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TV stars graduate to Bollywood
Several small screen stars are set to establish themselves on the big screen with Hindi movie releases lined up in 201819
After achieving stardom and earning a massive fan following on the small screen, many television actors are now set to foray into films. Though it’s not new for TV actors to eye a career in Bollywood, with A- listers such as Shah Rukh Khan, Vidya Balan and Sushant Singh Rajput having made the successful transition, the trend seems to be on a rapid rise now.
Actors such as Mouni Roy, Ankita Lokhande and Dipika Kakar already have their big ticket releases set for this year, while some such as Radhika Madan, Nandish Sandhu and Nia Sharma have just been roped in for their dream projects.
Why do most TV stars eventually want to make it in Bollywood? Dipika, who rose to fame with the show Sasural Simar Ka, says that she “never craved for Bollywood” but was certain that if “something good” came her way, she’d do it. “That’s exactly what happened with Paltan. I’ve never been going around and giving auditions, but when this role was offered to me, I realised that I fit the bill,” she says.
Pavitra Rishta actor Ankita Lokhande, who stars in Manikarnika: The Queen Of Jhansi, says, “It’s because films have a larger audience and give more exposure. Films are a worldwide medium and it’s always good to experience new things in your career. I’ll always be grateful to TV as whatever popularity I have today is because of my serial, I hope that the same will follow after the audience sees my work in films.”
Citing “audiences’ acceptance” as the reason behind this continuous popularity of TV stars in Bollywood, experts say the lines between the mediums have blurred.
Film-maker Kunal Kohli, who launched and costarred with TV actor Jennifer Winget in a web film, Phir Se, earlier this year, feels that TV is no longer the stepping stone to get into films. “Boundaries [between mediums] are blurring and actors want to work in different formats of cinema. The end result of doing any form of creativity is that you want people to watch it, whether it’s on TV or films,” he says.
Trade analyst Atul Mohan explains, “Actors from various mediums dream of making it big in films and film-makers, too, need an influx of new talent for fresh storytelling. And there’s nothing better if we have talented ones graduating from small screen to big screen.”
Stating that it’s always easier to launch a TV star in movies than a newcomer, film critic Omar Qureshi opines, “It’s simply because they are exposed to gruelling shooting schedules, look good and have tremendous fan followings including social media popularity. Also, newcomers don’t have takers and star kids come with a huge amount of comparison and pressure, so it’s almost a cakewalk for TV stars.”