Even after they 'leave' their signature shows, TV superstars who've created iconic characters and found themselves a permanent place in their fans' hearts, make it impossible for replacements to step in their slots. Television superstars are a rare breed. Unlike their Bollywood counterparts very few small screen actors find the kind of mass adulation and success that tinsel dreams are made of.
A year and half ago, a relatively unknown actor slipped into the designer shoes of an unsmiling, arrogant biz tycoon called Arnav Singh Raizada (in Iss Pyaar Ko Kya Naam Doon?) and gave himself and the show an insant cult status. Barun Sobti has overnight become the most wanted star in the soapbox and has even found himself a Bollywood launchpad. His classically sculpted good looks and charming screen presence combined with his endearing off-screen personality has given him the official heartthrob status among millions of fans worldwide.
Predictably, when news of his "taking a break" from his show came out, his fans started deluging the broadcast channel (Star Plus), and the production house with phone calls, emails and spam mail in twitter/facebook, seeking either his immediate return to the show, or to end the show on a happy note with him and his reel love played by Sanaya Irani. Never before has a TV actor's 'taking a break' from a show generated so much unhappiness from the audience to the extent that fans reportedly staged small protests in Birmingham where Barun is currently, on a promotional tour.
Of course, fans have been outraged by the departure of their favourite actors in the past too. When Rajeev Khandelwal quit Kahin Toh Hoga at the peak of popularity, his cluster of fans could not accept his replacement model actor Gurpreet Singh and the show wrapped up within months! Harshad Chopra had also been taken off Kis Desh Mein Hai Mera Dil and a new character was introduced, played by model actor Jai Kalra as a possible love interest for the female lead. In two months, Harshad was brought back to salvage the show's TRPs. Dimpled dreamboat Karan Singh Grover who had made Dill Mill Gayye hugely popular left the show in 2009 to chase his big screen dreams. The production house introduced a new male lead (Karan Wahi) who even created amazing chemistry with the then Riddhima (Jennifer Winget), but in March 2010, Karan made a thumping comeback on the show and the spotlight promptly shifted back on him.
Sushant Singh Rajput was replaced by Hiten Tejwani as Manav in Pavitra Rishta, but it took a generation leap, to make the audiences accept the show back, although it never became the channel leader afterwards. Mishal Raheja potrayed Datta Bhau with so much confidence in Laagi Tujh Se Lagan that the audiences rejected Shabbir Ahluwalia when he replaced Mishal, and the show went off air with a whimper.
There are rumours that Barun's screen character might be killed off in Iss Pyaar Ko Kya Naam Doon? amid high drama and model actor Viraf Patel will step into the show in the lead role in a matter of days. The channel is confident that the dramatic new twists will keep the audiences hooked. And Barun also conveniently has assured his fans that he might 'return' in the second season of the show (assuming his death track means the end of season 1), keeping the options open for himself and the channel.
Will audiences really warm up to the new male lead at a time when the show's status is under cloud and there's talk that Sanjay Leela Bhansali's show will replace it? Can you really recreate screen chemistry with costars with such consummate ease? The TRPs in mid-December will clear those facts perhaps, but for every small screen heartthrob, there's only that one iconic role that gives them immortality and magic can't be recreated. That's why Rajeev Khandelwal, Karan Singh Grover and Harshad Chopra haven't managed to weave the same spell on their fans in their subsequent TV outings. May be that explains why fans find it so difficult to let go of a star who transported them into a world where happily ever afters are possible. Replacements, no matter how good they are, can never take the place of the original even in reel life!
Credit: Times Of India
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