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ShareMumbai: Not so long ago, daily soaps spawned a number of TV 'superstars' who earned lakhs of rupees per day of work, the work itself stretching into 18-hour stints on the sets, many fainting due to fatigue. But recession and changing audience taste have seen many of these 'superstars' lose ground to a slew of youngsters. Now, many former biggies who refuse to see the writing on the wall are out of work,preferring to stay home rather than accept pay cuts.
Mouli Ganguly, who became a household name after playing the character Shaina in Balaji's Kahin Kisi Roz, concedes that work has dried up. "We were getting paid Rs 50,000 per day a few years back and now it has come down to around Rs 10,000. Do you think we can work with that? That's what's happening to most actors. Either they decide not to work, or take whatever is offered. People who don't have a support system or haven't made sound investments, have to suffer. Thankfully, I have invested well and have the backing of my family," she says.
Mouli further says actors are now aware that it doesn't pay to push physical boundaries. "When I joined the industry, I didn't a have a clue how it functioned. I remember actors used to boast about the long hours they worked. Like if I shot for 48 hours at a stretch, I used to feel proud. So, actors used to faint every now and then. But now I'm very clear about how many hours I want to work, and so are most other actors. That's why actors don't faint nowadays."
Hiten Tejwani, who has been associated with the maximum number of successful daily soaps, says actors need to decide how to fill up the void. "In every industry or any system, there is boom and there is doom. Right now, there is less work and pay, so actors have to take a call whether to work on their own terms or take a pay cut to keep the kitchen running. I know people who are ready to work for less. For me, lesser work has been a blessing in disguise as I've been able to spend time with my family," he says.
Apara Mehta, who spent years on the sets of Kyunkii Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi as Savita, says, "I think what TV had become was an exception -- it's just getting back to normal now. The television industry had become too big for its boots -- now it's where it should be."
