~*Sushant's Bollywood Journey *~#16 - Page 102

Every TV actor worth his salt looks up to Shah Rukh Khan, not just for his talent, but also since he made a successful transition from the small screen to films. Today, Sushant Singh Rajput and Ayushmann Khurrana have made the switch well. But the question arises: why don't more TV stars bag lead roles in films?

Most TV actors are cast in supporting roles only. Siddharth Shukla, of Balika Vadhu fame, who recently signed a three-film deal with Karan Johar, says, "Today TV actors are accepted by the makers and audiences. Many can utilise the opportunity now."

Hiten Tejwani, who has done many supporting roles in films and lead roles on TV, agrees, "Earlier people were sceptical of casting TV actors as they felt we were overexposed, but now, we're valued."

Filmmaker Vikram Bhatt, who has given breaks to many TV stars including Karan Kundra, Vishal Karwal and Jay Bhanushali, feels not everyone has it in them to make it big. "We've had Prachi Desai and Yami Gautam, among others, who have had success in films as leads," he says, adding that playing a character actor on TV sets you up for similar roles in films. "Alok Nath, Milind Gunaji and Manoj Bajpayee have come from TV to films successfully. Just because they're not leads doesn't mean they are lesser actors than others," he says.

After success on TV, many actors feel the urge to do films. Hiten says, "At times, actors sign films as per the narration, but when the film is ready, the role might be chopped off. People then wonder why they did such small roles." Strict contracts too are deterrent for TV actors. Drashti Dhami was reportedly offered the lead role in Singham 2 but due to her show, she couldn't take it up.

So, is the industry biased against TV stars? "Bias has always been believed to exist. It's all about creating your own space," he had told us earlier.