After Hollywood, now Bollywood’s top stars act in fiction shows

After Hollywood, now Bollywood’s top stars act in fiction shows

    Hollywood stars often do cameos or full-fledged roles in TV shows. In fact, the practice has been in effect for many years now. In India, however, it was looked at as a step-down. Not anymore. After preferring to simply host, judge or make promotional appearances for their films, film stars are now acting on the small screen in large numbers. Anil Kapoor, who plays the protagonist in 24, has also managed to rope in Anupam Kher, Shabana Azmi and Rahul Khanna, all of who will be acting on TV for the first time.
    Amitabh Bachchan, who made his TV debut in 2000 hosting Kaun Banega Crorepati, is set to make his acting debut in an untitled show as a construction magnate. At the announcement of his show three months ago, Big B had said, “A lot of thought and debate has gone into this and now it’s time to put that into action and see that it works for the audience.”
    There’s also constant buzz about actresses like Rekha, Madhuri Dixit-Nene, Juhi Chawla and Kajol being offered roles in serials. Even though none of them has accepted an offer so far, it may not be too long before actresses, too, start taking the plunge.
    The trend will soon catch up in India, predicts Anupam Kher. “Abroad, you have top film stars doing cameos in popular TV shows unlike here, where you have them come on TV only at the time of their film’s release. But that’s changing now,” points out Kher.
    This, of course, is not the first time when movie stars have come on TV to act. A few years ago, Sridevi, Raveena Tandon and Karisma Kapoor made their respective solo efforts, but couldn’t make much of a mark. Before that, actors like Danny Denzongpa (Ajnabi), Om Puri (Kakaji Kahin, Mr Yogi) and even Rajesh Khanna (Apne Paraye and Ittefaq) among others, acted on TV, but were just one-offs. Naseeruddin Shah, who acted in shows like Mirza Ghalib and Bharat Ki Khoj, is making a comeback on television with Nazar Ya Nazariya, a series aimed at dispelling negative perceptions about visually-challenged people. He will be the narrator at the beginning and ending of each episode.
    Times have changed and with television having grown enormously (the turnover of television reportedly is 22,000 crore, while that of the Indian film industry is 12,000 crore), the small screen’s wide reach and fat remuneration offered is only too tempting for film actors. Also, when it is a seasonal or a finite show, that has a fixed time frame, it suits the actor well. As Manisha Sharma, Weekend Programming Head of an entertainment channel, says, “With seasonal and finite series, we can maintain production values and rope in stars who now are more open to doing television. So, we should have a nice balance across networks of talent shows, finite fictional shows where we see a mix of film and TV actors. We hope to see good quality shooting and writing. And in due course, our television and film industry will walk hand-in-hand on the red carpet like they do at the Golden Globes.”
    Director Anubhav Sinha, who started his career in TV, has a different take. “The reason why TV in the US attracts movie stars is because of the innovative scripts and the economics that the shows can be backed by. These shows are sold in over 50-75 countries. In India, especially in fiction shows, we are far away from a situation where TV will be able to attract the otherwise busy stars to a script.’’
    Producer-director Siddharth Basu says, “It depends on the cost benefit and success of the first movers. However, what’s most welcome is that content and production values can escalate way beyond the regressive mindset that currently rules, with daily saas-bahu soaps and kitchen dramas.”
    — With inputs from
    Bharati Dubey

Amitabh Bachchan — Construction magnate in an as-yet-untitled show

Anil Kapoor — Jai Singh Rathod in 24

Naseeruddin Shah will return to TV after 25 years in Nazar Ya Nazariya

Anupam Kher — A cameo in 24

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