Kyaw Thu

Infobox actor
name = Kyaw Thu


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birthname = Kyaw Win
birthdate = birth date and age|1959|11|02
birthplace = Yangon, Myanmar MYA
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occupation = actor, director
yearsactive = 1974-Present
spouse = Myint Myint Khin Pe
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children = Pyi Thein Kyaw, Myint-Mo Oo
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awards = "Da Byi-Thu Ma Shwe Hta" (1994) Kyaw Thu ( _my. ကျော်သူ; born 2 November 1959) is a Myanmar Academy Award winning film actor and film director. One of the top leading men of Burmese cinema in the 1980s and 1990s, Kyaw Thu continues to star in films and has directed several successful films.

Since the early 2000s, Kyaw Thu has devoted much time to do social work for the poor, and in the process has gradually emerged as a vocal critic of the Burmese military government.

Early life

Kyaw Thu was born Kyaw Win to Daw Mya Than and U Sein Tin in Yangon. He attended University of Yangon but dropped out of school in the final year to pursue a career in films.

Career

Kyaw Thu made his film debut in 1984, and has starred in over 200 films and directed six films in a career spanning over two decades. [cite journal | url=http://www.mandalaygazette.com/modules/newbb/ | title=Kyaw Thu | language=Burmese | publisher=The Mandalay Gazette] In the 1980s and 1990s Kyaw Thu was one of the most successful leading men in Burmese cinema.

Kyaw Thu won the Myanmar Academy Award for Best Lead Actor in "Da-Byi-Thu Ma Shwe Hta" (Miss Shwe Hta, the Foreigner) in 1994. Some believe that Kyaw Thu would have won more awards had he been more pliant with the propaganda demands of Myanmar Motion Picture Organization, which gives out the annual awards.

His latest scuffle with the authorities--he was arrested in October 2007 for supporting the anti-government protests led by the monks--surely will not win him more awards. In October 2007, his latest HIV/AIDS awareness film, "A-Kywin-Mè Longyon-Ya", has been blocked by the government censorship board. [ [http://www.bnionline.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2764&Itemid=35 BNI Online - Burmese actor Kyaw Thu's HIV awareness video blocked ] ]

Social work and politics

Kyaw Thu has used his prominence to help the country's poor. He is founder and vice president of the Free Funeral Services Society (FFSS), which provides free funeral services to the poor. [cite news | title=Film star Kyaw Thu Arrested | url=http://english.dvb.no/news.php?id=546 | author=Moe Aye | publisher=Democratic Voice of Burma | date=2007-10-11] As of June 2008, the society had paid for over 50,000 funerals.cite journal | title=Interview with Kyaw Thu | language=Burmese | date=2008-06-01 | vol=2 | issue=11 | url=www.mandalaygazette.com | publisher=The Mandalay Gazette] Since 2003, his society has also helped pay medical costs in poor neighborhoods of Yangon, and since 2007, started a free clinic for the poor. Through his funeral services society, Kyaw Thu was active in rescue and support efforts in the aftermath of May 2008 Cyclone Nargis which completely devastated Burma's Irrawaddy delta and cost over 130,000 lives. As of June 2008, the society had helped to raise K500 million (~US$400,000) for the victims of the disaster.

Kyaw Thu and his wife were arrested for publicly supporting the protesting monks in September 2007. [cite news | url=http://www.irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=9049 | title=Comedian Zarganar, Actor Kyaw Thu Released from Insein Prison | publisher=The Irrawaddy]

Personal life

Kyaw Thu is married to Myint Myint Khin Pe. They have a son, Pyi Thein Kyaw, and a daughter, Myint Mo Oo.

See also

* Myanmar Motion Picture Museum
* List of Myanmar Motion Picture Academy Awards

References