Manraj Singh, who plays Harshvardhan in Zee TV‘s Tumm Se Tumm Tak, believes Indian television is at a turning point. It can evolve, or it can keep losing ground. There is no standing still.
He said, “For Indian television specifically, I think it has to evolve. It needs to absorb more digital storytelling sensibilities, since a growing, if still modest, share of the audience is shifting to digital consumption. That said, we can’t kill the traditional TV format overnight, because two-tier and three-tier cities still watch shows in a very particular, traditional way.”
The change doesn’t have to be radical. He said, “The sensibilities behind direction, camera angles, how a scene is shot, how characters are blocked, can absolutely evolve to incorporate more digital-style craft. Television doesn’t have to stay regressive; it deserves to hold value.”
The stigma around television frustrates him. He said, “There’s a tendency, even among actors, to look down on TV because of how it’s traditionally shot and formatted. But if that format evolves, television could shed that stigma too, and work in the way OTT has become a respected format that both film and OTT actors move between freely. It’s still hard work, still long hours, and the effort put in shouldn’t be seen as any less than what goes into films or OTT.”
His own show sits right at this intersection. He said, “Tumm Se Tumm Tak is an amalgamation of traditional and digital storytelling, that’s exactly why it’s doing so well on Zee TV as well as on the ZEE5 app. We’ve stepped into that space, though there’s still work to be done, and we’re working toward it.”
The results have been significant. He said, “Zee TV currently holds the number one spot with three of its shows leading the rankings, and Tumm Se Tumm Tak is one of the major contributors to that achievement. It’s a huge milestone.”
“I think we still have room to keep improving for our audience. And since it’s a daily show, we may occasionally miss the mark, but that’s okay, it’s part of the game, part of healthy competition, and one we’re happy to keep playing,” Manraj ended.
