TV actors head to Bollywood

Dreaming ‘big’ comes naturally to telly hotties. After basking in the glory of their superstardom on the small screen, the next step for most prime time TV stars is Bollywood flicks. With Sushant Singh Rajput already making waves in Bollywood, it’s turn for the next batch of tellytowners to head to B-Town. Following close on his heels are Siddharth Shukla (Shiv in Chinnari Pellikuthuru), who’s grabbed a lucrative three-film deal with Karan Johar, Mohammed Nazim (Ahem in Kodala Kodala Koduku Pellama), who’s wrapped up a Punjabi film and a Hindi film, and Mohit Raina (Mahadev in Hara Hara Mahadeva) have also been signed up for films.
Why are Bollywood producers looking at TV stars suddenly? Producer Sudhir Sharma shares, “Ten years back, the situation was different. If you’re a TV star, your chances of making it to Bollywood weren’t bright. Now, film-makers know that the popularity of a TV actor is very strong. In fact, in small towns, people may not know a particular film actor but, they know their TV stars well. So filmmakers sign TV actors for movies as they charge less and have a readymade fan-following.”