2024-07-17 17:56:26
Actor Rajeev Khandelwal is currently in the news for the series ‘Showtime’, the second part of the first season of which will be released on the OTT platform Netflix. In an interview given to ‘Navbharat Times’, Rajeev spoke deeply about the flaws of the film industry as well as stars and statistics.
Highlights
- Actor Rajeev Khandelwal is currently in the news for the series ‘Showtime’
- Rajeev talked about the insecurity of stars and statistics in the film industry
- Rajeev said that the star system should end but the producers are responsible
Actor Rajeev Khandelwal, who wrote a new chapter of stardom two decades ago with his show ‘Kahin To Hoga’, started his career as a director. He directed a TV series named ‘Filmi Chakkar’. After this, in the year 2003, he got a chance to debut as an actor with ‘Kahin To Hoga’ and became a star overnight. These days he is in the news for playing the role of superstar Armaan Singh in his web series ‘Showtime’. Rajeev, who is completely different from the moody and crazy Armaan, spoke to us openly about the flaws of the industry running after stars and figures:
News of insecurity and misuse of power among stars is common. Like your character Armaan in the series gets his capable co-star fired. Why are stars so insecure?
Your question is correct but I am not close enough to our stars or senior actors to be able to give a concrete answer to this. Secondly, this character is a mixture of many actors. Some have one fear, some have another, Armaan has been created by combining all of them, but as you said, we keep hearing that one star got the scenes of another cut, I think this happens when you know that my stardom is not due to talent. It’s just that my last five films have earned 100 crores, I don’t know how they earned it but my stardom is due to this. In such a situation, if someone else performs well in front of me then my talent will be exposed. That’s why you would want only less talented people to work with me. Then you showed the figures to the public, whether they actually watch the film or not and our industry is so strange that the producer knows that this data is fake but still he ends up there.
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Do you think that the focus on earnings and crore club rather than the content of the films is harmful for the industry?
Of course, now no one talks about a good or bad film. You talk about the content of the film and say that it was not fun, it is rubbish, but what do they say that it has earned only five crores, the film has flopped. If everyone talks like this then who will talk about the content? Then you don’t even know whether those figures are correct or not. Now people have started booking tickets themselves, corporate bookings happen. Overall, now it has become just a business. The industry is only about making money. I hope that the few people who think about content get the strength and support to save it too. The business will continue but it should not become so dominant, because creativity has also been a big part of our industry. That is why we remember so many performances, stories, songs, music of the past. If all that is gone then it will become just a shop.
You achieved overnight stardom with your show ‘Kahin To Hoga’. How did you not let it go to your head? Because you yourself are completely different from Armaan?
You are right, I don’t relate to Armaan Singh at all, but there are many Armaan Singhs in our industry. I am very unreal according to the perception of stars, but that is my nature. I understood long ago that the fame and the craze of fans is not for me, it is for my character. Six months ago, there was no such thing that a girl would stop her car on the road and say I love you. Therefore, I did not buy a big car at that time. I tried to make someone like me, i.e. Rajiv and now after working so much, whatever love I have, I can say that it is for me. It is for my work and this thing gives me more happiness. I think that because of this my life has been a little easier, otherwise I would have gone mad that I have to go on social media, do PR. The life I live would not have been possible. I always wanted to live such a life, where work, personal life, dreams all go together.
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What is your opinion about the star system in the industry? Don’t you think that it is not justified to give more importance to the star than the film?
Star system exists in every industry. In corporate also you work with the company which gives you profit. Same is the case here. Everyone knows that the thousand demands of the star are wrong, this thing is weakening the industry but I am getting benefit so we are running. For example, studios came, what did they do? Those who used to charge fifty rupees, they gave them hundred rupees and signed a deal of four films. They thought about their benefit but spoiled things for the future. Stars also started feeling that I am a star, I deserve this. Today there is a big discussion that producers spend a lot of money on the demands of actors but you are the one who created this situation. You must have sent him two cars, given him cold coffee. Now you are having problem that these demands are increasing but you are the one who created this monster so now suffer. Star system should be broken because a film is not made only by stars. Writing is equally important in it. The contribution of spot boy is equally big. The role of production is even bigger than that, but when a film is released, it is known by the name of the actor that a particular actor’s film was a hit. Whereas the actor neither made the film nor wrote it. Then how did he become the master of the film? These are things to think about.
About the Author
Upma Singh has 17 years of experience in journalism. She reached Navbharat Times after sharing her experience from Amar Ujala Lucknow and Dainik Bhaskar Ludhiana. Currently, she is working as an Assistant Editor in NBT Mumbai. Cinema is her love, passion and profession, so she has a deep understanding of topics related to cinema and film personalities. She also writes sharply on gender equality and women’s issues. For this, she has also been honored with the Ladli Media Award for Gender Sensitivity. Read more
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