New faces rule the roost

Dada Saheb Phalke, Raj Kapoor, Sunil Dutt, Satyajit Ray, Dilip Kumar, Amitabh Bachhan, Aamir Khan — the list of legends and living legends in the world of films is endless. However there is no such rule applicable in the world of television. There is not one particular actor who has an image beyond a particular character even if it's a big name as Smriti Iraani, Ronit Roy or Sangeeta Ghosh. In the world of television it's the character that is big and not the actor.

Therefore, serials like Sarrkkar, Viraasat, Devi, Rabba Ishq Na Hove, Kaalchakra, Saathiya, Thodi si Zameen Thoda sa Aasman etc haven't fared well in spite of the presence of stars in lead roles. Maybe that's the reason why the producers and the channels don't mind introducing new faces in strong characters and big budget serials.

"Nobody is permanent in the television world. The act can be permanent but the actor isn't. I myself have introduced many fresh faces on television like Renuka Shahane, Raju Kher, etc. Where are they today," says veteran producer-director Ravi Rai. Another veteran producer Dheeraj Kumar too feels the same. "Television stars have got a small life. I had done a film with Rekhaji in December 1969 called Raaton Ka Raja . And you can see that Rekhaji and Amitabhj are still working in films. But in TV things like that don't happen," says Dheeraj Kumar.

This explains the sea of new faces seen every year in serials like Saat Phere, Kasamh Se, Ek Ladki Anjaani Si and the more recent Paraya Dhan, Betiyaan, Saathi Re and Solah Sringar. Sanjay Wadhwa, the producer of the hit soap Saat Phere who also produces Paraya Dhan and Saathi Re explains in a one liner, "Everything has its value for a certain time only." He has his successful track record of hitting the jackpot in Saat Phere with the unconventional new actress Rajshri Thakur and trying to repeat the magic with Gauri Nigudkar and Parakh Madan in Paraya Dhan and Saathi Re respectively.

Director Hemant Prabhu, the maker of the Sahara serial Sati also tried to follow the trend by making his actress wife Mansi Salvi appear in the lead role in a completely new avatar. After losing oodles of fat and with better make up and grooming, Mansi was almost unrecognisable.

"Marketing is an integral part of the television industry. If the channel's marketing team finds a new face they would promote him or her. Even viewers like seeing new fresh faces on television. Once an actor signs a daily soap, he/she is all over the newspapers. The media follows him everywhere. Which gym he goes to, which restaurants he likes to visit, everything is being reported. Obviously the more you see a face, the interest level in that particular person falls down after some time. As for me Mansi's new look helped to incite curiosity in Sati initially. She was like a complete new package," says Prabhu.

Well, it's another story that Sati still hasn't done that well. It looks like, if all goes well, a TV star shines only in his debut serial. "A film can be a hit because of Shah Rukh Khan. But television is basically recognised by a banner, like Ekta Kapoor's serials come with a certain promise. In television the actors are not known by their acting skills but by the production houses they associate with. The best example of this is Mihir (Amar Upadhya). Everybody knows what happened to him once he developed a fake belief that Kyunki Saans Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi is a hit due to him. He is not to bee seen anywhere now," explains Ravi Rai