MUMBAI: Television is a medium where actors play challenging characters for years. While the storyline and characters change, the show often takes a leap where the existing characters are shown to age or look more mature. While many embrace this change with the show, there are many who are not comfortable with it and reluctant to play aged characters.
Let’s take a look at actors of Tv shows who have refused to age on screen;
Shakti Arora
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The actor quit the show Kundali Bhagya after it took a 20 year leap. He said, “I would have a problem if you will show me 20 years older than my actual age because this is not a film where you show your mettle as an actor by portraying characters of different ages. It does not work like that in our industry (TV). Yaha aapka image banjaata hai ki aap 60 saal ke ho. So nobody would like to age themselves on the screen for such a long time. People start looking at you in that manner and all the casting calls that you get are for such roles. Aapko bola jaata hai ki usme toh aapka 20 saal ka baccha tha, toh yha bhi krlo.”
Sanjay Gagnani
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Sanjay also quit Kundali Bhagya after the 20 year leap. He said, “In Kundali Bhagya, in which I had a great run of 5.5 years, there was nothing more for me to do and I was anyway planning to quit. Leap came as a sign for me to finally take the step. I was not looking for something like that (playing an older character) at that point of time,” says the actor. But he is not averse to the idea of playing someone more than his age in future. “Considering a lot of other factors - time, character, and how that would change the course of my career - I might take a decision of playing an older character, given it results in something good for me.”
Mitaali Naag
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She quit Ghum Hai Kisikey Pyaar Meiin after it took a 9 year leap. She said, “TV is very quick to stereotype. It takes a lot of effort to break that image. Before Ghum...I did a show called Roop - Mard Ka Naya Swaroop, in which I played a mother to a 9-10 year old child. After a few months the show took a leap and I was made to play the mother of someone like Shashank Vyas- who is my age. I could have done a role opposite him. But after that, I was only offered roles of a mother. I had to reject 10-12 projects before finally finding something that would break my image.”
Pratiek Chaudhary
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He quit Sindoor Ki Keemat after it took a generation leap. He said, “I have just started my journey and it’s only been three years. So I am not ready to play a father on screen unless there is something very strong and interesting for me as an artiste. For example a show like Anupamaa, where your career will also get a growth. I don’t even mind playing a grandfather in that case (laughing).”
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Vihan Verma
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Vihan, 23, who quit Ghum Hai Kisikey Pyaar Meiin after he was asked to play a 50 year old, said, “Of course, I was not comfortable playing a character double my age but also things did not materialise well. Storywise, makers could not accommodate all of us and that’s okay because even makers would not want to insult us by making us stand like mannequins.”
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Credit-HindustanTimes
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