'Greying' stars get the blues
Nobody likes to age, not even if it is just a character. No wonder then that all the saas, bahus are miffed over the 'time leaps' that popular TV serials take.
With serials taking a generation leap, the much-loved characters have no option but to undergo a metamorphosis turning into good old dada-dadis.
Predictably a tad insecure with age finally catching up with them on-screen, young actors playing elderly roles are worried.
Jaya Bhattacharya, who plays the vamp in Kyunki... feels, "Career ki vaat hi lag jaati hai (career is ruined) when such leaps take place. More so, if your character has already aged earlier in the serial. Now I am saddled with offers to play similar roles. It's frustrating. As a young actor I knew I was taking a risk by playing an older person."
So true, says, Grusha Kapoor, who played a 50 something mom-in-law in another serial. "Now as a 28-year-old, when I get offers to play characters as old as 45 or 55, it bothers me," she adds.
But Hiten Tejwani, who's better known as Karan Virani on screen, prefers to take such leaps in his stride, "Playing an old or young character is hardly an issue as long as the screen presence is phenomenal. As actors we should be versatile enough to be convincing both as 20 and 50-year-olds."
But while established actors are coming of age on TV, the newcomers aren't faring particularly well either on landing roles which suit their age. Rues 17-year-old Prachi Desai, who plays Bani in a serial where her age is around 27.
"I am lucky to have landed a role in Balaji's serials. But it does bother me sometimes that as Bani I have to dress and look much older than my actual age. I guess sab chalta hai."
