Power of TV

We all would have heard the stories of people coming from their native places to Mumbai to meet their favourite actor. A few like Dharmendra could also be generous to actually not only meet such diehard fans but offer them a cup of tea too! Many others would just hang outside a studio or the residence of the star being sought to catch a glimpse and end up either returning home disappointed or hang around and live in penury doing odd jobs!

Gone are the days when such awestruck fans would come hoping to catch a glimpse, if not meet their idol – Dilip Kumar, Dev Anand, Rajesh Khanna, Amitabh Bachchan, Shahrukh, Salman or Aamir! Thanks to the power of television, some of the actors appearing in popular soaps and reality shows are now being sought after and I am saying this from my personal experience I Just had!

A young boy from the next door medicine shop came to deliver a few medicines ordered and after delivering the same, he came back to my amazement. Taking heart from my friendly demeanour and a small tip that I gave him, he asked me whether I knew where Dilip Joshi, the lead actor playing the role of Jethalal in now almost iconic, “ Tarak Mehta ka Ooltah Chashma” lived? He further confided that he had especially come from his native place in UP to meet his favourite actor and to survive in this big bad world of an expensive and busy megapolis, he had picked up this job of a delivery boy, hoping one day, one of the customers might connect him with his icon!

The incident has moved me and I wish I can fulfil the desire of this young boy, who seemingly has no other plan in life! It also awakens me to the power of television and the stars that it’s producing, which was hitherto the domain of cinema only!

Dilip Joshi is undoubtedly a fine actor and he has attained great popularity by playing the main protagonist in the aforesaid long running serial, but my above experience may surprise even the actor himself about his star power!