‘We Look at Television as A Step Cousin to Bollywood’: Nakuul Mehta (EXCLUSIVE)

Global recognition for television content from India is a rarity. At global award platforms like the Emmys or Golden Globes,  we hardly make a dent. Why is it that our content is nowhere close to international standards? Actor Nakuul Mehta does some tough talking as he attempts to answer these vexing questions.

In an exclusive conversation with Variety India, Nakuul Mehta says that the entertainment industry does not give enough credit to the quality of television it has produced over the years. “Where is our content going?” he asks. “What’s actually happening there?” According to Nakuul, the problem isn’t the absence of good work. “I don’t think we give enough credit to the good television we’ve made,” the actor states, highlighting landmark shows like “Balika Vadhu”. “The show had brilliant writing, brilliant direction, brilliant performances. Did we celebrate it at our big industry awards? Some of our brightest talents came from television. When shows like “Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi” started...look at the talent - Sakshi Tanwar, Smriti Irani, Ram Kapoor, Ronit Roy - phenomenal artists who are now lighting up cinema and streaming platforms. But did we celebrate them then? I don’t think we did,” comments Nakuul.

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Ask the actor where the gap lies, and he points toward the fundamental hierarchy between cinema and television within the industry. “We look at television as a second cousin to Bollywood - maybe not even that, a step cousin. And I think a lot of that disrespect comes from the fact that television is free and easily accessible. I don't think we ourselves give it that respect because it is available for free streaming. For cinema, you make an active choice. Tell me honestly -in the last year, how many Bollywood films have you had immense respect for? One film for which I went to the theater twice last year was “Homebound.” And it blew me away. There's nothing else I saw that made me want to leave home. So why do we hold television to a different standard? I feel that we are looking for nuance in the wrong place. Most of this content is meant for mass media. It’s entertainment. It’s escapism. It’s aspirational. If we’re going to ask television where the meaning is, we should be asking the same question of Bollywood. Creatively, across platforms -films, TV, streaming - about 90% of the work is average. There’s barely 10-15% that’s truly exceptional each year. And that’s normal. That’s true for every field. But television becomes the easy punching bag. I’m not a fan of that,” asserts Nakuul.

Nakuul highlights the cultural influence of television and its role in shaping generations of viewers. “I deeply believe in what television does, because I’ve seen what it does to people. I’ve grown up on it. All of us have. Who hasn’t watched “Ramayana”, “Shanti”, “Just Mohabbat”? People may make fun of it now, but we’ve all seen it. We’ve all grown up with it. And so much good talent - technicians, artists, actors - has come from television and gone on to do meaningful work across platforms. Look at Mona Singh, what a legend!  There are so many wonderful actors from television. Many of my contemporaries - Sriti Jha, Surveen Chawla, Barun Sobti - are doing exceptional work on streaming. I may be missing a few names. But this lot, instead of immediately jumping into films, found OTT - a space where they could tell different stories and play different characters. What people don’t realize is that this takes immense patience. Years! It takes sacrifice - saying no to a steady paycheck, endorsements, and even social media relevance - just to hold on to the stories you want to tell. Not everyone has that privilege. Not everyone has that tenacity. But those who do - the names I mentioned - they are the people I truly look forward to. And just like that, even in cinema, there are only a few names truly worth celebrating. The rest is average work. And that’s true everywhere. In every field. There is a lot of average work happening all around us. We just can’t put one medium on a pedestal,” he concludes.