audiences. I am confident that our new upcoming singers and artistes can brighten our music industry,” Ranil said. All in all, Ranil and Pavan who hail from an artistic family can brighten our music industry for our next generation.
