'Television is here to stay'--SAI DEODHAR

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Posted: 18 years ago

'Television is here to stay'
Jhumari Nigam Misra
[ 23 Oct, 2006 0116hrs ISTTIMES NEWS NETWORK ]

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From Amitabh Bachchan to Aamir Khan, Bollywood biggies are more than willing to make an appearance on the small screen.

The 'sibling rivalry'between the small and big screen is fast disappearing. With the biggest stars of Hindi cinema making a foray in the tube world, there is nothing about television that has remained small!

So be it through talk shows, reality programmes, music or dance competitions; there are always chances of finding your favourite Bollywood celebrity holding the mike and entering your living room.

On the flip side though, tele-stars are not really a part of the Bollywood brigade.

"I feel TV is more popular than films.

There are so many new faces making an entry into Bollywood almost every week, but they go absolutely unnoticed whereas television can put you on the hoardings next to SRK!"says actor Sai Deodhar.

Pointing at the popularity of the tube in India, Deodhar adds, "TV provides higher visibility and wider viewership and it's no longer a limited medium.

TV is here to stay."Agrees Rajev Paul, who feels, television's growing popularity is a result of the increasing money being poured into it."

There is a plethora of channels and foreign investments are coming in. Budgets have increased and so has the salary of an actor. Plus, TV stars get just as much adulation as film stars.

I feel, it's better to be a part of an A-grade serial rather than going unnoticed in a B-grade film,"says Paul. For actor Rajeshwari Sachdeva, both worlds have their good sides.

"Films definitely have a lasting impression. However, that does not necessarily mean that all actors clamour for it. An artist wants to be seen, recognised and loved. Television now provides all of it and more in terms of money,"Says Parmeet Sethi, "I think, the situation is similar to that of a railway track with television on one side and films on the other. Some people cross the intersection while some don't.

But they'll still run parallel and you cannot do without either."Films might have been considered as the big brother in the past, but Sethi feels that the boundaries are blurring. "In the near future what would matter is whether you are a celebrity or not,"says Sethi.