From small screen actors to producersAnuj

From small screen actors to producers

What's prompting more and more TV actors to float their production houses — creativity or big bucks?

ROSHNI K OLIVERA Times News Network

Their acting assignments may be keeping them very busy, but TV actors would like to expand their horizons in the field. More and more TV stars are floating their own production houses. But they don't want to restrict themselves to just serials. They are also producing plays and even movies. Recent times have seen Anuj Saxena, Smriti Iraani, Amarr Upadhyay, Pooja Ghai, Manasi and Rohit Roy, Urvashi Dholakia, Tanaaz Lal start their production companies. "It's exciting and feels great to have some some kind of power," says Amarr Upadhyay, who's firm is looking to make serials, feature films and short films. Creative satisfaction is the reason prompting actors to take the plunge. The current television scenario, where everything's mechanical and monotonous, gives actors no scope to offer their creative inputs. As Amarr says, "It can get very boring when a TV actor continues to play a character for many years. It's a natural progression to get into production. In my case, there's creative satisfaction here because I am involved in every department."
For Urvashi Dholakia floating her own company was something she had in mind since a very young age. "I was always clear I didn't want to restrict myself to just acting. There's so much more to do," says Urvashi, who's chalking out big plans for her company.
While some of the actors take up plum tailor-made roles in their own ventures, others prefer keeping away from acting in their home production so as to be able to focus on various other aspects. However, managing your own production house is no mean feat; the pressures are immense. Neena Gupta, who produced some successful shows on TV, has given up donning the hat of a producerdirector and prefers to stick to acting.
Actor Anuj Saxena recently experienced a setback when his first TV show Kulvaddhu went off air in less than three months. Of course, that hasn't deterred him. "This is not the end of the world! Just because one show goes off air does not mean that my company closes shop," says Anuj, who's now busy with making a movie, another serial and an international collaboration is in the offing too.
Balancing their acting commitments and their home production is never easy. For instance Smriti Iraani, who's now busy with her own shows, has had to give up on Ekta Kapoor's
Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi
owing to time constraints.
Pooja Ghai too has cut down on her acting assignments as have some others. But this new set of entrepreneurs are determined to make a mark. So does Ekta have a tip or two for them?
roshni.olivera
@timesgroup.
com

(left to right) Urvashi Dholakia, Amarr Upadhyay, Smriti Iraani and Anuj Saxena