Article on Aamna

Success is a heady mix that could knock one out of their senses. Call it over confidence or being punchdrunk on fame, but TV actor for long have

Aamna Shariff

taken their achievements for granted.

To most actors, television is still the stepping stone to the ultimate goal ' films. But even then, very few have actually been able to carry forward their success to the big screen.

Rajeev Khandelwal and Prachi Desai's success has encouraged a lot of TV aspirants to take the big plunge. But then, not many have been able to convert their TV popularity to filmi success. After the initial brouhaha over her films, Prachi seems to have totally disappeared from the radar. The Kasamh Se gal landed the role of a lifetime when she was paired opposite Farhan Akhtar in the runaway hit, Rock On!! Though most of her cast members received recognition and acclaim, awards eluded her. Since the release of the film, Prachi has been missing from action. "That's because my other films are releasing late," she says. Her future projects, Life Partner and Once upon a time in Mumbai will go on the floors later in the year.

Similarly, dreamboat Rajeev Khandelwal's 'good friend' Aamna Shariff, for all her good looks and diva behaviour, failed to capture the imagination of the cine audience with her film Aloo Chaat. "If the audience comes to watch a film with a pre-conceived mindset, it's difficult to please them. They still suffer from the 'TV actor' hangover," laments Aamna. After her debut film flopped, the only other movie in her kitty is Sabse Peechey Hum Khade with boyfriend Aftab Shivdasani. TV's favourite bahu, Saakshi Tanwar, made her filmi debut with Coffee House after Kaahani Ghar Ghar Kii wrapped up. But critics didn't spare much time in writing off the film. Since then, the actor has been avoiding the arclights.

Many attribute the failure of TV stars to click in films to over-exposure, Rajeev stayed away from the limelight for a long time before doing Aamir. "I wanted the audience to forget the character I played in Kahin Toh Hoga. So, I decided to go on a long break before Aamir," elaborates Rajeev. And taking a leaf from his book were actors like Hussain Kuwajerwala and Eijaz Khan. During his 'planned' sabbatical from television, Hussain failed to cash in on his popularity (and the film he had been signed up for reportedly didn't find buyers) and as a result was back to doing TV. Post-Kumkum, the actor has just been seen in Indian Idol 4 and dancing as a guest on other reality shows. The same happened to Eijaz Khan. Meerabai Not Out failed to set the box office on fire. With the fate of Bhanvaara yet unknown, the actor is back at doing what he does best ' TV shows. "Movies need a different commitment altogether. When I was doing film, I couldn't give time for TV shows. Now that I have time on hand, I'm doing shows," says Eijaz who is doing the prime time daily, Bhaskar Bharti. The Bollywood dreams of hotties Sangeeta Ghosh and Shweta Salve seem to soured with Bhanvaara lying in the cans., while stars Mona Singh and Sanjeeda Sheikh seem content playing character roles in their film debut. Ditto for Surveen Chawla whose film debut seems under a cloud even as the actor is scouting for options in Tollywood. Actor Rohit Roy too bid goodbye to TV to revive his film career. Apart from a few roles here and there, the actor doesn't have too many offers in his kitty. "I'm concentrating on direction now," says Rohit.

As TV gets bigger by the day, with more channels, big budgets and even bigger stars, why television's shining stars get stardust in their eyes, is a million rupee question!