Image Trapped

Tulsi, Kkusum and Ramola are close buddies to many TV addicts. But can Smriti Iraani, Nausheen Ali Sardar and Sudha Chandran grow out of the shadow of these characters? They are young, talented, ambitious, and unfortunately…..branded for life. Is that a heavy price to pay for television stardom? Smriti Iraani, for legions of fans is Tulsi, the ideal bahu, Nausheen Ali Sardar, the homely Kkusum to millions and Urvashi Dholakia the crafty Komolika. The roles have grown on them, with them, and in reverse osmosis, the actors have become the part. On Indian television today, where conforming to convention spells success and experimentation is a big gamble, can our stars shed the tags of roles that have given them their moment in the limelight? Are there channels and production houses willing and ready to change the image of a Shweta Kawaatra from the conniving Pallavi to a docile damsel? Or, worse still, will Sony ever reveal Jassi's true identity and allow her to flower as a multi dimensional actor? Many television stars enjoy their moment in the sun even if it costs them their identity. Says Kawaatra, "I love it when someone calls me Pallavi. Had Pallavi not happened, I would not have made my mark by now." Says Sudha Chandran, "Till lately I was known as Mayuri (her first film character), but now people want me to sign autographs as Ramola Sikand (her most popular TV character till date). What's wrong with that? In fact, that's an incentive." But…after a TV character becomes a household name, where does he go from there? Doesn't he get trapped in his/her image? Can he widen his repertoire of roles? Smriti Iraani, Urvashi Dholakia, Amar Upadhyay and Mauli Ganguly who have played Tulsi, Komolika, Mihir Virani and Shaina, for instance. Can any producer visualise them in roles different from what they have been doing since the past four years? Urvashi concurs, "I did receive a positive role some time back, but since I am doing two dailies, everything went for a toss." But Upadhyay says, "The fact that you've seen me only in Des Mein Niklla Hoga Chand since quite some time is because I was getting all similar kind of offers which required me to play the prodigal son. I want to grow and evolve as an actor. I agree that we don't have too much time at our disposal, but that does not mean that I latch on to anything and everything." Shrraddha Nigam (Choodiyan) is one actress who has tried to break the mould, to an extent. She says, "I have always made a conscious effort to sign roles which will not make me larger than life. It would be terribly difficult to get out of them if and when the situation demands. Perhaps I would need some break." But Cinevistaas' creative head Namit Sharma does not endorse this view. Would he think of Tulsi in jeans when he conceives his next piece of creativity? "Why not?" he asserts, adding, "If directors and writers have done their job well, there is no reason why a TV actor in our circuit cannot shake off his past. Didn't Ekta Kapoor pull it off in her own serial Kahaani Ghar Ghar Kii when she made the eternal bahu Parvati Aggarwal (Saakshi Tanwar) adorn the hip avatar of an Australian resident Swati Dixit?" But didn't Shaina fall flat in Cinevistaas' own serial Sakshi on Sony Entertainment Television? "I don't think so. Today, weekend programmes (Sakshi is telecast on Saturdays) don't command great viewership. Every channel is experimenting on how to build the weekend base. In that context, Saaksshi is not doing badly. Even our Sanjivani-A Medical Boon did not set the cash registers ringing until the 35th episode where we diverted the story from the hospital to love and soapy matters," he reasons. Tanwar too does not hesitate before endorsing Sharma's viewpoint. "It's a myth that an actor gets trapped in his image when he strikes the chord with the viewers. Knowing Indian television, I feared that I would be stuck with the Parvati image. I am thankful to Ekta Kapoor that she has eroded this myth. She is a casting genius. I desperately wanted to do something different. How long can you go on playing the same character?" Juhi Kumkum Parmar is one of the hot contenders for the co-anchor's post in BAG Films' forthcoming show. Not so long ago, BAG's Mumbai head Rajesh Chaddha had told us, "You see Juhi in Indian wears, but this girl can carry off Western outfits with equal grace and style. If the character has been conceived with conviction and care, any talented TV actor can fit into it. I am looking at her for doing one of our forthcoming saucy shows on Star Plus which would feature lots of gossip. The show is tentatively titled Tellywood." "I can definitely imagine Komilika and Tulsi in different roles," claims Balaji Telefilms creative head Ekta Kapoor, adding, "But they will have to work extra hard. It won't be tough to get roles if you make a name. But it will be tough to live up to the standards of that role." Giving it a long thought, Urvashi agrees, "Frankly, nothing can be as big as Komolika at least in the beginning. It has to be nurtured and hyped." Nausheen too is looking at shaking off her Kkusum image in Ashim Samanta's thriller Kaalchakra that sees light of day on Star Plus next month. "A section of the audience may have become matured to accept actors' in different roles. But it's a different story in smaller towns where television is a big influence on the people's minds. They don't understand that Kusum is reel and Nausheen is real. The actor on Indian television gets typecast faster than in Indian films. I had to move out before I got typecast. I could sense that it was coming," she explains. Rajesh Khera (Maddy of Jassi Jaissi Koi Nahin) considers himself lucky that he got the role of Maddy a little later in his life. "Had Maddy been my first role, I would definitely have got slotted. Then, people might have even believed that I was a gay!" he laughs. Last year, Dipak Kazir aka Babuji of Kasautii... and Kahaani... told us, "I have started feeling burnt out. I want to do something special. I don't want to go on playing Babuji. By October, I will opt out of one serial." The fact that he hasn't is another story. Apparently, the actor in him was feeling suffocated. The offers were coming his way, but they all said that that he should be their Babuji and nothing else. Kazir stuck on. Smriti Iraani meanwhile insists she is getting various other offers too. One of the roles offered to her, she says, also has grey shades in it, but she is yet undecided about accepting it. The price of fame, particularly on television, where characters are loved more than actors, does not come cheap. For the artistes to grow, it's a tough job. Tougher still, in a job market that gets crowded by the day. Viewers meanwhile are happy with their Tulsi, Komolika, Kkusum and Ramola. Reel for viewers is obviously better than real!