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Small is BIG now
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The year 2004 saw several big screen stars make a foray into television. But did they sparkle?
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Raveena Tandon in Sahib Biwi Ghulam
WHILE MOST small screen divas want to reach what they think is their logical end — Bollywood — what has become an interesting pattern now is that many film actresses are increasingly being spotted sharing the telly space. Particularly so in 2004. They seem eager to put a finger into this great Indian pie called tele shows and are trooping in steadily.
Beginning mid-2003 with Madhuri Dixit, selling that fascinating smile to win ratings for Kahin Na Kahin Koi Hain on Sony TV, the floodgates have literally opened.
Hema and Amrita
Sreedevi in Malini Iyer
And, if Madhuri can be caught trying to reproduce Amitabh Bachchan's numeric trip to sensation in his sunset through Kaun Banega Crorepati on STAR Plus, then Karisma Kapoor trailed Madhuri to land in Sahara Manoranjan with Karishma — A Miracle of Destiny. But that was in 2003.
The next big name to happen to tele-serials was Sridevi with Hamari Bahu Malini Iyer early this year. Then followed Raveena Tandon with Sahib Bibi Gulam and only recently entered Hema Malini with Kamini Damini. All on Sahara Manoranjan now anglicised as Sahara One.
And, come January, Amrita Singh too would join the gang. The vehicle being Ekta Kapoor's Kavvyanjali on STAR Plus. Well, almost a domino effect here, in their entries and exits. Opening on the same Friday as her big banner film Devdas got released in 2003, Madhuri managed to win accolades only for the big screen role and not for the serial.
Karisma too fizzled out and exited from the tele-soap in 2004. Meanwhile, slipped in Poonam Dhillon on Zee TV's Kitty Party and was also out of it soon. Raveena's appearances too came to a logical end with Amitava Bhattacharya-directed Bimal Mitra's Sahib Bibi Ghulam going off air abruptly. Sridevi, though, is dragging on as a weekly from being a daily in Malini Iyer.
The only star now left to shine and glow is Hema Malini in a double role in Ravi Chopra's Kamini Damini. Says an excited Hema: "It has been quite some time that I did double roles. The last was Seeta Aur Geeta." But what Sahara One is hoping for is to ride on the success of her box-office hit Baghban, which gave back this Rajya Sabha member her fame. Produced by Ravi Chopra, the film is parallel in its basic storyline to Kamini Damini.
Star effect?
Amrita Singh in Kavvyanjali
Says Deepak Segal, vice president, Content, Star Plus: "The star effect, as we have seen by many examples now, do not work. It can work only when the story is strong enough to attract viewers."
Taking of both Karishma... and Sahib Bibi... ., the then vice president, Programming, Sahara Manoranjan, Tripti Sharma had told the media: "I completely agree that just star power can't work. The other factors are important too."
Though the channels do a lot of window dressing by projecting them as something really big to hit the screens, with loads of money spent on promotions, foreign locales, five star looks and a lot more to win ratings, what ultimately can be looked through by viewers is, none of these actresses have come to TV in their prime. Madhuri's last film anyway was Devdas and while on her career exit, she touched down on TV. Karisma too had plans then to get married. All she needed was a little space to keep in circulation. Same with Raveena.
Sridevi, by the time she joined the tube, was no more the Chaalbaaz girl. Amrita and Poonam too had wound up their film careers long back and TV now looks to them like a good way to float back.
The only reprieve is Hema Malini, who is hitting the small screen when her demand is soaring again. In fact, almost two decades back, when she came on Doordarshan in Noopur, long before the TRP wars took centre stage, the dream girl managed to charm a decent number of viewers.
SANGEETA BAROOAH PISHAROTY
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