Saanand Verma: Television is a very demanding medium

Mumbai:

Be it the long and hectic schedules or the constant script changes, actor Saanand Verma says that television is a tough medium to manage. However, the actor, who is known for his show Bhabiji Ghar Par Hain, says that the medium is rewarding thanks to its reach.

“There’s no doubt that television is a very demanding medium. At the same time, we directly connect with the masses. Through television, we enter people’s homes. Though now, OTT has also reached into people’s drawing rooms. Earlier this was mainly the case with television, but today OTT is also a part of TV in a way. Almost all TV content is now available on OTT too. So, people can easily access it in their bedrooms, in their drawing rooms, and we connect with the audience on a much larger level,” he says.

However, he adds that TV actors are only remembered as long as their shows are doing well. “But the reality is, television has a shelf life. As long as a show is running, everything is fine. We actors are known and remembered. But once the show ends, in hardly six months, people start forgetting. That’s how it works. Of course, there are exceptions like Bhabi Ji Ghar Par Hai. That’s a show with longevity. But generally, shows last for one or two years, and the actors are remembered for that time. After that, they often have to wait for work. Sometimes for six months or more, no work comes their way, and to manage, they do small jobs here and there. People forget very quickly. That’s the minus point of television,” he says.

He says that this problem does not exist with films. “If we compare it with films, it’s different. Films have a much longer shelf life. A movie comes once, and stays with people for years.  They’ll keep watching and enjoying the films the movies did five years ago. Even today, we watch old films of actors the work they did decades ago is still remembered. For example, if an actor like Ajay Devgn or Shah Rukh Khan or Pankaj Tripathi doesn’t have any film release for 5 years, people will still know them very well and their fans will still be there. That is the power of cinema. It gives actors a long-lasting presence. Cinema has much more longevity,” he says.