Moonlighting? Article

Moonlighting?

A. L. Chougule
Posted online: Friday, December 22, 2006 at 0000 hours IST

What's common between Pawan Shankar, Sumeet Sachdev, Mihir Mishra, Sharad Kelkar, Sampada Vaze, Kanchi Kaul and Anuj Saxena? Besides being actors, they are academic achievers as well. While some are post-graduates, others are MBAs and a few of them are doctors and architects. Instead of banking on their academic excellence for a secure career they have chosen a profession that is uncertain and insecure. What made these attractive young men and women trade academics for a career in acting? Is it the lure of lucre, glamour, name and fame? Or is it the passion for acting? For some the choice was quite obvious while others jumped into the whirlpool of acting because of sheer attraction to glamour and money. Take the case of Kanchi Kaul, who played Ananya in Ek Ladki Anjani Si. She scored a distinction in microbiology and yet she chose to settle down in the topsy-turvy world of modeling, acting, glamour and limelight. She did her first modeling assignment seven years ago when she was in college. By the time she finished her studies she was a well-known model with several prestigious commercials to her credit like Wheel detergent, Sansui, Johnson's soap, Microsoft, Santro, Pantene, Clearasil and many more. Being a well-known model she started getting film offers from South. She settled for Telugu films. Starting with the super hit Sampangi, Kanchi did six films in two years and returned to Mumbai for her modeling assignments. "Acting happened to me because of modeling. Being a known face, lot of film offers started coming from the South. I decided to give one a try but I ended up doing six films," says Kanchi who then settled for television with Ek Ladki Anjani Si and is looking to doing both serials and films. Or take the case of Sampada Vaze. A post-graduate in business administration she had a well-paying job in a well-known multinational accounting firm. Till three years ago, modeling and acting was not on her career list. But things took a different turn when the attractive young lady was approached by an ad agency to model for a soap commercial. It so happened that she worked in the same building that also had the office of the ad agency. Modeling opened new opportunities and a new career option. Accounting took a back seat and product endorsement became her first priority. Obviously acting, as a logical progression to modeling, had to happen. "But, I was quite happy with modeling. It gave me freedom and lot of time for myself. Besides I was dealing with people who were MBAs and professionals," says Sampada. Being a well-known model she started getting offers for acting. "I felt it was time to move on because after doing over 50 commercials for several categories of consumer brands not much was left for me to do," she reasons. Thus Pyaar Ki Kashti Mein, a high profile show that was shot in Singapore and Malaysia, marked her acting debut on television and she found acting quite challenging. "In acting there is something new to learn everyday," smiles Sampada whose second TV show was Rishton Ki Dor. Mihir Mishra is a graduate in hotel management and has also got a degree in business administration from California. What brought him to acting and showbiz was the fact that his sister was working with Universal Pictures as associate producer. "I clicked my pictures and soon I hit it big in music videos. I liked the idea of being on screen," recalls Mihir who decided to become an actor. Sanjivani, his debut show, opened a new chapter and changed the course of his life as he went on to become a successful actor with his subsequent shows.

Sumeet Sachdev, an architect by profession, used to do theatre in Delhi. Six years ago he came to Mumbai to do Amir Raza Hussain's play Kargil and stayed back in the city lured by tinsel town. "I clicked my pictures and gave a few auditions," says Sumeet who after doing two stories of Balaji's Kya Hadsa Kya Haqeeqat landed the plum role of Tulsi's son Gautam in Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi. Since then he has remained a Balaji loyalist and currently apart from Kyunki... he is doing Karam Apna Apna. "I have gone through the highs and lows but have done pretty well for myself," he smiles.

Pawan Shankar, on the other hand, an MBA in finance, had a well-paid job in a well-known telecom company. But his friend Monisha Oberoi, a newsreader for Zee News who was his colleague at Essar Cellphone, encouraged him to try out a new career option. Together they made two documentaries for the HRD and Sports ministries. He came to Mumbai where Manisha and others encouraged him to switch careers.

