Nandish Sandhu, Adaa Khan going for episodics

Nandish Sandhu strayed from his chocolate boy image when he played a cop in Encounter while Adaa Khan broke free from her soap opera monotony and played a gang-rape victim Yeh Hai Aashiqui. Whether they’re honing their skills between breaks or padding their resume, episodics – shows that have a different story every episode – are the rage among TV actors. We spoke to some actors to find out what the big deal is, and why episodics are drawing the small screen’s best by the hoards.
EXPLORING NEW ROLES Some soap opera actors are not content with playing the same role year after year, instead, they look to widen their horizons and play different characters. Actor Nandish Sandhu, who had acted in an episodic in Encounter, before he returned to his daily soap routine with Beintehaa, says, “I loved doing Encounter, where I played the role of a cop. When you are doing a daily soap, you get to do the same character for two-three years. Sometimes, it gets monotonous for actors. There are limitations as an actor that you face while doing a daily soap. With episodics, you get the liberty of playing the kind of characters you want. There is more scope for learning and growing as an actor.” Rishina Kandhari, who has been a part of several episodics in Crime Patrol, agrees, saying, “When we are shooting for daily soaps, we do one character for years and years, but in case of episodics, we get to do different characters for different story ines. We do episodics when our daily soaps are not on the air. Otherwise, we are so busy in our daily soap shoots that we don’t get time to be a part of episodics. Such shows pay a decent amount, and require fewer hours of filming, while daily soaps pay a good amount after we have shot footage for only 25 days.”
EPISODICS ARE SMALL SCREEN’S ‘FILMS’ For some actors, it’s not the role, but the technology and big screen feel that draws them towards episodics. The camera techniques used in episodics are much better than daily soaps as Neil Bhatt explains, “Episodics are like a film concept on TV. They are like niche cinema, and they are even shot with different cameras, better than a daily soap. In a daily soap, actors have a lot of time to get into the skin of the character, but with episodics, since they are on a tight schedule, they get very little time to understand their character. Also, the characters in episodics are easier to relate to and more realistic.”
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FILLER BETWEEN SHOWS An actor’s schedule is always full, yet for those who still want to indulge in a pet project on the side while keeping up with their daily work – episodics are the answer. For Ravi Dubey, episodics were a way to stay in touch with the actor inside him, while he was busy with reality shows. “After Saas Bina Sasural got over, I did episodics because I was busy with reality shows like Nach Baliye, Master Chef and India’s Dancing Superstar. Fiction shows were coming my way, but the offers didn’t excite me. I did two episodics – Yeh Hai Aashiqui and Teri Meri Love Stories – both were very satisfying for me as an actor.”
GRIPPING STORYLINES For actors, completing a work from start to finish is a rewarding feeling, but soap operas are famous for stretching plots to the extreme. This is where episodics come to the rescue. Eijaz Khan says, “I took up an episodic show like Encounter because the offer was interesting, and appealed to me as an actor. Short-term work is always welcome as it brushes up your skills, and the pace of the story is fast. When you are doing a daily soap, you can’t take out time for an episodic. Actors prefer episodics because the stories have their own audiences, and are mostly very realistic, and pack a lot of punch. The most interesting part is it’s a start-to-end story, unlike daily soaps, which may drag sequences on.” Rithvik Dhanjani seconds Eijaz and adds, “I never wanted to do episodics, but when I was told about the story of Yeh Hai Aashiqui, it was quite gripping. The episodic of which I was a part was inspired from the Jiah Khan suicide case, and was quite edgy. Even the Webbed story I was a part of had a message. It was about a girl who falls in love with a celeb, and in that process, she’s taken for a ride. I will be heartbroken if any of my fans has to go through something like what was shown in that episodic.”
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Fewer hours, more money And of course, money makes the world go round, and actors aren’t afraid to admit that where the episodics go, the money follows. Aniruddh Dave, who was a part of an episodic in Ishq Kills, says, “If you play the lead role in episodics, you get paid handsomely, and that too for shooting only for four-five days. The budget for episodic shows is good, and that’s why artistes who work in them get a good remuneration. Episodics are being shot like films, and the content is quite engaging.”
WATCH: Nandish Sandhu to Play a Cop in Encounter