Rohit Roy calls TV a ‘dustbin medium’, says television actors don't conduct themselves with ‘grace and dignity’

Actor Rohit Roy slammed the supposed lack of creativity in TV shows and the lack of grace in television actors while looking back at his career.

Actor Rohit Roy began his career on television and has since become known for shows such as Swabhimaan and Des Mein Niklla Hoga Chand. He also starred in films such as Fashion, Shootout at Lokhandawala, and more. Having worked in both mediums, the actor recently called TV a ‘dustbin medium’ and said films are for ‘posterity’.

Rohit Roy acted in both TV shows and films throughout his career.

Rohit Roy on TV vs cinema

On the Kindle Cast YouTube channel, Rohit was asked if the TV industry has become more professional, but has less devotion to the craft now. He said, “This question has been asked of me several times, and I sometimes feel that I shouldn’t come across as ungrateful. But, television is a dustbin medium. You watch it today, it’s like yesterday’s newspaper. Tomorrow, you forget about it. So, in India, unfortunately, with the amount of content being created and the same kind of content being created, there’s hardly any creativity.” He claimed that, unlike Swabhimaan, there are numerous shows he has acted in that people forget.

When asked about the ‘caste system’ in Bollywood that sees TV actors as inferior to film, Rohit seemed to defend it. “Quite honestly, television actors don’t have the carriage that film actors have. You see the public appearance of a film actor, you see the carriage with which he or she comes out, especially if he or she is a star. Of course, everybody puts on a front. But that front is graceful, dignified, stylish, cool, all of that. See a gathering of television actors and look at the way they behave. You’ll get your answer. You have to conduct yourself with a certain amount of grace, dignity. You can’t do hoo-haa and make stupid comments because you know the paps are there. Look at the kind of clothing, too.”

While not taking names, Rohit claimed that there was one TV star who is often seen dressed skimpily. When the host pointed out that he seemed to have ‘internalised this hierarchy’, he replied that ‘cinema is for posterity’ and reiterated that TV is a ‘dustbin medium’, comparing both media to playing cricket for India versus in the Ranji.

Rohit Roy’s career

Rohit began his career in films and television around the same time. In 1994, he starred in Jazbaat, and a year later in the TV show Swabhimaan. The actor gained fame on TV shows such as Kkusum, Kittie Party, Des Mein Niklla Hoga Chand, and Viraasat. Rohit most recently starred in the Chumbak web series on Netflix. His last film was Controll in 2025.