ජෝතිපාල H R
304 songs performed · 1 composition · 1 lyric written
H. R. Jothipala (also written HR Jothipala or H R Jothipala, එච්. ආර්. ජෝතිපාල), born Hettiarachchige Reginald Jothipala, was a Sri Lankan playback singer whose voice carried Sinhala cinema for three decades. He is widely regarded as the most popular film playback singer in Sri Lankan history, having sung for hundreds of films and across thousands of recordings.
Jothipala was born on 12 February 1936 in Dematagoda, Colombo, the eldest of six children. He studied at St. Lawrence College, Maradana, and St. John’s College, Dematagoda. He came up without formal classical training, learning the craft on the job, which became part of his appeal: his was a popular, accessible voice rather than a conservatory one.
His playback debut came in 1956 with the song “Siriyame Sara” in Cyril P. Abeyratne’s film Surathalee, a recording that remains familiar in Sri Lanka decades later. From there H R Jothipala became the default voice for leading men on screen, lending his singing to actors across generations, from Gamini Fonseka and Vijaya Kumaratunga to younger stars who followed. He is reported to have recorded several thousand songs and to have featured in more than 200 films.
Jothipala worked with the leading composers and lyricists of the era and recorded many celebrated duets. Among his frequent partners were the singers Latha Walpola and Milton Perera, while Milton Mallawarachchi belonged to the same generation of much-loved playback voices. Many of his best-known recordings are hosted on Lyrics-lk with Sinhala lyrics, transliteration, and English translation.
H. R. Jothipala died on 7 July 1987 in Colombo at the age of 51. His recordings remain in steady rotation on radio and among the Sri Lankan diaspora, and his films and duets are revisited by new listeners through streaming. For many households his voice is inseparable from the golden age of Sinhala film music, which is why the songs of H R Jothipala continue to draw listeners searching for the lyrics and their meaning.
Every Sinhala lyric, composition, and song credit by HR Jothipala.