Have you noticed that big stars of the small screen get transformed into mere supporting cast on the big screen? So, would Bollywood remain perennially elusive to these TV actors, many of whom have larger-than-life persona on the boob tube?
The crossover
Many big names of TV are appearing in prestigious Bollywood projects these days — Mannini Mihir Mishra and Hemant Pandey have appeared in Krrish, TV’s poster boy Rohit Roy is working on four films right now, Divya Dutta will appear in JP Dutta’s Umraao Jaan, Simone Singh has Delhi Heights, Aman Verma will again do a Baghban by appearing with Amitabh Bachchan in Babul, Harsh Chhaya has a role in Madhur Bhandarkar’s Corporate and Delnaz Paul will do another friendly act in Milenge Milenge.
Reality check
Though the list is impressive, why do TV stars appear only under the shadow of the Bollywood biggies? Says Ravi Chopra, producer of the soap Viraasat, “Many in the film world feel that TV actors are overexposed, but an able performer can liven up any screen.”
But TV stars do a reality check. Says Delnaz, “After Kal Ho Na Ho, I expected such success every month. But it takes a lot more than good work.” No wonder, the earlier lot (Mandira Bedi, Sudhanshu Pandey, Amarr Upadhya, etc) which crossed over, soon returned to TV.
{{/usCountry}}But TV stars do a reality check. Says Delnaz, “After Kal Ho Na Ho, I expected such success every month. But it takes a lot more than good work.” No wonder, the earlier lot (Mandira Bedi, Sudhanshu Pandey, Amarr Upadhya, etc) which crossed over, soon returned to TV.
{{/usCountry}}So, what do these TV stars need to make it to the movies? While Chopra says, “it’s about the right opportunity,” Rakesh Roshan feels, “those who have it in them will shine soon.”
As the Bollywood chimera continues to elude TV actors, those who get lucky try to make the most of it. For, films will always be bigger than the TV.