TOI: Take Two - Additi

TAKE TWO

Television actors who were once playing lead actors are now seen in character roles.AT takes a look

Amrita Mulchandani


Its a brutal world out there in showbiz.The highs can be intoxicating but not necessarily permanent.Thats what makes the whole world of glamor and glitz so very unpredictable.Yes,as they do say that once an actor will always be an actor.But equations change on the small screen even before one can flip the channel and the role changes from a lead one to a character one.There was a time when we saw actors like Nausheen Ali Sardar,Aman Verma,Amar Upadhyay,Aashka Goradia,Reva Babbar,Nikhil Arya,Abhigail Pandey,Additi Gupta and Sakshi Tanwar grabbing eyeballs and garnering maximum TRPs as lead actors.They were hot favorites of prime time television and heartthrobs until recently.The small screen audiences loved them,night after night.But its a different story today.Now actors Nikhil Arya (Tere Liye),Aashka Goradia (Laagi Tujhse Lagan),Aman Verma (Na Ana Is Des... Laado) and an upcoming show),Additi Gupta (Sanjog Se Bani Sangini),Reva Babbar (Ram Milaye Jodi) and Nausheen Ali Sardar (Beendh Banooga Ghodi Chadoonga ) are essaying character roles.Going by the requirement of the creative shows on air these days,fresh faces are in demand.There are also a lot of shows made on youth,so one has to cast youngsters in them, says TV producer,Sudhir Sharma.Agrees Chloe Ferns,creative head of a show,The year 2000 saw tremendous groW*H for the television industry.So telly actors became superstars overnight but today the scenario has changed.There are loads of TV channels and shows and thats why an element of freshness is required.Audiences tastes have also changed and they are bored of watching the same faces.Once they relate to an actor as a particular character,they dont want to see him/her essay another character. Chloe adds,The big stars will be back on the small screen only if a script demands their presence.They now want to do roles that they are comfortable in.In Bollywood scripts are written keeping in mind Amitabh Bachchan We need something of that sort on television too. Isnt it getting an established actor better than hiring new faces Experienced actors demand a high fee.Today,it is important to invest wisely.Moreover,established actors do not guarantee TRPs or commitment, says Sudhir.Overexposure of an actor is a no-no on TV.Show makers want new look for their shows and prefer new actors.Also the audiences does not accept lead actors playing another character sometimes.Channels do not want to take risks by roping in established actors, says director,Rajan Waghdhare.He adds,Lead actors have a limited shelf life their career span lasts up to five years.To be successful,the actors need to change their genre. Ask actor Riva Babber on why she chose to play mom when she was once the second lead in the immediate past and she says,Ive already played mom to actors who were elder than me in Kyunki... ! And rather than playing a sister or bhabhi I prefer playing the female leads mom. While actor Aman Verma feels that there is a major change in the age of an actor.Today a 20 year old girl plays a 16 year olds mom,a 30-35 year old woman plays grandmom,and a 16 year old girl plays the main lead.Times are changing and actors who are changing according to market demands,survive.I could experiment as an actor because I worked during the groW*H period of the TV industry. Aman says that that if actors work on themselves,grabbing a variety of roles would be easier.Ronit (Roy) and Shweta (Tiwari) have managed to do lead roles as they have maintained themselves.We have to push ourselves, says Aman.For small screens limelight moths,being visible in strong character roles is important,because what matters at the end of the day is attracting attention and staying in news,besides of course creative satisfaction.

(With inputs by Shruti Jambhekar)

amrita.mulchandani@timesgroup.com