Random Ramblings

Am annoyed about the news of BS working on a movie, so am rambling here big time. I probably won't make any sense - ignore this post if you don't agree - it's purely a venting spot :)

Maybe I'm just being selfish, but I hold to my first reaction - it's a tad unprofessional of Barun to take up a movie, however small a role, while he's working as lead on a daily soap. Movies are a huge commitment, it's easy to say that he will give 4 hours there and 8 hours on IPK - what about nitty-gritties like travel time and waiting time? Bollywood and Tellywood are not so organized in India that the shoots start and end on time and the timing can be coordinated like clockwork ... from my one stint at watching a movie shoot on location, I remember that hours are spent just waiting around for the scenes to be set up. And if Barun is not the lead, which is likely, then he would be the one waiting around on the leads, they wouldn't work to his convenience - neither them nor the rest of the unit. So IPK would definitely suffer - yes, I am being selfish here, I'd rather watch a halfway decent show every day than wait for a movie I know nothing about.

And if IPK suffers, it would probably be better for Barun to leave the show than work on both sides half-heartedly. Which brings me to another issue - the timing of the movie. It's almost a year since IPK started, and the actors would have signed contracts for one year - which means renewal is coming up. Is Barun going to renew his contract with IPK? Or will he decide to strike while the iron is hot, take advantage of the huge fame that IPK has brought him and cash in on movie offers?

Again, IMO it would be a short-sighted move. But two sides to the coin here. The recent actors who have had this kind of adulation and success on the small screen are KSG and Gurmeet C - both were on Star One, so it was difficult to gauge their actual popularity in the general audience. GC is still on TV, although he has made it known that he will shift to Bollywood once this current soap is done. He seems to be the more sensible one, taking it very slowly and carefully and not letting his tv commitments suffer due to his movie ones. Though I believe he did do a movie role during the fag end of Geet, and was missing for some chunks, it was worked into the storyline, and he committed to the movie only when he thought Geet would have ended - it got extended, so he managed both.

KSG has come a cropper - he let all the fame and adulation go to his head, became completely unprofessional,and has all but disappeared from the small screen, while his big screen attempts haven't borne much fruit either. But again, both were on SO - popularity more among the online audience - difficult to judge popularity among the wider audience. (I'm not talking about the other telly actors who tried the switch - although many were on mainstream channels, I don't remember this kind of mass adulation for any of them  - although I might be mistaken, I was out of touch with Indian tv for years.)

While Barun is on Star Plus, a mainstream channel and there's no doubt about his popularity among the general audience. However, the big question is still Bollywood per se ... it doesn't work on talent alone ... it works on connections and on luck. And 90% of the movies made are pretty crappy - I don't think I've seen one impressive movie this year (apart from Kahaani), and we're almost into May already. A lot of Bollywood actors are making the reverse shift - from big to small screen. So what holds such a draw for the tellywood actors?

Leaving that aside, and going back to Barun and the timing of this news ... so is he planning to leave IPK? And is that why the story has stagnated in the last two-three months? When Shilpa was leaving DMG, the same thing had happened ...( again, another actress who got a lot of fame and adulation, she ventured into Bollywood and end of her story!)

Or - another possibility - the news is completely false. Don't the actors have to sign a contract, and wouldn't they be forbidden to take up any outside work during the duration of the contract? And due to the nature of work in daily soaps, and the time involved, it would be very difficult for any lead to manage work outside of his own show.  And why would the PH and/or the channel allow him to do so? Both would be involved here. The PH I can understand - they would be ready to make some allowances, because of his extreme popularity, they know the show's popularity is due in a large part to Barun's portrayal of ASR, as well as the BS/SI chemistry ... but the channel also? Just in terms of legalities, would they not put their foot down? And as it is, from reports, he takes more takes for his shots - again the timing issue - would he be able to manage the time? So would they allow it? Wouldn't that be a breach of contract? Am pretty sure one of the contract terms would be no outside work unless approved by the channel and the PH - that's a very standard term in any work contract.

And I have never heard of a lead actor of a daily doing a movie alongside - except for Ram Kapoor - but BALH has solid parallal tracks, RK is already an established actor and has been doing movies for some time, he does only supporting roles. None of those apply to Barun - except maybe the last.

Just hope it's not another case of the sudden fame and popularity going to an actor's head, and making him make the wrong moves. And frankly, if he does decide to take the plunge for movies then I would be happier in the long run if he was replaced in IPK. The character ASR is the draw for me - Barun has played him very well and brought him to life, but it's a complex character, and needs the full commitment of the actor. If Barun can't commit completely to it and the show, it would be better for him to leave it. The character is (? or was) so well written, any decent actor would be able to do the role ... and many would jump at the chance. Though it would be tough to build that chemistry again.

Final conclusion - I hope the news is false. :) Though I then can't explain why Barun is looking so tired ... Sanaya should be the one more tired, with her extra work in SPT and canning her shots before her UK trip. Which is what makes me fear the news is true. Unless BS has taken our advice and started khufiya dance lessons - now that would definitely tire him out! :)