Iqbal Khan on hierarchy between TV and film actors: Things have changed, but not completely

Mohammed Iqbal Khan might have been missing from the small screen for some time now, but the actor is set to be back with a film instead

Mohammed Iqbal Khan might have been missing from the small screen for some time now, but the actor is set to be back with a film instead. All geared up Suresh Triveni’s Jalsa, he is excited about sharing screen space with actor Vidya Balan.

Actor Iqbal Khan will be seen in the film Jalsa.

“This film happened naturally for me. I genuinely wanted to work with her. In a male-dominated industry, she is among the few actors who can actually get women-centric films done and actually make money. She has always had a good choice of scripts, and at the end of the day, there’s also a certain kind of return you get with her,” he says.

The 40-year-old, who has done TV shows such as Kaisa Ye Pyaar Hai and Kkavyanjali, agrees that the hierarchy between actors of different mediums did exist -- for instance, the notion that being a film actor is bigger than being one on television. “Initially, yes it did. But now things are changing, slightly. I am not saying completely, but things have changed a lot,” says Khan.

Citing the enormous time TV requires from one, he continues, “When working on a TV show, 25 days of your month are gone. Yes, you can take out time and do other things, but that kind of troubles the continuity because then there are a lot of compromises that have to be done in production. Kaam aadmi karta hai, usme se 5 din bachte hain, voh bhi agar kahin aur bitaayega toh kahaan jaayega?”