"I was happy with my job but still I took the plunge because I am not the sort of person to stick to one job for years," reasons the actor, adding that modeling and acting offers came his way simultaneously. So while he did commercials like Reid & Taylor, TVS Spectra and Wipro Lighting he also started shooting for Siddhant. "I took a risk by switching over from a secure job but it has paid off well," gushes Pawan who is doing shows like Aisa Des Hai Mera, Thodi Si Zameen Thoda sa Aasman and Kasamh Se. If Pawan quit his cozy job for acting, Sharad Kelkar, an MBA in marketing and system, would have ended up doing a 9 to 5 corporate job had he not participated in Grasim Mr. India contest. "Actually I had come to Mumbai for a week on vacation and being a contestant for the Mr. India title I got some ramp show offers here. I did them and soon I was into modeling," says Sharad. Starting with a promo for movies and special events channel MAX, Sharad ended up doing 25 commercials that include Hero Honda, Bharat Petroleum, Maruti and Skoda. Though he didn't win the Mr. India title and finished among the 11 top finalists, thanks to modeling he landed in serials and didn't look back after that. Chaitanya Chaudhary, on the other hand, opted for acting despite a management degree because while he was doing his MBA he used to take part in inter-management festivals and fashion shows. Having tasted quite a bit of glamour he took part in Gladrags Mr. India contest where he won the Mr. Photogenic face title. "So acting became my obvious career choice," says Chaitanya who began his career in films with Dev Anand's super disaster Love At Times Square. With his film career going nowhere he turned to TV and tasted success with Kahin To Hoga and Kavyanjali. Like Sampada and Kanchi, Gauri Negudkar also began modeling while she was in college. A post graduate in chemistry, Gauri wanted to be a chemistry professor and do her doctorate in the subject. What made her change her mind from academics to acting then? "Well, I love both. My academics will always remain with me and I can go back to it anytime I want. Since I have age on my side I thought why not try out acting after doing a Marathi film called Uttarayan when I was studying," says the young actress who has debuted on TV with Betiyaan Apni Ya Paraya Dhan. On the other hand, doctor and businessman Anuj Saxena is into acting for name and fame. Balancing between family business and acting, Anuj is enjoying the best of both worlds. Business gives him money and power and acting gives name and fame. "It's a tough call to pursue two professions. But then nothing comes without hard work," says the actor who is the marketing director of the 500-crore company Elder Pharma. Ever since he debuted on television in Kkusum, in Anuj's words, "It's been a journey of playing different characters and experimentation to prove my versatility." He says he works on his own terms. "I do only one shift and don't work on Sundays. If producers want me in their serials then they have to agree to my conditions. There's no compulsion on their part to cast me. I have a certain price, which they have to pay. Otherwise I am happy with my job. Acting doesn't give me the kind of money and power that my business gives. In any case I am not into acting for money. So I am not desperate for work," he says. Ask Vishal Watvani, a doctor in ayurvedic medicine, whether he is an actor by choice and he says he would have loved to be a writer. But besides being a doctor, Vishal has done many things in a span of just six years. He was an assistant director to Ramesh Sippy for Gatha, has been a radio jockey with All India Radio and VJ for Zee Music and done writing for B4U movie channel before he finally opted for acting on television. "Unfortunately writer is a lowly paid and lowly regarded unsung hero," he regrets. "I wrote for non-fiction shows on films that were quite serious and dealt with a particular era or generation of Hindi films. They were mostly research-based shows and I put in lots of effort. But the payment was abysmal." That's precisely the reason why Vishal opted for acting. "There is lot of money and popularity in acting," he says, "though not as much creativity as in writing." He has come to terms with the state of affair. "Go with the flow and make most of it till the sun shines," he laughs. And surely he is making most of it in terms of money and popularity as well as putting in his best efforts in the roles he is doing in Viraasat and Vaidehi. Gone are the days when television attracted talent from theatre, the National School of Drama and offbeat films. Television serials of 80s and 90s were dominated by some of the best theatre and film actors who had not made it big in films. Television then was a small medium and monetarily not very lucrative but it helped the kitchen fire burning and creative juices flowing. Today television is not only a huge medium but financially very rewarding with all the trappings of the glamour world. No wonder academic excellence, lucrative careers and corporate jobs are being sacrificed for acting. Star India's creative director Shailaja Kejriwal feels that it's the television's coming of age that is attracting talent from diverse fields. "Today television is almost like cinema - grand and glamorous. By television standards the kind of money it offers is simply unimaginable. A regular job will get you anywhere between Rs. 25,000 to 40,000 a month, depending upon your qualification and position. But a successful television actor earns many times more than the amount that a 9 to 5 job would give," she says. In Shailaja's opinion, money is not the sole reason for abandoning conventional careers. "It may be true in some cases. In many cases it's the passion for acting and in other cases it could be a combination of money, passion, name and fame," she feels. But along with name, fame and money comes the daily soap's demanding shooting schedules and stress. "Stress is everywhere. The job that pays you more brings more stress. Here the stress is more but then you are being paid very well," reasons Mihir who doesn't mind the stress because he is doing what he likes the most. Agrees Sumeet, "Every profession has its own demands and one has to adapt and make adjustments to work within the profession's parameters. If you don't want stress you might as well do something else."

A civil engineer by qualification, director Ajai Sinha's first love was acting. He used to do theatre while he was working with MMRDA. Lack of acting opportunities made him quit his cushy job as he opted for full time direction on television. Sinha is happy with the fact that today there are lots of actors who are well educated. "Many people can become MBAs but not all MBAs can be good actors," he points out. "It's really heartening that the MBAs who have hidden actors in them have taken to fulltime acting. Television is too demanding and no bad actor can last long. The fact that these MBAs are doing well for themselves proves that they are good actors." Sinha further says that in any profession money is secondary. "Passion is primary. Money follows success," says Sinha who doesn't deny the fact that the plethora of general entertainment channels have made things easy for aspiring actors. "The days of struggle have gone and television has become such a big medium that there is a place for everyone who has talent."

http://www.screenindia.com/fullstory.php?content_id=14471

Tfs.

I knew that Sumeet Sachdeva was a Professional Architect, it was mentioned in one of his interviews. And he also owns a Company.

Good to know about the others as well. They're all so qualified.

Originally posted by: BabyStone

which interview?

I remember reading it sometime back. Will post the link if i find it.

Originally posted by: Mikayla

I remember reading it sometime back. Will post the link if i find it.

Here is the link for that interview:

https://www.indiaforums.com/forum/kyunki-saas-bhi-kabhi-bahu-thi/105045/sumeet-and-ritus-interview

Originally posted by: SRSR

Here is the link for that interview:

https://www.indiaforums.com/forum/kyunki-saas-bhi-kabhi-bahu-thi/105045/sumeet-and-ritus-interview

thank you soo much to both of you!

Thanks for the interesting article- made for real good reading:)