TV stars who helped create magic in SLB's Ram Leela

Goliyon Ki Rasleela… Ram-Leela- the much talked about Sanjay Leela Bhansali film has finally hit the silver screens today after a lineup of controversies shrouding over its release. As per the initial response coming in, this painting on celluloid is being touted as the next big box office dhamaka of the year. Critics have also showered rave reviews on Ram-Leela. Now, Ranveer Singh and Deepika Padukone are the leads of the film. But many are not aware that a cluster of television stars also feature in the movie, adding opulence to magnificence. Bhansali’s move to rope in TV actors could have germinated from the fact that he came close to the medium when he was producing Star Plus’ Saraswatichandra, which later he gave up for being too taxing. So who are the actors we are talking about…let’s have a look. Well to start with, the trailers projected the talented Supriya Pathak (Khichdi and recently seen in Chhanchhan) who is seen along with the leads in the Nagada scene bringing to fore her immense talent. Playing Deepika’s mother, Pathak’s role has been very well scripted as she plays a strong and independent woman. And reports suggest Supriya is the true heroine of the film featuring in every single scene and giving a volcanic performance. Also in the cast are Girish Sahdev, who played the loving father in Navya, Sharad Kelkar (Kuch Toh Log Kahenge), the sexy Barkha Bisht (Parvarrish) and Vivan Bhatena (VJ) who are family members of Deepika and Ranveer. And the debutants Aanshul Trivedi (Saraswatichandra) and Bharat Chawda (Savdhan India, Meri Bhabhi) are seen as the chaddi-buddies (pals) of Ranveer. We congratulate the actors. Indeed, it must have been an enlightening experience working with the master craftsman, SLB. But there is also a flipside to the story. We agree this TV stars always have a dream of being projected on the big screen but at what cost? We have earlier seen TV actors getting into films with miniscule roles of hardly a few minutes. Remember Manish Raishinghania and Raqesh Vashisht in Heroine? Yes, these actors managed to get just four-five shots comprising of some couple of minutes of screen time. But then this is also the big ticket for TV actors to step into the silver screen. And with such potential, even Bollywood directors choose to rope in these popular faces rather spending hours on auditioning new faces. As the initial responses suggest, Sharad has done a brilliant job proving the amount of talent our TV actors have and how the lack of correct roles and opportunities keep them away from projecting their flair better. We also feel that working with such talented film makers; the TV actors get a chance to polish their skills well. And working with Sanjay Leela Bhansali, for once, is every actor’s dream and what better way to find a place in the B-town under the wings of this genius. However, we at Tellychakkar.com would like to state that the days of bifurcation between TV and Bollywood actors are over. Actors are actors, irrespective of the medium. The craft and dexterity remain intact across; only the impact might differ, which again is changing with the gradual and seamless merging of diverse platforms of performing arts. As Raj Kapoor had rightly said Jeena yahan marna yahan iske siwa jaana kahan…