|
|
|
| Sunday, 4 September 2005 |
 |
|
 |
Features |  |
| News Business Features Editorial
|
Treading on dangerous terrain by Ranga Jayasuriya Sri Lankan women may be the target audience of the prime-time teledramas beaming from half a dozen television channels.
And the feminists may have found at least a couple of teledramas campaigning their cause. But, away from the celluloid world of teledrama, the very actresses and female producers complain of the discrimination, at the hands of the male folk who are dominating the industry. Rohani Weerasinghe, actress and the first Sri Lankan female teledrama producer was horrified when a panellist of an evaluation committee of a private TV channel demanded Rs. 100,000 plus sexual favour in order to get her teledrama through the selection process. Rohani was desperately trying to sell her two teledramas - Anora and Sada Vasanthaya (Moonlit spring)- to the said TV channel, when the panellist approached her, pretending to be her saviour. "All my money was invested in the two dramas. Had I given into his request, Anora would have been telecast. Since I didn't, it was rejected and I am still going after the authorities of TV channels, asking whether they would buy it," laments Rohani. The question she is asking is: "Is it because I am a woman that I can't be a producer?". Going by Rohani's account, it is obvious that the local teledrama industry, how liberal it may seem to be in the outside world, is still in the throes of male domination. Rohani invested her lifetime savings in producing the two teledramas, most of which she earned during her stint in Japan. Having returned to the island, she produced her first teledrama, becoming the first female teledrama producer. But, she was heading towards tough times, as she gradually realised that teledrama production is overshadowed by a number of vested interests.Absence of any State institution, regulating and supporting the teledrama industry has aggravated her dilemma. Even though, teledramas are the most intimate to people, which is proved by the huge audience for prime-time teledramas, the Government has shown the least interest to safeguard the welfare of the crew and producers of the industry. Having invested her lifetime earnings in teledrama productions, she was shocked, when people whom she approached for help, demanded sexual favours in return for the small mercies she requested. "I am disappointed that I chose to be a teledrama producer. This is a dangerous terrain, especially for a young woman", says Rohani. But, it is a matter of survival. Now she has no other option, but to compete with the male folk for her due place in the industry. |
|
| News | Business | Features
| Editorial | Security
| Produced by Lake House |
