Television, films and now OTT platforms, in a career spanning over three decades, Rohit Roy has worked across platforms. Rohit, recently seen in Disney Plus Hotstar’s Karmma Calling, has opened up about the need for Indian television, dominated by saas-babu soaps, to reinvent itself. He urges that in a day and age where TV is facing stiff competition from not just films but also streaming platforms, the small screen must relook its content and programming.
Calling himself a “product of television”, the actor, known for playing Rishabh Malhotra in Doordarshan’s Swabhimaan, told Mirchi Plus, “TV is going through a tough time and it needs revival. There was a time when TV would compete with films and let me tell you that the competition was tough. TV was being loved for its content and there came a time when people thought films would cease to be relevant. Take for instance a show like Swabhimaan. The TRP of the show was higher than the Sunday Hindi film on Doordarshan as people loved the idea of consuming great content sitting in the comfort of their homes.”
Rohit Roy has starred in shows like Kkusum, Bhabhi, Waaris, Des Mein Niklla Hoga Chand and Hitler Didi among others. He was also seen in films such as Shootout at Lokhandwala, Kaabil, Ek Khiladi Ek Haseena, Apartment and Plan.
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He stressed that despite the popularity of films, TV shows continued to find its loyal audience and the platform sustained and thrived. However, now the advent of OTT has impacted both film and television industries. “Film aur TV wale dono hil gaye. In fact, TV wale toh pure kho gaye (Because of OTT, both the film and television industries were shaken. In fact, television is somewhat lost today),” he said, adding, “Television, at the moment, doesn’t know what to do.”
The actor says the current generation, which has only seen him acting in films, may not be aware of the kind of work that he has done for the small screen. He further added that channels and producers on TV need to change the way they think and look at content. “Indian television has to undergo a transformation. If they didn’t change their mindset and thought process aur agar wahi dakiyaanusi shows banate rahoge toh (if they continue to make regressive content), then it would be dangerous for the platform and Indian television. In the past five to seven years, I have been urging them to stop focusing on saas-bahu drama. If you look at shows from Hollywood, Britain, Korea, Spain etc., you’ll see they offer a variety of content on TV. From comedy to romance, thriller, drama, and crime, they show an array of genres in those two hours dedicated to prime time. Indian TV has to offer something new and unique to its audience every day,” he suggested.
Further talking about the popularity of infinite series, a trend on Indian TV, Rohit Roy laments that actors are enjoying their comfort zone by signing a show which runs for years. “Their (actors) show air five times a week and they take home a handsome salary. The production houses are also happy. It is a precarious situation for television. A show like Anupamaa has been running successfully for the past few years, and has high TRPs. There can be only a few shows like that which should run across channels,” said Rohit, who once wanted to produce a TV show but eventually dropped the idea. “I came very close to producing a TV show but I didn’t take it forward because I realised that once the TRP fluctuates, they would ask me to add the saas-bahu element or something extremely redundant,” he said.
The actor underscored the need for fresh content on the small screen. “This is my personal opinion but I feel unless the channels and producers shut these day soaps, and reprogram these time bands, nothing will change for the better. Only after they do this, the audiences will be left with limited choices and will be compelled to consume what makers offer them. Wahi dakiyanusi kahaniyaan batate rehte hai. Storyline bhi same hoti hai, shots lene ka style bhi same, sirf actors badalte rehte hain (They keep making such redundant content with similar story lines. Only the actors change.)
Despite him being disappointed with the lack of progressive content on TV today, Rohit Roy credits television for opportunities and financial support to actors and technicians. “TV made my brother (Ronit Bose Roy) into a star. It changed his career completely. Back in the day, itne logo ke ghar bane hain, unke ghar mein gaadiyan aayi thi only because of TV,” he concluded.
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