A while ago,when a journalist asked Gautam Gulati if he’ll be seen on the small screen again, he had said, “Television is not my cup of tea anymore. It’s not my circus, not my monkey.” That didn’t go down too well with his colleague from the TV industry, Kushal Tandon, who took to Twitter to express his disappointment about this. He tweeted:
Not my circus not my monkey! Well, where did u come frm, wr did u go? U were not even a monkey of tv. Respect the circus! This showbiz is a circus and there are all sorts of animals! Sum r tigers, horse, blah n monkey! R u even dat? #respect d medium Mr London movie!
From Sushant Singh Rajput to Ayushmann Khurrana – the Indian television has given us many Bollywood stars. But there are also TV stars like Siddharth Shukla, Rajeev Khandelwal, Ronit Roy and a few others, who’ve been successfully juggling between television and films.
We got in touch with a few popular faces from Telly town and got them to share their take on this.
Ssharad Malhotraa
We all know TV is booming and its reach has widened over the past few years. It’s getting stronger and bigger by the minute. I am very lucky and thankful to be a part of this medium but as an artist, we all should experiment at different levels/spheres and try and prevent any kind of monotony to set in at workplace. I would love to juggle all 3, stage, films and TV, together. I know that it will be very challenging physically and emotionally but at the same, it will be highly satisfying for my creative urges and entertaining for my audiences too.
Himmanshu Malhotra
I think the best idea at this point of time is to maintain the balance between television and films. If you leave television and only want to do films, it becomes a risky proposition in today’s times because films, unfortunately, are not as successful as television. You need to be very lucky. I would say Sushant Singh Rajput is the only exception who’s been lucky here. He ventured out of television and entered into films and kept proceeding with it. Only one film does not make you a star proportionally. You have to do 6 films in a row. Sushant got lucky, but not everyone gets lucky like this. I think there should be a balance that is maintained between television and films. I would suggest a balance like Ram Kapoor and Ronit Roy have maintained. They keep doing both television and films. I did a film Wajah Tum Ho with T-series and now I am doing a television show as well. If another film is offered, I’ll do that film and will be back to television. It is the balance that should be maintained and it will be more fruitful in the coming future.
Shashank Vyas
Well, I think every individual has his or her own journey. One cannot be non-risky in this profession. Being in the comfort zone always is not my choice. Look at Shah Rukh Khan, Sushant Singh Rajput – all of them are from TV and they both made it big. It’s talent and destiny which decides your career graph. Of course, hard work will take you a long way.
Mohammad Nazim
TV is a mass medium. The character becomes part of the audiences life. TV or films, the objective of both is entertainment, entertainment and entertainment. Even Salman Khan and SRK are doing TV. How you carry your career is your choice. One can surely balance both TV and films. The will to survive must be there. If you can maintain a balance between both, then there is nothing like it.
Tinaa Dattaa
TV is TV and films are films for an actor. Films are larger than life and TV makes you a household name. Both have their own impact. TV actors are doing well in films and vice versa. In last few years, many actors have migrated to films and have got a good response. It is important to go on trying, that will surely make you succeed. One bad film will not ruin your career, it’s important to believe in this.
Vivian Dsena
As far as TV is concerned, I would like to stick to the TV as it is my bread, butter and dessert. I am open to the idea of doing films as and when they happen. An actor is an actor and medium can vary. But I will never give out television for films. TV has made me who I am today and I will never forget that.