Television is no more just a small screen. It is as popular as the big screen with its movies, and sometimes even more effective than its counterpart. Instances of talent emerging and shining on the silver screen has been on the rise for the past few years, especially the fairer sex bagging better filmi roles. The local talent have a better hold on the regional language, so this prime area has made film makers turn their attention towards TV to introduce actors to a bigger platform. Many also suspect that the huge popularity of actresses and their fan following is the other notable factor. At present, almost every leading actresses from leading Kannada serials have bagged roles in films, and some are also a part of big banner projects like Chaitra who makes her debut in Mayabazaar produced by Power Star Puneeth Rajkumar. Bengaluru Chronicle reports on the trend of making it big from the small screen.
Actress Chaitra Rao talks about her big break. She is right now essaying the popular character Janaki from the tele-serial Jodi Hakki’, and makes her debut in films with Mayabazaar directed by Radha Krishna Reddy and produced under Power Star Puneeth Rajkumar’s banner PRK Productions.
“I had been getting offers for a while, but none impressed me. Some of the stories I heard had no scope for performance, and were just predictable. I got a call from PRK Productions, and later the director chose me for the role. I am very fortunate that my debut film is being produced by Puneeth Sir under his own banner. It is also an impressive subject. It has a great cast — from Prakash Raj Sir, Raj B Shetty of Ondu Motteya Kathe fame, Vashista Simha and Sudharani Maam,” says Chaitra.
She also reveals that the director was initially searching for an actress who was overweight but when he could not find the perfect one, he changed the character to some extent, and eventually selected her.
Insofar as television actresses who are making it big on the silver screen are concerned, Chaitra feels that their popularity is one key ingredient for filmmakers to choose new talent from tele-serials. “It is indeed a good sign. There were times when directors would find it hard to find a suitable actress for a film, and heroines from other industries or other states became their first choice. It was a time when Kannada television was not that popular. With widespread competition over TRPs, and commercialisation of shows and programmes, the audience has given it a new lease of life. It is now the turn of the film industry, which started feeling the heat, to rethink on various aspects to co-exist,” says director Naveen.
He adds that instead of bringing an alien talent and training them, most of the local talent that is also popular, are the natural first choice for filmmakers who are thriving had with experimental ventures.
However, critic Narayan signs off saying that popularity alone cannot sustain growth. “The shelf life of a TV actor expires once a soap or programme ends. The audience’s memory is very short. It is talent which lasts. It is a question of why not all who made it big on the small screen make it big and remain bigger.”
Actresses like Ranjani Raghavan, Anupama Gowda, Vaishnavi Gowda, Shreya Anchan, and many male actors like Chandan, Siddharth, etc have made it into films.
