Dad's not the only way, say television daddies

The Father’s Day is just a few days away now with most celebs reportedly gearing to pay an ode to their dads. But that’s off screen. Onscreen, it’s a different story altogether. Being a part of the next Gen, young TV actors are averse to playing the role of a father on the small screen. DNA spoke to some of them to find out what stops them from playing a dad on TV.

TV actor Aamir Ali feels that being young if once you play an older role then there are chances of being typecast in that elderly image.  “The actors are afraid that if they start taking up roles of fathers then they might get typecast which is not good for them. Besides,  if a actor is young in real life, then he should be offered only younger roles only as he won’t be as convincing playing a much older dad,”says Aamir.

Actor Karan Mehra agrees. He says, “It’s true that actors are averse to play a father’s role on television, because somewhere there is fear in their mionds that if you do a father’s role once and are accepted by audiences you won’t get younger roles. So actors want to avoid being in such a situation as far as possible.”

Actor Mohit Sehgal says, “Actors who are young want to play young roles. It’s quite logical. Once you start doing fatherly roles then definitely you won’t get to play young leads. Leads in most shows are young. Actors want to play their age. How can one be expected to play a father to grown-up children when one is below thirty himself. You get slotted depending upon the role you do so you need to be extra careful in your choice of roles. ”

Actor Karan Tacker says, “Actors who are young definitely want to stick to younger roles. If you play a father’s role early in your career, then definitely producers casting for new shows think twice before considering you for a young lead. Fans who have seen you in a young avatar want to see you in young roles only and that’s the reason many actors don’t want to be a part of the show if it goes for a age leap.”

Producer Rajan Shahi says, “It’s short-sightedness if actors are not willing to play fathers on television. On television there is no star image but only strong characters. Sometimes the character and storyline demands an actor to play father and it doesn’t hamper the career of an actor. An actor who believes in the strength of performance and character will not be averse, but an actor relies on his image trap will have doubts about playing a father’s role. In the past there were shows where 21-year-old actors were seen playing father to 18-year-olds which used to look ridiculous. The father’s role should go with the personality of an individual actor.”