‘Television a dustbin medium, cinema for posterity,’ says Rohit Roy: ‘TV actors lack class’

‘Certain amount of class in film stars’

In a chat shared on the YouTube channel of Kindle Cast, Rohit was asked about the “caste system” that places film actors above TV actors, and why the fame amassed by the latter is seen as “inferior.” Rohit shared his honest opinion and said that TV actors “don’t have the carriage that film actors have.” He then explained his comment and elaborated, “You see any public appearance of a film actor, you see the carriage with which he or she comes out, especially if they are a star. Of course, everyone puts on a front. We have to put on a front. But their front is graceful, dignified, stylish, cool… There is a certain amount of style, class,” he said and then drew a comparison with TV actors. “You see another gathering with lots of TV actors. Look at the way they behave, you will get your answer yourself,” he said.

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Rohit said that while he is himself a TV actor, he has always been very careful about his conduct. “You have to conduct yourself with a certain amount of grace, dignity. You can’t do hoo-haa and make stupid comments because you know the paparazzi is there,” he added.

Rohit then commented on the kind of clothes worn by film stars vis-a-vis TV stars. “Look at the kind of clothing. It’s not like film stars don’t wear revealing clothes but there is a certain style to it. I don’t know the name of this particular lady who is rampant all over social media but she hardly wears anything. So why are you… You are going to treat them badly.”

‘Television is a dustbin medium’

Rohit said that the audience “gets the thrills” from such posts on social media but “they are never going to respect you because what are you doing? You are not really doing anything. So I think this is one of the reasons. There are several other reasons also. I feel very few actors on television really know how to speak well to their audiences. Even their make-believe looks make-believe.”

When asked if this was a way of “internalising hierarchy” between the two mediums, Rohit made it very clear that cinema is above television on any given day. “Cinema is cinema. It is for posterity. Television is a dustbin medium,” he said.

Talking about his own show Swabhimaan, which made him famous in the 1990s, Rohit said that the bits of the show have come up on social media, but many other shows have long been forgotten. “I was just lucky to be there but there are so many shows that have created history in their time, but nobody knows,” he said, and quickly added, “But I still know Sholay, Deewaar. I still remember Gone with the Wind. So cinema is a natural next step every actor wants to do and why not?”

Rohit said that his first show was big enough that he never felt “inferior” to any other actor but he added, “But yes, we do get step-motherly treatment and it has been going on forever. When you see the better actors on television, they get the same respect. Maybe not the stardom, but respect.”

After Swabhimaan, Rohit appeared in many television shows in the early 2000s, like Kkusum, Bhabhi, Des Mein Nikla Hoga Chand among others. He has also appeared in films like Kaabil, Fashion, Shootout at Lokhandwala, among others.