Young gets old

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Young actors doing elderly roles in popular tele-serials is becoming a common thing these days. (TOI Photo)

These young actors of small screen don't shy away from dyeing their hair grey. Nor do they think twice about getting those tell-tale wrinkles, which mar their otherwise smooth countenance. For ageing certainly seems to pay, at least for the young actors acting in the saas-bahu sagas.

Does this mean it's time up for the veteran actors of the small screen? Are the soaps compromising the gravity that is natural to older characters, by making young actors play those roles? Last but not the least, how comfortable do these young wonders feel, playing the roles of characters which are double or even triple their age? KT tries to find answers to these nagging questions...

Explaining the reason as to why glamourised parents and grandparents are shown on the small-screen, Nivedita Basu, creative head of serials like Kyunki... and Kasautii... says, "Tele-serials run for a fairly long time. So, we have to show the same actors, who have appeared young in the serial, in an elderly role to maintain continuity and make the characters appear real."

But doesn't a 32-year-old actor, playing a glamorised 60-plus character affect the seriousness of the plot? Nivedita adds, "Not at all. On the contrary, we give what people want. Everyone likes to see glamorised characters, be it of any age group. Also in real life, in spite of their advancing age, people are trying to look glamorous. Take for instance Shobha De. I feel she is looking sexier with each passing day. And the best part is that young actors find it a challenge to play elderly roles."

32-year-old actor Gautami Kapoor, who readily accepted the role of 70-year-old Tulsi in Kyunki... says, "Playing a 70-year-old was a very big challenge for me. But, I didn't even think twice before accepting this role, even though, I had to work hard in order to get the looks of a 70-year-old women."

Young actors in older avataars are fine, but at times it can lead to situations where the actors playing children end up looking older than the parents themselves. Hiten Tejwani, or the elderly Anurag Basu of Kasautii... laughs as he agrees, "Yes, I've been told that I look younger than my son Prem in the serial," before adding, "When I am putting in all my efforts while playing elderly roles, I expect actors who are playing my kids in the serial, to also put an equal effort."

And what do the veteran actors — who used to do elderly roles in the serials — have to say on this latest trend which is followed in the serials?
"The audience may find it funny, but the producer and director insist that a 28-year-old actor should play the role of a 60-plus character in the serial in order to gain maximum TRPs. If this trend continues for a longer time, then actors like us will have to look for other avenues," rues the talented actor Alok Nath.

Also disappointed by the fact that tele serials are no more scripted keeping veteran actors in mind, is Sushma Seth. She says, " There can be wonderful scripts written for the veteran actors. But today's TV industry is majorly governed by the younger actors. The situation is very sad for actors like us."