Feb 21, 2026 4:17pm IST
Rajeev Khandelwal on TV’s ‘Inferiority Complex’: “Television Needs to Stop Looking Down Upon Itself” (EXCLUSIVE)
Rajeev Khandelwal has been part of the entertainment industry for over 25 years. Starting his career in TV and successfully transitioning into films and OTT, the actor speaks about hierarchy in the entertainment industry in an exclusive conversation with Variety India.
Despite television's legacy of producing lasting performers, he reflects that the issue isn’t just how others treat TV, but how the industry treats itself! “The projects that have lasted the longest are those television shows we remember from that era… Shah Rukh Khan is still known for his TV show. Imagine the longevity of the show! Why is it looked down upon when weighing it against films and other things? I know the reason. Because most people who join the television fraternity eventually want to be film stars. People who are smitten by the idea of this glitz and glamor want to be actors just because of that. And if it starts from the moment you want to be famous, you do not want to be an actor. You love the lifestyle of an actor, of a star,” states Rajeev.
That aspiration, Rajeev believes, quietly plants an inferiority complex. “You know, when they (newcomers) come, most of them do not want to do television. Also, there is an inferiority complex that television has given to itself. For example, I've always thought when I was doing television, ‘Why do television shows not have judges from television?’ The makers themselves would get someone who's been part of two films, but they would never get any senior actor from television to judge. For example, ‘India's Got Talent’, a show like that, which doesn't have to do with your dancing, singing, or anything — Why don't you ever get someone from television? So, television itself looks down upon television and its inferiority complex is self-imposed. It believes films are bigger than us guys (TV). And it is seeded in a very mild manner. I mean, if I were to look at it, how does it happen? Because you are a senior television actor and you are there in a reality show and then you bow down to a film actor who has probably done three films and you call him ‘Sir…’ I see that happening and I see this complex is getting deeper and deeper. It's probably why we do not get that kind of respect. Why do reality TV show makers get so excited to integrate a film but not a TV show for promotions?” argues the actor.
"It's more difficult to act on television than to act in films. Each time I see a (film) scene where I may have brilliantly performed, I know that a hundred people were helping me to reach there. Also, I had the luxury of doing many takes. I also had the luxury of someone touching [up] my hair, someone doing this, someone blowing a fan. So, if I'm looking good, it’s because they're making me look good. But on television, if you are loved for your character or for a performance, it's very organic and way more difficult. So, I think television needs to take a lot of pride in itself. People from the television fraternity need to take a lot of pride in saying, ‘Okay, I will do a film, but I will come back to television.’ I used to do that all the time. I mean, after 'Aamir', I said, I'll do 'Sach Ka Samna', I'm going to host it. I'm going to go back. You have to prove it in action, not in terms of words. You go there and say, ‘I'll do ‘Reporters’ because I love the project.’ Now you may say that this is as good as committing suicide, but I said, ‘Boss, this is my career and I'm going to approach it the way I do.’ You may decide a certain way. I decided to go a certain way,” Rajeev winds up.
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