Character actors are back in demand
More often than not, it's the lead pair or the main villain in a TV show who walk away with all the accolades. But if you ask the audiences, there are certain other characters who manage to create a long-lasting impression.
Would a show be the same without their presence? Not quite! Character actors on small screen are back in demand, and how! Their growing importance is making storytellers sketch special roles to take the story forward, be it that of the manipulative saas, the docile sister-in-law, the wicked brother or a helpful friend.
Some character actors who have added a lot of value to the current shows with their strong performances include Hema Singh (Imarti Devi of Kairee - Rishta Khatta Meetha), Aarti Singh (Seema Chopra of Parichay - Nayee Zindagi Kay Sapno Ka), Rucha Hasabnis (Rashi bahu of Saath Nibhana Sathiya), Jaswant Menaria (Shakti Singh of Mann Ki Awaaz Pratigya), Abhaas Mehta (Shyam Jha of Iss Pyaar Ko Kya Naam Doon?), Vishal Malhotra (Dr Ranganath of Kuch Toh Log Kahenge), Shritama Mukherjee (Rajkumari Jainandini of Dekha Ek Khwab), Sumona Chakravarti (Natasha Kapoor/Sharma of Bade Achhe Laggte Hai), Shivshakti Sachdev (Pinky Bihari Raj of Afsar Bitiya) and Iqbal Khan (Viren Roy of Yahan Main Ghar Ghar Kheli).
On the importance of character artists in a telly script, actress Rucha Hasabnis says, "Strong characters take a story forward. Whether it is Tapasya or Sajjan Singh - strong performances help immensely in putting up a show." Citing the example of her character, she adds, "Rashi is very sweet, but she has both negative and positive traits and is a realistic character. Any drama on the show happens because of Rashi."
Agrees actor Vishal Malhotra, "Be films or the small screen, I have always believed in doing characters that form the crux of the story. The current parallel love track between Ranganath and Anji is very important, as it forms the basis of comparison between the two different relationships," he says.
Interestingly, character actors are becoming equally popular as the lead actors. Actor Abhaas Mehta, who plays a baddie in Iss Pyaar Ko... says, "I got a lot of hate mails for my character. That is the beauty of Indian television. People believe in these characters so much that they take everything to heart."
However, there are some who believe only lead actors help in holding a show together. Actor Iqbal Khan says, "Character actors come and go. They are introduced for a brief period to link stories. But eventually, it is the story and the main leads that are most important."
Point noted, but fact remains that character actors can no longer be ignored, especially when they are contributing to the TRP charts in a big way!
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