Reputed stage film and TV actor Bhagwan Tiwari is glad that the ratings of his Star Plus show Krishna Chali London is finally picking up. “It is good to note that our efforts are being appreciated. But this puts more onus on us to keep the momentum going.”
Talking about his family patriarch character, Bhagwan says, “As a true actor, I always internalize the entire character sketch that the writers prepare at the start.”
“It is an actor’s calibre to bring life to the character given. Agreed, storyboards change due to TRP pulls and pressure, but then the basic DNA of the character always remains the same.”
“Shuklaji is a very rooted guy, who loves his family. He just has one grouse that lack of family education has denied them a place at the high table. No wonder, he even pays for the wedding expenses of his topper daughter-in-law, Krishna (Megha Chakraborty).”
Prior to this, Bhagwan had done another Saurabh Tewari production, i.e. Life OK’s Ghulam. “There, I played another family head, but a criminal one.”
Point out that Ghulam also never rated well, and he says, “We were doing well, but the channel itself shut shop.”
Bhagwan, who has been an actor for quarter of a century, laments the lack of devotion and discipline in the gen-next actors. “They are in a tearing hurry. Rather than giving themselves time and scope to learn the craft, as most stage actors do, these kids take crash courses and think that they have arrived.”
“Although I believe that stage is the best teacher for an actor, cinema is still the toughest medium. Having done over 25 films, including Raees, Masaan, A Wednesday and Special 26, I know that the biggest challenge is to give the same amount of intensity and natural flow, despite umpteen amounts of retakes. Also, film schedules have long breaks, during which you have to keep the character alive within.”
He wraps up by saying, “TV is obviously more lucrative. Films do give you the universal mileage, but that only happens if they click. The biggest challenge in TV is to keep yourself creatively satisfied when the shows run for a long time. I myself get bored after 6 months of doing the same thing over and over again.”
Nicely said!!
