Time to salute new faces on the small screen

It's time for yet another celebration and salutation. TellyChakkar's New Talent Awards is in its fourth year and it gains respectability with each passing year. This year TellyChakkar has decided to broaden the horizon of the awards and include fresh talent from films and music as well. So the award ceremony this is year will be bigger and better.

When the awards were launched there was much trepidation whether we would be able to sustain the initial euphoria about new faces emerging year after year on the small screen. But with more and more new faces making their way to try their talent and luck on the small screen the awards too grew in more ways than one. And this year we are shocked and exhilarated with the facts that our research has thrown up.

2010 has seen an unprecedented number of new faces that made their debut and there are many who are still waiting in the wings. TV continues to be a fertile ground for fresh faces. Though many shows with old faces were launched there is tremendous opportunity for both new talent and existing and upcoming shows with new faces is testimony to this fact.

It's not just actors who debuted in 2010 but there were an equal number of writers, producers, directors also who made their entry on the small screen. They continued to find work through unique avenues like social networking sites, coffee shops and malls. Out of the thousands who came to the maximum city in the hope of making it big in the entertainment world about a hundred odd actors made it to various shows. Reality shows and talent hunts also gave a platform to many singers, dancers and other performers.

For almost a decade the small screen projected old and tested actors. But a slew of new shows and channels introduced fresh faces who brought in a whiff of fresh air. The rumblings of change began with shows like Balika Vadhu, Sabki Laadli Bebo, Bandini, Saath Nibhana Saathiya, Pratigya which introduced many new faces. Not only did the shows gain numbers but the new faces also became popular. With fresh faces on these shows they had an edge over the rest as they reached out to a wider audience. Until now youth was not inclined to act in daily soaps. Reality shows yes, but soaps were not a preferred option. But when faces like Mohit, Sanaya, , Karan Kundra, Kritika Kamra, Yashashree Masurkar, Hina Khan entered this genre they wooed both young and old alike.

To catch the attention of the younger age group, it became important that shows had a protagonist the new age audience could relate to. The time had come when real characters and simple stories triumphed over heavily bejewelled bahus and multiple-generation leaps. So one saw fresh content and fresh faces having an edge over saas-bahu shows. Not only were the new actors gung-ho about their work, they worked hard and delivered faster. Furthermore, after recession hit the industry they proved to be more economical. Hence for all these reasons producers found it practical to fit them into their shrinking budgets.

The biggest advantage according to a well-known producer is that it is easier dealing with newbies as there are no delusions/tantrums/egos to pamper. Since television is a medium where an actor is popular as long as the show is on air most producers and channel heads opt for new faces. So when veteran director and actor Ramesh Talwar who had made his debut in films as a child actor way back in the fifties opted to play Bhawanji Bha's role in Mukti Bandhanit was telling comment on what the small screen has to offer.

Viewers were tired of seeing the same faces rule the small screen for a long time. Viewers wanted fresh new faces. Furthermore, since the established actors were already typecast audiences were reluctant to see them in other roles. Added to this was the age factor. TV did not have many mature stories and hence there was a vacuum which would be filled in with only younger faces.