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ShareMumbai: It's a world of big dreams. But for television actors who are looking at making a transition from the small screen to the big one, it's a world of big sacrifices too. These actors are giving up a lot in terms of money to make headway in cinema. The actors who are paid more than a lakh per day for a TV show, get next to nothing when they do films.
Consider this: Prachi Desai, who achieved stardom with her first daily soap Kasamh Se, used to get more than Rs50,000 per day. And when she got her Bollywood break in Rock On, she received just a few lakhs.
An industry insider said, "Every TV actor dreams of making it big in Bollywood. To pursue this dream, they don't bother about the money while taking up films, at least in the initial phases."
Film producers are wary of signing TV stars thinking they are overexposed due to daily soaps. So when a production house signs on someone like Rajeev Khandelwal -- one of the most popular faces on television -- as the lead in a film, the payment part automatically doesn't get due importance. The actor goes for it thinking about the platform.
Mona Singh is probably one of the highest paid actors on TV. But she got a meager amount -- less than Rs10 lakh -- for her debut film 3 Idiots.
Television is such an industry where major stars -- people like Smriti Irani or Sakshi Tanwar -- do not fit the bill of a typical Hindi film actor. Whoever is left, they have to struggle like any other newcomer. Be it other superstars like Hussain or Aamna Shariff, the struggle is on.
Hussain's Bollywood debut did not take off and now he is reportedly working on another film. However, as a host Hussain charges more than Rs1 lakh per day for a show.
Similarly despite her huge success in television, Aamna Shriff (who used to get more than Rs40,000per day for Kahiin To Hoga) is getting peanuts for the films which she is doing.
So then how do these actors, who've made the transition from television to movies, survive?
"The money comes from stage shows and hosting assignments. For example, Mona Singh charges around Rs1.5 lakh per day for hosting a show; it might go higher if the production house is a big one and the channel is spending a lot of money. Even Rajeev Khandelwal got a lot of money for Sach Ka Saamna. In a way, they are trying to balance their career by doing reality shows or hosting for the money and films for creative satisfaction," said the insider.
