‘Ronit is the Amitabh Bachchan of TV’

Rohit Roy explains why television is the most powerful medium for actors today


c_sujata@dnaindia.net
Rohit Roy is casting elder brother Ronit in his next movie. At a time, when his television friends undermine TV as an alternative medium to films, Rohit says that it is television that has made his brother Rohit a star.

He says, “After watching Rohit in Mahabharat..., people have forgotten Mukesh Khanna. Rohit has re-created the iconic character. Rohit is now the Amitabh Bachchan of television.”

Currently Rohit is busy writing a script for a film for Sanjay Gupta. Rohit promises that the film will be an action film which also happens to be one of almost his favourite genres.

“Boys will be boys and we love action. My film will see four or five top-listers from Bollywood,” Rohit adds.

Ask him what he is expecting out of his 10-movie deal with a production house which will be investing close to Rs 100 million, and the actor-director says, “We are going to experiment.

We have interesting scripts which are unlike the regular masala films and one of our one-hour movies will be a path-breaker in graphics and special effects.”

For someone who climbed up the popularity ladder through television soaps, Rohit is ‘disgusted’ of the whole ‘television syndrome’ and the kind of programming that is in vogue.

And he not too happy with the fact that actors use the television medium as the launching pads for successful careers on television, and bad-mouth it at their convenience.

He explains, “I will try to get at least one or two leading actors from television and facilitate their move into the film industry. But it disgusts me when actors undervalue television as a creative medium” Ronit says, adding, “You have Bollywood A-listers coming on TV chat shows and reality shows to advertise their movies. So, why should
TV actors feel any smaller than them?”