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With every new soap, half-a-dozen new faces are launched. If we go by the average 8212; five new soaps a month 8212; 2008 alone has seen over 250 new actors on television.

With every new soap, half-a-dozen new faces are launched. If we go by the average 8212; five new soaps a month 8212; 2008 alone has seen over 250 new actors on television. The astounding statistics compel one to ask how does the industry absorb so many actors?

Part of the answer lies in the launch of new channels. But the main reason is the dynamics of the industry where a fresh face is preferred over an established name. The known actors then rarely return in lead roles, acceding to play supporting cast in a soap or participating in reality shows.

Often, 8216;big8217; faces go obscure once the soap8217;s off the air or the script changes track. They age off, die, get kidnapped or undergo plastic surgery. Sumeet Sachdev, Gautam in Kyunkii Saas Bhi Bahu Thi, was once the lead but generation leaps ate into his role. He8217;s not been part of another show. Now, with Kyunkii8217;s doubtful future, he too may become invisible unless he reinvents himself. Instant recollection yields other such names 8212; Preeti Amin of Jhoom Barabar Jhoom, Poorva Gokhale of Kkoi Dil Mein Hai, Vikas Manaktala and Priyanka Bassi of Left Right Left.

The word in the industry is that the new-face phenomenon is the offshoot of the tantrums the actors throw after tasting success. The producers however, deny this. 8220;The characters on the small screen are more memorable than the actors who play them. So it8217;s difficult to launch, say, a Rajshri Thakur as the lead in another show as people still remember her as Saloni of Saat Phere. Moreover, even though I wish to hire her, I can8217;t, unless I have a script where her character will override Saloni8217;s popularity,8221; explains Sunjoy Wadhwa of Sphere Origin Productions. One can recall how Sakshi Tanwar8217;s role as Ganga in

Kahaani Hamaarey Mahabharat Ki didn8217;t go down well with the audience because they couldn8217;t think of her as anyone but Parvati of Kahaani Ghar Ghar Kii.

Rajan Shahi of Director8217;s Kut feels that time commitments also contribute to the strain. 8220;To play the lead is as much a drawback as an advantage. If an actor is shooting for me 10 hours a day, they don8217;t have time to do much else,8221; he remarks. 8220;Besides, soaps are driven by scripts 8212; new faces bring freshness to new characters.8221; Citing an example, he points out that there are hardly any faces in the industry that could have done justice to the four young characters in the new show Miley Jab Hum Tum.

It leads to fierce competition, but these days, with the advent of reality shows and experimentation with scripts, a la Balika Vadhu, the actors have more options. Karan Panthaky, the lead in Jhoom Barabar Jhoom, points out, 8220;Reality shows like Nach Baliye require many senior actors, which paves the way for new ones on other shows.8221; Panthaky has not been seen after his show went off air two months ago. 8220;I8217;m open to doing non-lead roles; after all, these days, villains are more important.8221;

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But Sanjeeda Sheikh disagrees that the career scope of an actor is limited after having played the lead. 8220;My role as a vamp in Kayamath became more popular than my lead character in Kya Hoga Nimmo Ka.8221; Sheikh will soon be seen in a film but says she8217;s happier doing TV. 8220;There8217;s so much to do. I have no complains.8221;