The Idiot Box Invasion

Three top TV directors—Tigmanshu Dhulia, Parvathi Balagopalan and Kushan Nandy—already have their first feature films lined up.

‘‘Today, television is doing much better than cinema. Maybe film producers are wooing the television guys to get some TRPs for themselves,’’ quips Shweta Kawaatra, small screen’s best-known bad girl or Pallavi, of

Kahani Ghar Ghar Kii fame.

While Shah Rukh Khan’s serial Fauji may have catapulted him into the big league, there haven’t been too many repeats. Aman Verma’s Pran Jaaye Par Shaan Na Jaaye bombed and Amarr ‘Mihir’ Upadhyay appeared in the dud Dhund: The Fog.

But there’s lots to come. Next in line is Ashish Chowdhary. The buzz is that he’s the next best crossover after Khan and R Madhavan. Chowdhary who, at 18, started out as a model and went on to play the lead in popular soap Hum Pardesi Ho Gaye on Sony, has bagged a parallel role with Ajay Devgan in the action thriller Qayamat where he plays a nuclear scientist.

He says he has turned down some prestigious soaps in the recent past, but maintains: ‘‘I have never regarded television as a casual medium’’. Perizaad Zorabian, who starred with Chowdhary in Hum Pardesi… got a break in Nagesh Kukunoor’s Bollywood Calling and will soon be seen in two films—Ghai’s production Joggers’ Park and Pritish Nandy Communication’s Mumbai Matinee. Gracy Singh and Gauri Karnik, too, moved to the big screen from television, with Lagaan and Sur, respectively.

Perhaps, television stars have a certain audience appeal, but why is Bollywood wooing TV directors? ‘‘Plain economics. We can make quick, low- budget films and fit perfectly into the current trend of small-budget films,’’ says Dhulia, whose just-out Haasil (with Jimmy Shergill and Hrishita Bhatt) was critically acclaimed.

According to writer-director Aatish Kapadia, directing daily soaps makes them far more skillful. Kapadia, who is behind the comedy Khichdi on Star Plus, is currently writing the story, screenplay and dialogues for two Hindi feature films—one for Manmohan Shetty of Adlabs and the other for AB Corp. ‘‘Producers need more value for money and television directors are good at it,’’ says Basu, who took just 45 days to wrap up Saaya.

According to Tatari, films are the logical extension for any television director. ‘‘Beyond a point, he would like to direct a film because there are limitations in television in terms of money, time and resources.’’ He also believes that television directors are more organised. ‘‘They are used to slogging and meeting deadlines. They are more prepared and shoot more footage every day. They are in control of the medium and more in tune with the market demand,’’ he says. ‘‘In films, there is a total of 80 to 85 scenes whereas any serial will have 10 to 12 scenes in a single episode. We come up with fresh ideas within limited time. We have to give four episodes a week come what may,’’ explains Verma, who also directed Aahat and CID for Sony.

But some television directors are dissatisfied with the current scenario. They feel that they are merely regarded as the best bait for a quick film with a limited budget. Sanjay Upadhyay, who worked under Govind Nihalani for eight years, got a break in television and was soon branded a TV director.

Upadhyay narrates two ‘bad’ experiences. ‘‘A leading director-turned-producer asked me to direct his film. He categorically stated that I should work on only the ‘talkie’ portion. The songs were already recorded, the choreography and action were done. So what was left for me to do? This reflects the mindset of producers,’’ he says. Another producer wanted Upadhyay to direct an ‘erotic comedy’ or an ‘erotic thriller’ with a limited budget of Rs 1.25 crore. ‘‘This is total

corruption.’’

Nandy says it’s not a question of being unfair. ‘‘Look at Kuch To Hai and Saaya. These are not small films. Directors like Ketan Mehta and Kundan Shah didn’t just do small films,’’ he reasons.

It’s still too early to say whether television directors can break the jinx or even bring quality work to the big screen. Cinema is not yet ‘the bigger idiot’.