The curtain comes down

Salman Khan may have had a few flops recently, but that hasn't affected his popularity.

For that matter any of Bollywood's established stars... their stardom is never threatened by one or two flop films. Similarly, an actor may not have a single release one whole year, but he'll still command the same adulation. Unfortunately, the rules are not the same in Tellyland. An actor's popularity lasts only as long as his serial's. As the show goes off air, the poor actor too falls from the highs.

The biggest of TV stars, popular household names until recently, are back to square one simply because their serials have gone off air. Of course, this doesn't mean they've returned to their days of struggle, but it surely means that audiences have moved on to other actors, whose serials are now dominating the TRP charts.

Blame it on public memory or just the luck factor, but this surely is a ruthless industry. Top TV bahus ' Tulsi and Parvati ' who women audiences would swear by just until a year-and-a-half ago, are hardly on anyone's minds today. So also the famous vamps and the laadli betis, who've all vanished from the scene! A brand new set has taken over. "It's sad for TV actors," agrees producer-director Ajai Sinha. "Audiences look for variety. It's like a meal you had last night which you can not repeat the next day." Comparing the TV industry with Bollywood, Ajai says, "Films of an actor release once in a while, while you see the TV actor everyday and so the novelty is lost."

That's exactly why after a show is over, the actors are conveniently forgotten. "But then out of sight is out of mind. And that applies to everybody," reasons Urvashi Dholakia, best known for her vampish character Komolika on the small screen. "Because of the short shelf life, it's always about making hay while the sun shines for TV actors." The current new breed of actors are more at risk of being forgotten soon after their shows, believes Urvashi. "That's because there are so many channels today. A few years ago that wasn't the case. So we are still on people's minds."

Producer-director Rajan Shahi believes it's both, a boon and a curse, to be part of a hit show. "I always take newcomers in the lead roles and tell them if this show becomes a hit, it's a boon because there's instant fame. However, the curse here is that for actors it's very difficult, in fact almost impossible, to recreate the same magic again in another show." Rightly so. The industry does have a number of such actors, who made it very big in their first shows, but could never match the same popularity again. They are doing reality shows and serials, but it's still not the same. Shweta Tiwari, for instance. Whether she will be able to match her popularity as Prerna (Kasauti Zindagii Kay) remains to be seen. In movies, it's about the actors, while on TV it's only about characters.

That's exactly why producers and channels have no qualms replacing actors (no wonder ridiculous plastic surgery tracks still exist!). Ronit Roy had entered Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi as the third Mihir Virani, but that role changed the course of his life. "I believe my characters Mihir Virani and Mr Bajaj (from Kasauti Zindagii Kay) will always live on," he avers. "As for popularity of TV actors, well I can't talk for others, but in my case I'm here abroad walking the green carpet at an event and the kind of love and attention that I'm getting from people here is overwhelming. And by the way this is a film event."