Vishal Vashishtha, a popular name in the television world, has taken a sabbatical from the small screen as he explores other mediums in search of “achchi storytelling aur achche characters.” Known for starring in shows like Crazy Stupid Ishq, Ek Veer Ki Ardaas…Veera, Gangaa, Vish and Ishq Mein Marjawan 2, he recently appeared in Netflix’s Glory. Also starring Divyenndu, Pulkit Samrat, Suvinder Vicky and Jannat Zubair Rahmani, the show was received well. Talking about his transition, Vishal revealed whether he ever faced bias for being a “TV actor.” He slammed the practice of labelling artists and said that it is unfair.
Vishal Vashishtha On Taking A Break From TV
Glory actor , in a chat with Telly Talk India, said, “TV se ek bahut badhiya rishta tha aur bahut saalon tak chala. Uske baad woh rishta utna hi achha bana rahe, barkarar rahe, usse kharab nahi hone dena chahiye tha. Isliye main wahan se nikal gaya. And I think bahut sahi time pe nikla.”
He added, “Aur main toh abhi bhi bolta hoon, bahut log poochte hain, ‘Kyun nahi aa rahe ho? TV pe kyun nahi aa rahe ho?’ Kyunki yahan web kar raha hoon, kyunki try kar raha hoon ki achhi filmein karun, achhi stories aur karun. Aur agar TV mein bhi woh mauka milega ki, achhi storytelling ho, achhe characters ho, toh kyun nahi karenge? But I think woh abhi something is not working there, waisa.”
Vishal Vashishtha. (Credit: Instagram)
Vishal Vashishtha Calls Out ‘TV Actor’ Label
The actor also spoke about the amazing response to his OTT show. Asked if he had ever like other TV stars have mentioned experiencing while trying their luck in Bollywood and OTT, Vishal said that he later realised he may not have faced this because he was not very socially exposed.
He added that he had always had a set of people who watched and loved his work, and they still do.
“So woh tag kabhi mujh pe laga nahi, mujhe aisa lagta hai. Agar laga hota toh shayad main bhi kahin na kahin ek baar yeh zaroor face karta ki, ‘Nahi, TV actor hai.’ And the label is unfortunate. I don’t want to glorify this very pathetic practice of labelling actors as TV actors. They are also working,” continued the actor.
Vishal said that he was fortunate not to have faced such treatment as he did not know how he would have dealt with it. He added that it must be extremely difficult for those who go through it as it ultimately affects their profession and livelihood.