Karan Kundra: A popular TV actor doesn't have pressure of selling tickets as a filmstar

TV star Karan Kundra says that although a popular small screen actor does not have the pressure of pulling an audience to the theatre as a filmstar does, the influx of OTT has changed a lot of things.

Karan has had experience across screens big and small, having worked in films as well as TV series. Lately, he was seen in the series "Dil Hi Toh Hai 3" and the OTT-released film "Dolly Kitty Aur Woh Chamakte Sitare".

"There is a difference between being a popular actor, whether it is on TV or in film, and a filmstar. As a filmstar, you have to sell the tickets to pull the audience to the theatre. As a TV actor, we do not have that pressure. Filmstars or our superstars are crowdpullers. Of course, as a TV actor, we appear every day at a certain time and people watch us and connect with us, and we engage. The audience does not pay every day to watch a TV show, but every time you enter a theatre to watch a film, you pay for the ticket," Karan told IANS, noting the basic difference between challenges faced by filmstars and popular TV actors.

"However, things have changed for us too," he said about the small screen scenario, adding that the advent of OTT platforms have made it more competitive for all the actors these days.

"One has to go by paid subscription to watch a show. So, for instance, when 'Dil Hi Toh Hai: season 3' started streaming, the number of subscriptions increased. People want to watch us, and our parameter -- pulling the audience to get more subscriptions. I think this is an interesting space!" explained the actor.

Karan started his acting career with the TV show "Kitani Mohabbat Hai" and appeared in shows like "Bayttaab Dil Kee Tamanna Hai", "Yeh Kahan Aa Gaye Hum" and reality non-fiction TV shows like "Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa 6", "MTV Roadies 12", and "Gumrah: End Of Innocence" among others.

On the reach of Indian TV shows, he said: "I remember I was mobbed in Egypt because our show 'Kitani Mohabbat Hai' was dubbed in Arabic and released in the Middle East. Because of that, I became a known face among the audience there. I was surprised to know how Indian TV is popular in places like these. So yes, there is an advantage of being a popular TV actor but there is a different kind of responsibility that filmstars shoulder."

"Dil Hi Toh Hai" also features Yogita Bihani, and streams on Alt Balaji and Zee5.

(Arundhuti Banerjee can be contacted at arundhuti.b@ians.in)

Tags: Cinema, Showbiz, Lifestyle, Fashion, TV, OTT