"It's not about Intelligent actors anymore!" Neena Gupta

Manno Bhabhi is back in Zee's TRP raker Saat Phere after a hiatus with glycerine and not mirchi. Talking about the change in her role she says, "There's only one kind of thing happening on TV and you have to do what is happening on TV!" A lot has changed for the veteran actress since her last super hit soap Saans. Neena essentially belongs to the intelligent brigade of actress, with an intensive background of serious cinema and sensitive television series. However it's been a decade since TV became soap-a-holic, with multiple saas bahu sagas. Neena and her contemporaries have since either found different platforms to emote or have returned hapless to TV as passionless actors working for their daily bread. Neena wasn't her fiery self, when we caught up with her, she sounded matured, grounded and tired. She hints that she is " waiting for things to change on TV." Says she with a hopeful look in her eye: "Across the globe when countries experience a TV boom, they have had similar situations but things have changed eventually. So logically speaking there's a change waiting for us too!" It is quite true as the focus is shifting from the bahus to betiyaans in the family dramas and certain ancillary channels are devoting themselves to young minds - we are certainly in a transition phase! Neena contemplates, "One can't often engineer change and when that happens it's better to be the best at what you are given to do. I can't change scripts and shows when they are doing well with the public, all I can do is be the best in my roles." Talking about roles, Manno Bhabhi has returned with a twist, "Yes, in fact I was introduced in the show for a purpose, to help Saloni (Rajshri Thakur) with her problems. Then she had to go as Saloni's track gained momentum. There was a lot of drama around Manno Bhabhi's character. And now it's just the opposite, the drama has reduced and a softer side of Manno Bhabhi as a mother has come into play. The dramatic responses and counselling has now been taken over by Saloni." So does she like the change in her character? "As I said before I will do the best of what I am given, Manno Bhabhi has new shades to emote, and it's interesting as an actor to do different things. People have already liked the character and are going to be emotionally involved in her now. It's a different side to her character as a mother-son tryst has not been not explored before." The conversation veers to how shows have become boring and catering to the lowest common denominator. And how the savvy yesteryear actors of television are forcibly adapting themselves to spineless scripts. Neena adds wistfully, "It's not about intelligent actors anymore, on the whole actors have nothing much to do! It's not their fault either, it's just a phase. And I have a strong feeling that we will soon be looking at a new face of TV across the country. There will be more interesting shows." Her positive attitude reminds me that change needs to be initiated and as she waits for it, we scribble our frustrations in an urge to awaken the viewers, scriptwriters and producers who with persistence will create more likeable shows and stop assuming that their audience has receded into the depths of mediocrity!