Posted:
Mumbai: Depression, stress and anxiety are some of the most common symptoms of 'Big City Blues' and everyone living the fast-track, urban life is vulnerable to them.
The blues can strike anyone including the happy, glamourous, perfect faces one sees on the small screen.
However, behind the perfection, the pancake and the flashlights, there is a less glamourous face of TV stars, many of whom - struggling to deal with gruelling schedules and demanding lives - are on the brink of collapse - be it on the sets or in their personal lives.
Just a few days ago, TV actor Ashlesha Sawant - who plays Tara in the popular Zee TV's popular series Saat Phere - collapsed on the sets after working 14 hours a day, weeks on end.
Actor Neha Bamb works 14 hours a day for weeks on end and collapsed on the sets twice
"It's the price we pay for the fame and recognition we get. I got my first car when I was just 16 and the second one sometime now," TV actor (Kaisa Ye Pyaar Hai fame) Neha Bamb says.
Neha is just 21 years old but has realised that stress and fatigue is an intregral of the glamourous world of daily soap operas and demands actors to dedicate more than 14 hours to work daily.
Neha has fainted twice on the sets of her serial, but has remained non-chalant and stoic through it.
"Well, it's the human body and such things happen," says Neha, matter-of-factly.
Model-turned-actor Kuljeet Randhawa, unable to cope with pressure, committed suicide
Just a few months ago, television industry was stunned by the suicide of 30-year-old model-turned-actor Kuljeet Randhawa.
Randhawa, who shot to fame in soaps like Special Squad, Kohinoor, and Hip Hip Hurray, hanged herself at her Juhu apartment.
In a suicide note, she reportedly wrote that she couldn't cope with life's pressures.
Kuljeet was a close friend of model Nafisa Joseph's who too was prone to bouts of depression and had committed suicide a few years ago.
In both cases, the immediate trigger was a relationship gone wrong.
TV actor Hiten Tejwani works 18 hours a day and makes a killing every month
As actors rush from one set to other juggling multiple shifts a day, personal life and relationships are put at stake.
"I am currently working with more than three serials and we end up working for 18 hours," TV actor (Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi fame) Hiten Tejwani says.
So, is there a way out of the rigmarole?
Many feel that a personal initiative is not enough.
Rohit Roy believes there needs to a meticulous planning by production houses
They believe the production houses need to wake up to the reality.
"The issue has to solved at the macro-level, otherwise actors will take up other means to beat this," actor Rohit Roy (Viraasat fame) says.
Till that happens, actors will have to continue applying pancakes onto those fatigued eyes and get on with the act.
The blues can strike anyone including the happy, glamourous, perfect faces one sees on the small screen.
However, behind the perfection, the pancake and the flashlights, there is a less glamourous face of TV stars, many of whom - struggling to deal with gruelling schedules and demanding lives - are on the brink of collapse - be it on the sets or in their personal lives.
Just a few days ago, TV actor Ashlesha Sawant - who plays Tara in the popular Zee TV's popular series Saat Phere - collapsed on the sets after working 14 hours a day, weeks on end.
Actor Neha Bamb works 14 hours a day for weeks on end and collapsed on the sets twice
"It's the price we pay for the fame and recognition we get. I got my first car when I was just 16 and the second one sometime now," TV actor (Kaisa Ye Pyaar Hai fame) Neha Bamb says.
Neha is just 21 years old but has realised that stress and fatigue is an intregral of the glamourous world of daily soap operas and demands actors to dedicate more than 14 hours to work daily.
Neha has fainted twice on the sets of her serial, but has remained non-chalant and stoic through it.
"Well, it's the human body and such things happen," says Neha, matter-of-factly.
Model-turned-actor Kuljeet Randhawa, unable to cope with pressure, committed suicide
Just a few months ago, television industry was stunned by the suicide of 30-year-old model-turned-actor Kuljeet Randhawa.
Randhawa, who shot to fame in soaps like Special Squad, Kohinoor, and Hip Hip Hurray, hanged herself at her Juhu apartment.
In a suicide note, she reportedly wrote that she couldn't cope with life's pressures.
Kuljeet was a close friend of model Nafisa Joseph's who too was prone to bouts of depression and had committed suicide a few years ago.
In both cases, the immediate trigger was a relationship gone wrong.
TV actor Hiten Tejwani works 18 hours a day and makes a killing every month
As actors rush from one set to other juggling multiple shifts a day, personal life and relationships are put at stake.
"I am currently working with more than three serials and we end up working for 18 hours," TV actor (Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi fame) Hiten Tejwani says.
So, is there a way out of the rigmarole?
Many feel that a personal initiative is not enough.
Rohit Roy believes there needs to a meticulous planning by production houses
They believe the production houses need to wake up to the reality.
"The issue has to solved at the macro-level, otherwise actors will take up other means to beat this," actor Rohit Roy (Viraasat fame) says.
Till that happens, actors will have to continue applying pancakes onto those fatigued eyes and get on with the act.
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