Hindustan Times ST (Jaipur) - Hindustan Times (Jaipur) - City
BOLLYWOOD STILL TOUGH FOR TV STARS?
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
In an Instagram post, actor Abhay Deol has voiced his opinion against lobbying in the Hindi film industry. He mentioned his acclaimed 2011 film Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara, which co-starred Hrithik Roshan, Farhan Akhtar and Katrina Kaif, and how he was not nominated for the Best Actor award. He wrote, “...almost all the award functions demoted me and Farhan from main leads, and nominated us as “supporting actors” .... by the industry’s own logic, this was a film about a man and a 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 woman falling in love, with the man supported by his friends for whatever decisions he takes. There are many covert and overt ways in which people in the industry lobby against you. In this case it was shamelessly overt. I of course boycotted the awards but Farhan was ok with it. #familyfareawards.” The low-profile actor’s post comes in the wake of Sushant Singh Rajput’s death and conversations about lobbying and camps in Bollywood.
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.