EYA DAN BANDALA [SHE’S NOW MARRIED]: SINHALA TELEDRAMA: VIEWER SUCCUMBS TO THE MALE GAZE

This position paper intends to examine the Sinhala teledrama Eya Dan Bandala [She’s now married] (2023) primarily through the lens of Male Gaze theorised by Laura Mulvey (1975): the teledrama was directed by Prasanna Jayakody and telecasted through the Independent Television Network (ITN), Sri Lanka. While contributing to the process of depicting a female sex worker’s post-prostitution life, the teledrama provides material for a close examination of Male Gaze – a feminist theory which posits that women are depicted as objects in narratives and visuals to satisfy the ‘male’ viewers’ desires. Nevertheless, the teledrama is scarcely read through Male Gaze. In this respect, we argue in this paper that despite the Director’s intention as revealed in his interviews (e.g. City FM, 2023), the viewer – both the audience as well as characters within the teledrama – succumbs to Male Gaze and objectifies the female. This is justified in this paper through the (i) character portrayal and plot, (ii) cinematography and visual symbols and (iii) the concept of absence. This analysis adds new vocabulary to the teledrama and contributes to the understanding of the nuances of Male Gaze.