Exclusive! With the work experience I have, I didn’t get the desired increment, says Neil Bhatt

Neil Bhatt of Ghum Hai Kisikey Pyaar Meiin fame, is in a happy space today. Currently seen in the show Megha Barsenge, Neil shared with us the changes he has seen in the television industry, what’s stopping him from debuting on OTT and more. Excerpts…
Tell us about your latest television show.
My show Megha Barsenge is about bride abandonment. While several shows on women empowerment have been explored in the television industry, not much has been said about this topic on the medium. I play Arjun Talwar, an IAS officer who shows the female lead the road forward to move on from the situation legally she is in.
In the past we have seen that most shows with a social message somehow because of the ratings are turned into run of the mill saas-bahu concepts. Do you fear the same for your show?
Of course, the show is on a socially relevant topic but at the same time we need to understand that no show can change the society overnight. But yes, it will definitely be like a food for thought for several women stuck in a similar situation and that’s the main motive of socially relevant shows like these. Coming back to the question you have asked, what may happen to the show is in the hands of the makers ultimately, but the script offered and narrated to me is quite interesting. Well, I am pretty confident about the story but everything else is in the hands of the audience. Even if we are talking about something regressive, the treatment is quite progressive.
Talking about the industry, why are our Indian shows not planned like the ones in the West. Initially shows like Tara, Astitva Ek Prem Katha, Campus and so many others were already planned. But the trend is not there anymore.
There is a small correction here, it is not only in India but across the globe where the television industry works on ratings and there are agencies which provide ratings to makers in several countries. And the Indian shows we are talking about of the past were not under a daily format. Audiences used to wait for these shows on a particular day of the week. The sensibility of the TV show makers at one time was that there should be a definite start, middle and end to a show. Slowly the broadcasters realised the power of ads between a show and the weekly shows, become twice a week and then daily. From the channel’s point of view, it is not feasible to make a successful show into a seasonal show and bring in a new show at the same time slot. The new show can not guarantee same ratings and moolah from ads. That risk is not worth it for anyone – neither the makers, actors, and channels. Also, talking about the money part, post pandemic things are not the same for the industry.
And why do you say so?
People think there is a lot of money in TV for leads and other character artists but let me be brutally honest, post pandemic, aisa nahi hai. Ek zamana tha jab TV actors ko bahot paisa milta tha but today TV actors are paid way less than what they were paid before pandemic. I started my career with Rs 1500 per day and of course I grew a lot as an actor and there was money. But the kind of increment I should have got considering the experience I have, didn’t happen. The irony on TV is that because of a lot of experience for an actor sometimes kaam milna band ho jaata hai. The channels and producers think that an actor with a good work experience will ask for more money, so they prefer taking a newbie in a show. The bright side is that we still have a few makers who look for bankable actors for their projects.
With so many actors venturing into web, what has stopped you?
I haven’t debuted on the OTT till now. The right show hasn’t come my way yet. I am happy doing my TV shows at the moment though I am dying to do a web show.