TOI:Why TV actors are not allowed to do reality shows on rival channel

Actors want to do fiction and reality

While working in a daily soap has its benefits, actors get bored and want to do other shows as well. Also, the opportunity to participate in a dance or music reality show comes with its share of publicity. In turn, this opens up more avenues for them to earn, like anchoring events, dancing at weddings or doing shows abroad.
Naturally, they get riled when they are stopped from participating in reality shows. Says an actress who has undergone the same fate, "It's so unfair. Just because I am doing a daily soap on one channel, I'm not allowed to do reality shows elsewhere. We actors suffer because of the competition between channels."

Channels have their own reasons
Intense rivalry between General Entertainment Channels (GECs) and the ongoing TRP tussle is the main reason for this situation. A production house/channel invests a lot in actors who are part of their soaps. So, obviously, they don't want a rival channel to reap the benefits.
A senior official from a production house, on condition of anonymity, says, "An actor becomes popular because of the character he plays in a daily soap. No channel would want a rival channel to cash in on their star's popularity. Like in the case of Gopi bahu, she was this demure daughter-in-law in her fiction show, but the dance show wanted to present her as a sexy, cool participant. That went against the image of the character. No wonder the channel gave her an ultimatum. Hence, actors are made to sign exclusivity contracts."

Producers support channels
Producers second what channels say. In fact, they go a step further. Says producer, "When an actor takes up a dance show, he has to spend a lot of time rehearsing. If he is the lead actor of my show, it's going to be a problem because he will not be able to give us enough time."

A few days ago, actor Mohit Mallik was ousted from the daily show 'Doli Armaanon Ki' as he had chosen to participate in the dance reality show 'Jhalak Dikkhla Jaa' on a rival channel.

With this development, Mohit becomes the latest victim of 'channel rivalry', joining a long list of actors who have faced the same situation, where they have been arm-twisted to choose which channel their loyalty lies with.

Divyanka confirms that she was bound by the exclusivity contract last year and could not do 'Jhalak'.

The First Big Controversy

Giaa Manek was one of the first to face this situation three years ago, when she had to quit her popular fiction show 'Saath Nibhaana Saathiya' for Jhalak. She says, "Anybody would have been a fool to quit Saath Nibhaana... and go to Jhalak. But in my case, the production house agreed and I signed the offer for Jhalak. But after I took it up, many others were offered the dance reality show and so, I was asked to give up any one. I had already signed the Jhalak contract by then and would have to pay a heavy sum of money if I returned to Saathiya, so I had to quit. I don't think there can be a solution for such situations."

Tanvi Trivedi,TNN | Jun 20, 2015, 12.00 AM IST