Sudhir Pandey says lead TVstars blackmail channels, supporting actors work ‘18 hour shifts, paid after 90 days’

Veteran actor Sudhir Pandey discusses the exploitation faced by supporting actors in television. He highlights the rigid commitments of daily soaps.

Actor Sudhir Pandey has been juggling work in the television and film industries for over five decades. The actor is known for his roles in shows such as Sasural Genda Phool and Balika Vadhu, as well as films including Toilet: Ek Prem Katha, Mission Raniganj, Agneepath, Waaris and Tees Maar Khan. In a recent chat with Siddharth Kannan, Sudhir opened up about the exploitation in the television industry and said he believes he deserves "a better industry" than Bollywood.

Sudhir Pandey exposes the exploitation of character actors in TV industry.

Sudhir Pandey on exploitation of character actors in TV industry

Sudhir spoke about the exploitation of character actors in the television industry and said, "If you are doing a daily soap, you can’t do anything else during that period. You can’t take up a film if you are committed to a serial. They don’t give you fixed dates and can call you randomly on any day during the month. The television environment is deteriorating because of private channels and producers."

Sudhir further claimed that the television industry treats lead actors and supporting actors very differently. He alleged that popular lead actors often have enough influence for channels to listen to their demands and can even "blackmail" them. However, he said that supporting actors, despite delivering quality performances, are often ignored when they ask for a pay rise and are instead replaced or written out of the show.

Sudhir added, "What’s shocking is that the contract is signed on a per-day basis, but the payment is made after 90 days. The exploitation of actors should be stopped, the situation has to improve. No one fights and no one talks about it. We have labour laws, but they don’t apply to the entertainment industry. A person works 14–18-hour shifts, doesn’t even get time to sleep, and has to report again. This is the condition that supporting actors are put in."

Calling himself an A-class actor, Sudhir said that he believes he deserves "a better industry", where people are more enlightened and genuinely sensitive. He further emphasised that although he is an outsider and comes from a middle-class background, he is not an average actor.

Sudhir Pandey's recent release

Sudhir was most recently seen in Ginny Weds Sunny 2. The film, which also featured Avinash Tiwary and Medha Shankr, was directed by Prasshant Jha. It received negative reviews from critics and failed at the box office. The film is a spiritual sequel to Ginny Weds Sunny (2020), which starred Vikrant Massey and Yami Gautam.