When films elude TV stars
Shruti Jambhekar, TNN | Apr 5, 2011, 12.00am IST
They did well in tellytown till they decided to waltz into the world of Bollywood. And now they are all returning to the small screen, hoping to make it big again.
But, then it's not that easy. Right from Eijaz Khan to Aamir Ali to Shakti Anand, from Anita toAamna Sharif to Nausheen Ali Sardar — they have all tried their luck in films, but to no avail. Manav Gohil, Sangeeta Ghosh and Shveta Salve are still waiting for their film to release, which now seems like a distant dream. And Karan Singh Grover has only been talking about his movie debut past many years.
It's only now that something seems to be materialising! While Prachi Desai and Rajeev Khandelwal — small screen imports who got lucky in B-Town are still trying to get their toehold in Bollywood films, the newer add-ons to the list of telly migrants to Hindi films are Kulraj Randhawa (Yamla Pagla Deewana), Aditya Narayan (Shaapit), Tia Bajpai (Haunted), Roshni Chopra (Vikram Bhatt's untitled next), Karan Singh Grover (with Diana Hayden) and Ranvijay Singh.
The oft asked question remains: Why is the Bollywood dream so elusive for telly actors? Industry insiders feel that prime time TV stars become such staple faces thanks to their every day appearance in our homes that they lose the novelty factor when they take their first big screen bow. That's just where a rank newcomer scores over them. Aditya, a reality show TV anchor, confesses that while his debut film gave him "good exposure", it didn't do well at the BO. So now when Aditya is not shooting for his new TV show, he's "reading film scripts" and this time around will do a lot of thinking before he signs his next! Aamir Ali who recently starred in I Hate Luv Storys, feels "One wrong move can spoil your chances in B-Town. On TV, you can take a risk and still make a comeback, no one gives you a second chance in films."
Moving from television to films is sometimes not as easy as it seems to be. Says Kulraj, "The journey from TV to films wasn't a cakewalk. One has to be patient and wait for right opportunities. I took up regional films and only when I felt confident I joined mainstream Bollywood films."
So what do TV producers have to say about the phenomenon? Actor-producer JD Majethia says, "When one is competing with established stars, one needs to give 200 per cent to be successful, which is tough. It is difficult for an established TV star to create a space of one's own in a film industry, which already has bigger names ruling the roost."
Once their tryst with movies comes to nothing, they take a step back to their familiar territory — television. Once the big screen dream fizzles out, the small screen seems the only option left. But then with newer faces, getting a good role is tough. Nausheen is back in a serial playing a mother to grownups. Anita is doing a horror show. Manav had entered Agle Janam Mohe Bitiya Hi Kijo a while ago after it took a time leap. Eijaz did a cameo in Bhaskar Bharti, Shveta is hosting DanceIndia Dance and the list goes on....
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