TOI:Replacements work in favour of higher TRPs

Recently when actor Pratyusha Banerjee aka Anandi was unable to give the required time to the show Balika Vadhu, she was replaced by Toral Rasputra. There were fears that the TRPs could drop but viewers have accepted Toral as Anandi.

There are other recent examples as well where the TRPs have remained constant and even shot up for some, thus breaking the rule that a show loses its sheen, when a lead actor is replaced.

"Initially, when Avika was replaced by Pratyusha as a grown-up Anandi, the audience took time to accept the new face. But they gradually got used to it. I was nervous on the sets because there were high expectations but friendly co-stars helped me settle in," says Toral.

According to producer Yash Patnaik, films are star driven whereas shows are character/content driven. "In daily soaps, a show makes an actor bigger. Nobody knew Pratyusha Banerjee before Balika Vadhu orGiaa Manek before Saath Nibhana Saathiya. There are factors like a strong script, right promotion by the channel and a strong image that make a character popular," he explains.

Of course there have been shows that have been called off air after one of the characters quit. Like when Barun Sobti quit the show Iss Pyaar Ko Kya Naam Doon?. However, such examples are an exception rather than the norm now, feel actors and producers of shows. When Giaa aka Gopi bahu decided to leave Saath Nibhana... to take part in a dance reality show, there were rumours that the show might go off air. Initially the TRPs dropped but now it's been a year that the show has retained the same position (TRP:3-4).

Producer Rajan Shahi ( Kuch Toh Log Kahenge) admits it was a tough decision to replace Mohnish Behl. "But Sharad added his own style and personality to the show and over a period of time, we saw a rise in TRPs. The show's ratings have risen to 1.4 TVR in the 11 pm slot." He feels that replacements now add a certain freshness to the show and character.

Pintoo Guha, producer of Uttaran, agrees and says that replacements are now working in the favour of tele-serials. "It is circumstances that lead to replacements," Guha says. The key, says Shahi, is to find the right replacement. "A lot of time, energy and money is invested in creating a particular character," he says. The new actors do however go through constant comparison, at least for a short while which make the role more challenging.

A good article backed by facts😊

Whilst it is true that the trps suffered after Gia's exit they bounced back on the basis of a good storyline, excellent acting by all parties and loyal viewers. Actors leaving, production houses making unfavourable decisions is all a risk that they take respectively. Sometimes the gamble works, sometimes it doesn't.

snS HAS Astrong cast...Koki, Rashi and of course ahem are all popular characters played by competent actors..so it held strong...and also that Devo has settled so well in the role of gopi...
but main thing that worked at least for me was excellent Devna chemistry right from the start and progression of Gohem story..

TFS very true the support by all other actors and the determenation for the character ill definetly make ill give good result

tes i agree, srong script, and good actors r thr reason of good trp

tfs! I agree with the article and with Swasthi's comments too...along with the story one needs to appreciate the hard work and effort put in by rest of the cast of SNS and most importantly by Devo herself. She has faced lot of flak in the beginning yet she continued to work on her flaws and the trps are proof that she has been accepted as Gopi 👏

tfs...it is not these actor but story that matters...