Jagya, Akshara - Do you know their real names? Actors fight for missing end credit rolls

Television stars have been raising their concerns over missing end credit rolls. Since a few months, the actors have shared their issues on social media and said that often they have been overshadowed their real names and identity as actors. The stars even have to wait for years to be known by their real names as their characters gain popularity among masses. Apart from money, the real struggle for actors is when they want name and fame for themselves despite their show going hit or flop. (By: Divya Kaushik)

The concept of end credits with actors was used in TV shows till 90's but then the practice was suddenly discontinued. From lack of time till stopping actors becoming bigger than their characters, the producers and directors have discontinued giving end credit rolls. (By: Divya Kaushik)

TV actor Shashank Vyas, who played the role of Jagya in Balika Vadhu said that it took years for the audience to recognize him by his actual name. The actors face difficulties when they have to break their on-screen characters and want audiences to recognize them with their real names. Shashank, who is currently a part of 'Roop – Mard Ka Naya Swaroop', told Delhi Times, “I used to watch a TV show and really liked the performance of one of the actors on the show. For some reason, the show wrapped up within a few months and when I tried finding out the name of the actor, I could not. So it would be really difficult to find his name if I wanted to recommend that actor for a role. Not everyone would make that effort and this will affect the offers he will get. It took us years in this industry to be known by our real names. Why should young actors go through that as well?” (By: Divya Kaushik)

Actress Srishti Jain, who played the role of Durga in Meri Durga show, said that still, audiences search for her online with her character name. “I am only known as Durga (from the show 'Meri Durga') and even online, people search for me by my screen name. I don’t think people actually know the actor who plays Durga. It surely limits the work that we will get in the future and even when we attend events, we are expected to be the character. We become actors not just for the money, but also for name and fame, but we have to wait for years in this industry to be known by our actual names”, said Srishti. (By: Divya Kaushik)

Actress Ruhi Chaturvedi, who plays the role of Sherlyn Khurana in Kundali Bhagya, said that she has hired a PR team to promote herself across every platform. “This is my first show and even though I see this as a problem, I really can’t demand credit because I am not in a position to do so. The only option is to work on a PR plan to be known as an actor so that even after this show, I can get good work,” says Ruhi. (By: Divya Kaushik)

A senior actor without wishing to be named said that the makers of the show discontinued the end credit rolls as they did not want the actor to be bigger than the characters of the particular show. “When actors’ names used to be mentioned in end credits, often, once the actor got popular, he/she would get more demanding and even threaten to leave the show midway. To avoid these situations, channels and makers started taking steps to make sure that only the character got popular. That way, it would get difficult for actors to get work if they decided to leave the show mid-way,” said the senior actor. (By: Divya Kaushik)

Senior actor Kishori Shahane Vij misses the era when her name was used in the end credits. “My name was always mentioned in the credits till the ’90s, but as the concept of daily soaps started, there were suddenly too many serials and too many channels and I discovered that actors’ credits were missing. Initially, I was shocked and used to ask the makers for my name in the credit roll, but I was just told that they stopped giving credit to all actors. It was disheartening, as a daily soap has so many actors and not all characters get popular,” she says. (By: Divya Kaushik)

Actor Sushant Singh, the General Secretary of CINTAA said that they will talk to broadcasters regarding credit roll. “Actually, none of us thought about it till it was brought up by a few young actors during our annual event. Actors’ names were mentioned in the credit rolls till the ’90s, but after that, I don’t know why it was discontinued. I think it is a valid point and the principal cast and technical team’s names should be mentioned in the credit roll. Given the amount of time and hard work that goes into shooting each episode, it is unfair that they are not acknowledged for their work. Like films, even TV shows need to have some format for this in place,” says Sushant. (By: Divya Kaushik)

He added saying that some actors have raised the issue with Cine & TV Artists Association (CINTAA) at its annual event, Act Fest, in Mumbai last month. The actor said that TV shows get shelved if they fail to gain TRP numbers. Sushant further said that young actors have lesser chances of becoming popular for their characters and demand end credit roll to be known by the audiences with their real name. (By: Divya Kaushik)

“The decision about credit rolls and whose names should be mentioned usually lies with the broadcasters, and we are looking at having a dialogue with them and understand their reasons. We should have some system in place keeping in mind everyone’s best interests,” says Sushant. (By: Divya Kaushik)