The Versatile Rajeev.K FC IMP-RK Gold Awards Pg 40 - Page 104

Originally posted by: -purnima-

When the lead walks away

Ridge Forrester, the character with whom half of the country's soap watching female population had fallen in love with during the 90s, is quitting the popular show The Bold and The Beautiful after 25 years. If Ron Moss, the actor who plays Ridge, a dashing, super-rich designer in the show, had decided to quit a decade back, many of his fans in India, and around the world, would have surely died of grief. But sadly today Ridge is just a fond memory from the past, having been replaced in the hearts of fans years back by younger stars.

But while his fans might have moved on, the producers of the show are yet to recover from the shock as Ridge was the backbone of their show. So what do you do, when your cash cow, your magic formula, decides to leave or stops working the same magic as before? Back home, producers and directors are quite used to lead actors quitting, but as they say, "the show must go on". Ekta Kapoor had faced the same problem when India's first TV superstar Amar Upadhyay, who used to play Mihir, decided to quit Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi. Talking about how she coped, Ekta says, "We all know that the show has to go on and sometimes with a different face to the character. If the replacement gives a great performance and represents the role well, the audiences gradually start liking the new face too."

While it is natural to feel upset on a producer's part, it's silly to hold on to the anger. As Rajeev Khandelwal, who got bored of playing Sujal, a dashing tycoon in the serial Kahin Toh Hoga, explains, "Change is the spice of life. I did not want to get stuck doing only one character. An actor wants to go a long way in his career. It is always important to experiment with other roles."

Though rumour has it that Ron Moss was unhappy with his pay package, one can't blame him from getting bored of playing the same role for over two decades now! The makers of BB, however, should not worry, as producer Hemal Thakkar of the soap Ruk Jana Nahi, says, "Our success ratio depends on how we embark upon the storyline. We also need to give the replacements time to settle in."

Replacements and sometimes a new star cast work wonders as Thakkar cites the example of Saath Nibhana Saathiya which is doing well despite the female lead Gia Manik quitting. Director Sudhir Sharma of Na Bole Tum Na Maine Kuch Kaha agrees with Thakkar. "Content is the king. If the storyline is gripping it holds the audiences." Guess this will offer solace to BB's producers who now want to focus on other characters in the show.

Had seen a few episodes of B & B and when i saw sujal felt the makers could have had ridge forrester in mind when they created sujal,... so its a mild shocking surprise seeing their names in one article.

Ronn Moss was ridge for 25 years!!!😲 rajeev khandelwal didnt last even for 25 months. 😊😊.

And he left because of the pay package and our guy because he wanted to experiment.