TOI: Bolly imports take soap trek-Nakul

An actor moving from small screen to big screen and vice-versa has become a common phenomenon. Tellytown today consists of a number of actors who have tried their luck in tinseltown too.
While juggling screens is a trend seen with these actors, many have established their names and become a household name after their current shows on television. The current bandwagon of such big screen imports include Vikas Bhalla(Veer Bundela in Uttaran), Vivek Mushran (Lucky Singh in Parrvarish), Shraddha Arya (Laxmi in Main Laxmi Tere Aangan Ki), Ayub Khan (Jogi Thakur in Uttaran), Apurva Agnihotri (DC in Aasmaan Se Aage), Rukhsar (Mallikain Kuch Toh Log Kahenge), Khalid Siddiqui ( Na Bole Tum Na Maine Kuch Kaha), Ronit Roy (KD Pathak in Adaalat), and the latest one being Nakul Mehta ( Pyaar Ka Dard Hai Meetha Meetha Pyaara Pyaara). Actors Raqesh Vashisht (Maryada: Lekin Kab Tak?), Iqbal Khan (Yahan Main Ghar Ghar Kheli), Karan Singh Grover ( Dil Dosti Dance) recently completed their TV stint and are often seen juggling the two mediums. While actress Richa Pallod is also considering TV as a career, Aamna Sharif is all set for a comeback on the small screen (after a brief stint in Bollywood), from where she had started her Journey in the Entertainment world.

So what is it about the small screen that is attracting actors? Nakul Mehta says, "My debut movie Haal-E-Dil did not do well at the box office. But when the film was aired on television, a lot of people started recognizing me and came to me and appreciated my performance. That was the eureka moment for me and I realized the power of TV as a medium. This show is a huge opportunity for me and I look forward to getting accepted in this role." For some actors, it is just about acting and nothing else. Actress Rukhsar whose last big screen turn was in Anurag Kashyap's Shaitan, says, "I love being in front of the camera. At the end of the day, I have to satisfy the artist in me. The medium — small or big — does not matter to me."

Actors moving to the small screen after a few films at the box office has worked well for a few of them. Says Vikas Bhalla, "The dividing lines between movies and TV shows don't exist anymore. The rules have changed. So, it is a very interesting period for actors." As someone who has delved in these different mediums, he says, "TV is a good training ground as actors get to learn how to do quality work at a good speed. Plus, TV has a very wide reach." Well, TV certainly has the ability to reach out to the remotest part of the country and with the audience being able to see these shows on the internet, these actors get international fan base as well.
But for some actors, it is all about the creative satisfaction and comfort zone. Although actor Raqesh Vashisht has Madhur Bhandarkar's Heroine in his kitty, he says, "I have reached a point where I don't want to do any more films. TV has become my comfort domain. Films are very time consuming and there is too much pressure to do well. Of course, the money is good, but the anxiety levels are very high."

Whatever the reason they may cite wider reach or creative satisfaction; these actors have managed to grab more eyeballs in their small screen stints. How much more fan base they garner; only time will tell.