Asian Age:No kissing please

While no-kissing clauses in actors' contracts have been heard of in Bollywood, it seems their TV counterparts are taking to the measure too

Bollywood actors have been known, at times, to include no-nudity or no-kissing clauses in their contracts for films. But when the popular TV soap Yeh Hai Mohabbatein aired a long-awaited consummation scene between its lead pair (played by actors Divyanka Tripathi and Karan Patel), there was much speculation that the shoot was guided by the actress' stipulations about what she would not do. We have learnt from reliable sources that Divyanka sent out a list of things she wouldn't be comfortable shooting " including a "proper kiss" " to the show's producer Ekta Kapoor, as well as the channel, Star Plus. The final scene, which was aired over Monday and Tuesday was shot in accordance with those specifications.

TV shows have grown considerably bolder in recent times. A case in point was when Ram Kapoor-Sakshi Tanwar's lovemaking scene in the show Bade Achhe Lagte Hain, became a talking point last year, because two such senior actors had consented to shooting it. Several other shows had then followed suit, with the traditional "you stick to your side of the bed, I'll stick to mine" formula, where the actress was shown dressed in the whole nine yards (and jewellery too), given a miss.

With YHM and Divyanka being frontrunners in the TV industry, the Mumbai Age caught up with producers, directors and actors to find out how contractual clauses pertaining to filming intimate scenes worked.

Producer Yash Patnaik is the man behind several popular shows like Veera and Sadda Haq on the small screen. He feels that these clauses are a very subjective issue, and depend on the actor in question. Not only that, he adds that while TV may have gotten a whole lot bolder than in the past, the very fact that it is a "family entertainer medium" imposes restrictions on just how steamy such sequences can get. "I think, so far on TV, the intimacy shown is always relevant, and the actors' comfort level is always the priority. Moreover, all show makers are aware that they are catering to a family audience, so exposure, if any, is limited and relevant. We can't cross certain limits. What I've seen is that most actors are comfortable shooting for the scenes, as long as it is necessary to the storyline. TV offers family entertainment, and that won't change. And the audience is also very mature these days, in this age of the Internet when everything is so accessible," Patnaik says.

Actors do sense when a scene is relevant, and when it has been introduced purely to titillate, and respond accordingly. This is what Siddharth Malhotra, the producer of Dil Mil Gaye and Ek Hazaaron Mein Meri Behna Hai feels. He told us that he has never had any issue with actors wanting to include no-kissing (or similar) clauses in their contracts. "Actors' choices must be respected," he states. "Whether the medium is TV or film, as long as these intimate scenes are essential to the script or plot, there are correct ways of communicating this to your cast, audience." Telling us how he feels the issue must be broached with cast members, Malhotra says, "There should be mutual agreement and a discussion with the actors. If they aren't comfortable shooting the sequence or if they feel it's just a gimmick, then their discomfort should be respected and addressed."

Surprisingly, makers of TV shows themselves aren't very keen on including explicit lovemaking sequences in their scripts. The reason? There seems to be an indication that having too many intimate sequences actually brings down a show's TRPs!

"Directors of TV shows know their limits very clearly. There have been some recent TV shows that tried to go bold, but their numbers (TRPs) dropped. I think it's because you can't watch such scenes with your children or parents " basically, the content has to be acceptable to a family audience. So unlike in films, I don't believe clauses like these are necessary for TV actors," says Santram Verma, who directs Jodha-Akbar.

Santram also feels that at times, an actor's ego comes into play, which is why issues crop up with certain sequences. "I think some actors get carried away by other people telling them How will you be portrayed on screen?' or What will the viewers think?' So at times, it becomes a bit of an ego battle."

As for Divyanka Tripathi, whose show has started the debate, she has said that she was happy with the way the scene in Yeh Hai Mohabbatein has finally turned out. "It was obviously awkward shooting that scene," she has admitted, while choosing not to comment on the terms and conditions she is said to have set for the sequence. "As an actor, I was happy with how it turned out and I'm glad that that my fans are happy with it too."