NEW DELHI: After making
their presence felt on reality shows, Bollywood stars are now
increasingly appearing in cameos on television serials to promote their
upcoming films.
Stars like Abhishek
Bachchan, John Abraham , Salman Khan,
Mallika Sherawat and Neetu Kapoor are increasingly making a
beeline for serials.
This arrangement benefits both big and small screen stars, experts say.
"Television is the best way to connect with the audience,"
Aatish Kapadia, writer-director of "Khichdi-The Movie", told IANS on
phone from Mumbai. Episodes featuring stars tend to have higher
viewership, and the practice adds novelty to the show, he added.
The cast of Kapadia's movie, including
Supriya Pathak , Anang Desai, Rajeev Mehta, J.D. Mathejia
and Nimisha Vakharia, appeared on a Ganesh Chaturthi special episode of
Sab TV's popular show "Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashma". On many occasions, the scripts of TV serials are tweaked to accommodate film stars.
"A lot depends upon the content of the show and the film. The
actors can be weaved into the script in such a way that viewers can
connect with them," added Kapadia.
Abhishek Bachchan made an appearance on Colors' show "Balika
Vadhu" prior to the release of his box office dud "Drona",
while actors
Sharman Joshi and Vatsal Seth had appeared on a Valentine's Day special
of "Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashma", keeping in mind their romantic
comedy "Toh Baat Pakki".
Actor Ajay
Devgn too made a guest appearance on the show to promote his film "All
The Best", and will feature in an upcoming episode of "Crime Patrol" to
promote "Aakrosh", a film about honour killings.
Bollywood veterans Rishi Kapoor and Neetu Kapoor too starred
in "Taarak Mehta..." to promote their recent release "Do Dooni Chaar".
"The small screen has a huge and
dedicated audience. Somehow, the characters of our film could be
integrated into the show as both are aimed at family audiences," the
film's director Habib Faisal told IANS.
"The characters of the show ("Taarak Mehta...") are popular as
well, and both Rishiji and Neetuji really enjoyed shooting for the
show," he added. Other stars bitten
by the 'serial' bug include John Abraham, Akshay Kumar, Salman Khan,
Emraan Hashmi and Prachi Desai.
While Akshay had a cameo appearance on Star Plus' "Sasural
Genda Phool" for his movie "Khatta Meetha", Salman Khan
was seen promoting "Dabangg" on "Laagi Tujhse Lagan", aired on Colors.
Emraan Hashmi and Prachi Desai
made a guest appearance on Sony's long-running detective show "CID" for
"Once Upon A Time in Mumbai", and Emraan recently featured on Sab TV's
"Sajan Re Jhoot Mat Bolo" to promote his film "Crook".
John is set to feature on two Sab TV shows "FIR" and "Taarak
Mehta...", where he will be seen promoting Abbas Tyrewala's "Jhootha Hi
Sahi". Mallika Sherawat too will
make an appearance on Colors' show "Naa Aana Iss Des Ladoo" to promote
her much-awaited film "Hisss", in which she plays a snake woman.
But do these ways of film promotion work?
Though actors have been appearing on music and dance reality
shows, television serials are still untested waters.
Industry watchers feel the trend has lost its novelty factor, and does not have a major impact on the audience.
source : http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/news-by-industry/media/entertainment-/entertainment/Bollywood-stars-eye-serials-after-reality-overdose/articleshow/6760337.cms
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