y do tv artists pretend 2 b broke...

There was a time when television actors were regarded as small fry, especially in comparison with film stars, but today the balance has changed! Television actors seem to have become bigger than film actors. Blame that on 'media overhype'! Of course, it also had to do with mainstream Bollywood actors entering television to make their mega bucks. To a certain extent, this growing popularity of television also had to do with the quality of Bollywood films a while back. In comparison, people felt TV soaps were far more progressive and in-tune with the present times. With the kind of budgets allotted they looked glossy too. So it came as no surprise when people thought it was worthwhile staying back home and watch television. Also blame this trend on the soaring ticket prices. So with this close proximity to television came a closeness to the television actors too.
The media sensed this and cashed in on this in a big way. If you recall a few years back a reputed publishing house had introduced a magazine exclusively for the television industry but no one seemed interested in reading about them then. The magazine vanished soon. Today it's a different story. Every little thing about television actors, including their bowel movements, is regarded as gossip! With this hype came the star status. Even a debutant television actor can become a star overnight if he plays his cards well. All he needs is a few friends in the media and a well-oiled PR machinery. No wonder today unheard of names on television have become household names. Like film stars and cricketers, television actors too have become very busy with ribbon cuttings, shows, appearances at Navratri functions in India and abroad, and recently a restaurant inauguration too. They are even willing to travel anywhere, even remote areas. Some time back a group of television actors traveled by train to reach a place about five hours from Surat for a show. The other popular places are Ahmedabad, Raipur, and Baroda.
The festive season is approaching and soon they will get busy striking deals with organizers. Most of them inform the production houses well in advance and their shooting dates are rescheduled according to their show dates. The actors are even said to work overtime and finish a big chunk of their work before leaving. It's said that each one has their rates worked out according to their market status and a lot of haggling and negotiating too is involved. They are even said to cross check and double check about how much the other is being paid. Obviously the bigger stars command a higher price sometimes even going up to 3 lakhs. Of course, this is the figure quoted by them but they probably get about a lakh or so lesser. Nausheen and Anuj Saxena are said to quote this figure. Here again, Balaji actors are said to command a higher price. Swetta Keswani has gone on record to say this some time back. This is also Balaji's way of compensating the actors for their haywire shooting schedules. Poonam Dhillon is said to demand 2 lakhs but finally agrees to a lesser amount whereas the smaller ones get as much as 25,000 to 50,000. Rajeev Khandelwal had quoted about a lakh for an appearance recently but finally agreed to 40,000. Call this desperation to make a quick buck or making fruitful use of their free time! Shama Sikander of 'Yeh Meri Life Hain' is heavily into endorsements thus cashing in on her newfound fame. Hiten Tejwani and Gauri Pradhan charged a bomb for their Gutkha ad.

Hiten Tejwani, Juhi Parmar, Hussain, Aashka Goradia, Tasneem, Rucha Gujarati, Sweta Kwatre, Sakshi Tanwar, Swetta Keswani, Narayani, Manav Gohil, and Chetan Hansraj are said to be very willing candidates. A group is said to have just returned from a show in Pakistan. Mona Singh (Jassi) is cashing in on her popularity in a big way and charges a hefty sum for every appearance. She's even said to leave without informing the production house or the channel. Even the organizers are not spared of the actors' tantrums and demands. It's said that the married lot ask for their spouses too to be accommodated while the single girls insist on their mothers accompanying them. So most times, it's a case of the actors not just making money but also having a blast at the organizers' cost.
Of course, money is important and everyone is here to make a fast buck. While Balaji is known to underpay their new actors, the established actors are minting money.
Even character actors in daily soaps are paid a decent sum and most of them are doing at least two or three daily soaps. So we wonder why this desperation to make a fast buck!
Now the big question is, when they are making their moolah through their work and otherwise, why are they, barring a few, always cribbing and behaving in a broke manner. Message any television actor asking him to call you for an interview and he'll very promptly and sweetly request you to call. One gets the same response if the actor by mistake returns a missed call on his cell. He'll politely ask you to call him back in five minutes. Irrfan Khan and Chaitanya Chaudhari are known for this. But here we have to add that Smriti Malhotra (Tulsi) always makes it a point to return every missed call and has none of this petty behaviour. But otherwise this petty behaviour on the part of TV actors today, besides their false sense of stardom, is obnoxious and putting off to most people!