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BOLLYWOOD STILL TOUGH FOR TV STARS?
Does the small-screen tag still weigh down actors keen to make a transition to the big screen?
Sushant Singh Rajput was the biggest TV-to-film success story in recent times. And his death has indeed brought a pall of gloom in the TV industry, especially to many who looked up to the actor’s phenomenal journey.
Actor Radhika Madan recalled how, when she was transitioning from television to movies, people always said, ‘Don’t do it’. “And I remember always giving them Sushant’s example. He made it look.. achievable. He inspired many actors like me,” she posted recently. Actors such as Mohit Raina and Karan Kundrra, too, shared how Rajput inspired many small-screen actors eyeing the big screen. But his death has raised questions on whether TV actors are wholeheartedly accepted in the film industry, despite the precedent of a certain Shah Rukh Khan.
Actor Hiten Tejwani, who has dabbled in both TV and films, with his last big-screen appearance in Kalank (2019), says in Bollywood, unlike in the West, some still believe in the demarcation of a TV actor and film actor. “But it is slowly going away. Casting TV actors does get a bit difficult as people have the thing of TV actors being over-exposed,” he says.
TV actor Manasi Parekh, who made her Bollywood debut with Uri: The Surgical Strike (2019), feels stigmas around TV actors are long gone. “Whatever struggles he [Rajput] had, what he could or could not do, is his journey. We all loved him as an actor, he was extremely talented. It is unfortunate what happened. But we should let it be, not speculate,” she says.
Film trade analyst Atul Mohan feels talent is what matters at the end of the day and, in the recent past, there
Samarth Goyal
Following actor Sushant Singh Rajput’s death, singer Sonu Nigam posted a seven-minute-long video on Instagram on Thursday. He requested top music labels to be “a little sensitive” towards young talent so that the latter may not end up facing a fate like Rajput. Explaining the motivation behind the video, in which he said that people will “soon hear about suicides in the music industry”, Nigam tells us, “It is a heartfelt request to the power bearers to be a little kind to artistes...”
In the video, the singer, without naming any label, claimed that “two” music companies control the entire music scene in the country and are not letting newbies sing in films, because the latter are not has been “a healthy influx of actors from the television world in films”.
Actor Rohan Mehra, who starred in the TV shows Bade Achhe Lagte Hain and Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai, besides a few films, says, “He [Rajput] was an inspiration; his death is a demotivation for sure. If your inspiration does this after achieving so much, what are we going to do?”
And actor Ragini Khanna, star of several hit TV projects and films such as Teen Thay the label’s artistes. “I’ve had so many young singers come up to me, literally crying. They say that the composer and director want them to sing, but the music label doesn’t want them, simply because they are not that label’s artiste,” he said in the video.
Nigam, 46, who has been in the industry for nearly three decades, also called out actor Salman Khan, without naming him, for not letting him sing in his films — just as, in 2016, singer Arijit Singh had alleged that his songs were “vetoed” out of Khan’s film because, the former made fun of the actor during an awards event. “Mere sath bhi wahi actor, who is in question these days, didn’t let me sing for his films. He did the same to Arijit Singh as well,” Nigam said. When asked to confirm if the actor he referred to was Salman Khan, the singer neither confirms nor denies it.
He further revealed in his video that he has often been asked to sing by composers, but later “unhone woh gana kisi aur or se gavaya”. “I’d understand if I had approached the makers... But they called me and then didn’t use my voice,” he added in the video.
Rajput’s death has caused an uproar among people, who have blamed a section of
Bhai (2011) and Gurgaon (2017), observes every industry is tough. “Films are not a step up and TV is not a step down. We should not look at it like that. As an actor when you are out there, who are you seeking acceptance from? The only acceptance an actor needs is from the audience,” she shares.
Bollywood for ignoring talented ‘outsiders’ and endorsing nepotism. Nigam says that, through his video, he wanted to warn music companies against “disregarding” younger musicians.
“It’s a serious issue. If you are accusing so many people for Sushant’s fate, who didn’t even have a direct connection, then, in this case, there is a direct and brazen disregard for people’s careers,” he tells us, adding, “The business has changed. But there has to be equal opportunity for talent. Too much power in limited hands will create more stories like Sushant’s... The scene out there is not very encouraging. The amount of thank you messages I have received after this video is scary.”