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Television actor Karan Patel, best known for his role as Raman Bhalla in ‘Yeh Hai Mohabbatein’, has been a prominent figure in Indian television for years. However, in a candid chat on Bharti Singh’s podcast, the actor spoke openly about the shift in his career trajectory, revealing that he hasn’t received a single television show offer in the past six years.
Despite once being one of the most sought-after names on the small screen, Karan shared that the industry has drastically changed, with newer faces entering the scene every day, often at a fraction of the cost that established actors would command.
Karan Patel on not getting any offer in TV in the last six years
“I have not gotten a single daily soap offered in the last 6 years. Now, every day, around 150-200 new actors are being born. They will work on a show at 10 percent of the amount we would charge. There was a point where there was a lot of money in TV. But today, makers think that rather than making one show, they can make two web series in the same budget. But what about the quality?” he said.
On why he hasn’t explored OTT space
Karan also addressed why he hasn’t explored the OTT space, which has become a booming avenue for many actors transitioning from television and film. He revealed it wasn’t a matter of choice but rather lack of opportunity.
“I am not getting offers, be it good roles or bad roles. Now the OTT space has gotten spoilt due to too many people doing too many things on it. Most of the shows on OTT today have become soft porn for me, if there is no sleaze or love-making scene in it, it won’t be watched even if it’s not required in the story,” he remarked.
Karan on herd mentality of Bollywood
Known for his outspoken nature, Karan didn’t hold back when critiquing the creative direction of both Bollywood and digital content platforms. He expressed concern over what he sees as a lack of originality and the herd mentality of producers and studios.
“Just because one person got successful with something, everybody blindly follows them. After ‘Kabir Singh’, everything revolved around the subject of women’s abuse. The same was with ‘Animal’. Even on OTT after ‘Family Man’, everybody started making thrillers. Even Dharma and YRF, who were celebrated for the romance genre, have gotten into making thrillers,” he said.
He praised production houses that are willing to take creative risks, particularly highlighting Maddock Films and its head Dinesh Vijan for exploring unconventional genres.
“We don’t have the guts to experiment, our biggest problem is that if something works in South, only then we will follow. Look at Maddock Films today, Dinesh Vijan experimented with the horror comedy genre, which was a subject where people would rarely invest money. He took a chance with Stree, Go Goa Gone, and look at Maddock’s valuation today,” Karan said.
In 2023, Karan ventured into production with a film titled ‘Daran Choo’, but the project failed to make an impact, which he attributed to poor timing. Despite setbacks, he remains a voice unafraid to challenge the norms of the entertainment industry, calling out the lack of innovation and the growing dependence on formula-driven content.
