Not yet on sunset boulevard

Jagdeep, Farida Jalal, Kader Khan, Sadashiv Amrapurkar, Aruna Irani are just some of the veteran actors who have taken recourse to television. The world of glamour isn’t very kind on senior actors. Either they are offered cameos or they are given what is labeled as character roles. When you are at the sunset of your life, career often gets pushed out too. Unfortunately work is not easy to come by and if you haven’t invested wisely, life gets difficult. Many actors find it tough to make ends meet. However, now with the influx of so many new channels and new shows mushrooming almost every day, there is no dearth of work. Fortunately many of our senior actors are finding substantial amount of work on the small screen. Moreover many of the shows currently on air focus on central characters who are senior citizens. Last seen in a guest appearance in Balika Vadhu, veteran actress Farida Jalal has now made a comeback as the protagonist in SAB TV's new show Ammaji Ki Galli. Jalal has bemoaned the fact that she has been playing the same character over and over again in different films. While her contemporaries used to get variety of roles like that of a doctor or lawyer she was being offered only a mother’s role. She was therefore getting bored as her dialogues also started getting repetitive. There was no variety in her roles. So when Ammaji Ki Galli was offered to her she accepted it gladly as it gave her the opportunity to explore new boundaries. Similarly actress Vibha Chibber – mother of Ragini (Parul Chauhan) in Sapna Baabul Ka...Bidaai – has bagged the title role in Zee TV's new show Mrs. Kaushik Ki Paanch Bahuein. The actress says that she is at an age when the glamour quotient dies down and hence feels she is fortunate to have got a lead role in a TV show. Film veteran Jagdeep recently made an entry in Phulwa, as did another senior actor Sadhana Singh of Nadiya Ke Paar fame. Veteran film actor Sadashiv Amrapurkar had made his TV debut with Zee TV’s Shobha Somnath Ki, while yesteryears actor Rita Bhaduri played a key role in Bhagonwali... Baante Apni Taqdeer. Senior actors Alok Nath, Aruna Irani, Neena Gupta, Jayshree T are all doing reasonably well on the small screen. While the actors look at television as another medium to stay connected to their art, what works to their advantage is the instant recall factor that they bring, thanks to their years of experience on the big screen. A known producer feels that veterans bring with them a certain novelty factor, as they are not just any other face that can be seen regularly. They are a brand in themselves already, so they are also far more established in terms of connect with the audience. For Amrapurkar it was the role that pulled him to TV. He says there are hardly any roles written for the villains anymore in films. The hero does everything these days, so it’s better to do interesting roles on TV rather than doing random roles on the big screen. Whatever the reason, both the audience and even the other actors are more than happy to have these old gems on the small screen. It is certainly a long time before the sun sets. Read more...