Showtime actor Rajeev Khandelwal wonders why TV actors 'suck up to frivolous stars', questions silence when film celebs flop on TV

A still from the series

When Showtime directors Mihir Desai and Archit Kumar offered the role of a larger-than-life movie star to Rajeev Khandelwal, he instantly rejected it. His reason was simple - he leans towards realistic roles. But the directors then took him through the series that delves into the film industry's working, power struggles and scandals, showing him the role's uniqueness. "There was something that I thought wasn't realistic about the character. Mihir [admitted] there were people who would be obvious choices for this role, but he felt I could give it a different touch. I too wondered whether I was saying no because I feared I wouldn't be able to do justice to it," he recounts.

Today, Khandelwal is glad that he changed his mind about the Disney+ Hotstar series, as it not only offered him an interesting character, but also earned him fruitful collaborations - from co-star Emraan Hashmi to producer Karan Johar. He stills remembers his first meeting with Johar almost 20 years ago that told him of his graciousness. "I met him at an event where most of the film industry was performing, and I was the only one from television. So, I was made to feel a certain way. I missed a step while performing. When I was cursing myself backstage for it, Karan and Shah Rukh [Khan] walked up to me and introduced themselves. Karan said, ‘My mother [Hiroo Johar] finds you adorable,' while Shah Rukh spoke about girls liking me. Then they both blessed me."

Khandelwal was among the first actors to transition from TV to movies. Even as many more are taking the plunge today, there exists a bias against small-screen actors. For this, he partly blames television actors. "TV actors make themselves appear smaller to the world. When they are performing on a reality show and someone, who hasn't even proved his mettle, is sitting as a judge, why do [TV artistes] make it look like the judges are big and they are small in stature? Why do TV actors suck up to the most frivolous of stars? Take pride in who you are and [the movie industry] will look at you with respect."

"I earned that respect not because I thought films were bigger. I am someone who is respected across platforms because I didn't make films my ulterior goal but looked everything as projects. I wanted to be organically accepted on all platforms. When I look back at my journey, I might not have pegged myself a certain way, but the truth is be it films, TV show or series, I was accepted by all," he says, adding that media also contributes to the discrimination against television actors by being softer towards film stars in its scrutiny.

"I look at film actors to be really limited because none of them can do anything on television. A lot of big names tried doing fiction on TV but they failed. But the media didn't write about it. There was no article that said, ‘So and so failed miserably on television.' That's how perception is built. But when a TV actor does a film, they write, ‘So and so TV actor tried his hands on films and failed miserably.' There are so many articles that read, ‘Flop TV actors in films.' Has there ever been an article that says, ‘Flop film actors on television?'" he says.