Mouni Roy, Ankita Lokhande, Radhika Madan, Nandish Sandhu: TV stars graduating to Bollywood in 2018-19 | Bollywood - Hindustan Times
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Mouni Roy, Ankita Lokhande, Radhika Madan, Nandish Sandhu: TV stars graduating to Bollywood in 2018-19

Hindustan Times | ByMonika Rawal Kukreja, New Delhi
Apr 16, 2018 04:21 PM IST

Actors, filmmakers and trade experts tell us the reason behind this trend of TV stars making it big in Bollywood.

After tasting success, achieving stardom and earning massive fan following, several TV actors are set to foray into films. While some have bagged lead roles, others are happy making their big screen debut in supporting characters. In the past too, several names from the TV have got recognition in films and some even became superstars, including Shah Rukh Khan, who began his acting career on TV. Other notable names include Ronit Roy, Sakshi tanwar, Sushant Singh Rajput, Vidya Balan, Prachi Desai, among others. Though it’s not new for TV actors to eye a Bollywood career, the trend seems to be on a rapid rise now.

Television stars foraying into Bollywood is not a new trend but it’s on a rapid rise now.
Television stars foraying into Bollywood is not a new trend but it’s on a rapid rise now.

The big debut line-up

Radhika Madan: Chhuriyaan

Nia Sharma : Untitled by Vikram Bhatt

Himmanshoo Malhotra: Hum Chaar with Sooraj Barjatya

Mouni Roy: Gold

Nikita Dutta: Gold

Mrunal Thakur: Super 30

Nandish Sandhu: Super 30

Ankita Lokhande: Manikarnika

Dipika Kakar: Paltan

Karan Tacker: Student Of The Year 2

The big line-up

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Some have already shot for their films releasing in 2018, while others have just been roped in and have started shooting. While Radhika Madan of Meri Aashiqui Tum Se Hi fame has been cast in Vishal Bhardwaj’s Chhuriyaan, Jamai Raja actor Nia Sharma has been roped in for a feature film being directed by Vikram Bhatt. Ek Nayi Ummeed - Roshni actor Himmanshoo Malhotra has bagged a family drama with Sooraj Barjatya. Naagin actor Mouni Roy will be seen in Akshay Kumar’s Gold, which also marks the debut of yet another TV actor, Nikita Dutta who stars in Haasil. Mrunal Thakur of Kumkum Bhagya fame is playing the lead heroine opposite Hrithik Roshan in Vikas Bahl’s Super 30, in which Uttaran actor Nandish Sandhu will play the role of Hrithik’s onscreen brother. Ankita Lokhande of Pavitra Rishta is reprising the role of Jhalkaribai in the Kangana Ranaut-starrer Manikarnika while Dipika Kakar aka Simar of Sasural Sima Ka is playing one of the three leading ladies in JP Dutta’s Paltan. Diya Aur Baati Hum actor Aadesh Chaudhary will be seen in a lead role in Bhanwar. TV’s heartthrob Karan Tacker, popular for his show Ek Hazaaron Mein Meri Behna Hai, is reported to play a negative role in Student Of The Year 2, though an official confirmation is yet to come.

The tempting quotient

Dipika Kakar admits that she “never craved for Bollywood” but she was certain that if “something good” came her way, she’d do it. “That’s exactly what happened with Paltan. I’ve never been going around and giving auditions, but when this role was offered to me, I was fitting the bill,” she says.

On why most TV stars eventually want to make it big in Bollywood, Ankita says, “It’s because films have larger audience and give more exposure. Films are a worldwide medium and it’s always good to experience new things in your career. I’ll always be grateful to TV as whatever popularity I have today is because of my serial, I hope that the same will follow after the audience see my work in films.”

Popularity of the medium counts

Citing “audiences’ acceptance” as the reason behind this continuous popularity of TV stars in Bollywood, experts say the lines between the mediums have blurred.

Filmmaker Kunal Kohli, who launched and co-starred with TV actor Jenifer Winget in a web film, Phir Se, earlier this year, feels that TV is no longer the stepping stone to get into films. “Boundaries [between mediums] are blurring and actors want to work in different formats of cinema. The end result of being involved with any form of creativity is that you want people to watch it, whether it’s on TV or films, doesn’t matter,” he says.

Trade analyst Atul Mohan explains, “Every actor from various mediums dreams of making it big in films and filmmakers, too, need an influx of new talent for fresh storytelling. And there’s nothing better if we have talented ones graduating from small screen to big screen, who are already popular.”

Staring that it’s always easier to launch a TV star in movies more than any regular newcomer, film critic Omar Qureshi opines, “Simply because they are exposed to gruelling shooting schedules, look good and have tremendous fan following, including social media popularity. Also, newcomers don’t have takers and star kids come with a huge amount of comparison and pressure, so it’s almost a cakewalk for TV stars.”

Interact with Monika Rawal Kukreja at Twitter/@monikarawal

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