EXCLUSIVE: Vivek Dahiya CONFIRMS to have taken a sabbatical from TV due to its ‘regressive’ content

Vivek Dahiya is one of the most renowned faces on Indian TV. The actor is best known for his role in the long running show Yeh Hai Mohabbatein. It was during the show only that Vivek met his wife Divyanka Tripathi. Currently, the actor is a contestant on the reality show Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa 11. And recently, he got in an exclusive conversation with Bollywood Bubble for our podcast Let’s Talk.

While Vivek has had a good career on TV, his last fiction show came in 2019, Qayamat Ki Raat. It has been 4 years since his last outing on the small screen for a show. And during our conversation, he revealed the reason behind the same.

Vivek Dahiya on taking a break from TV

When pointed out that Indian TV has gone back to the regressive roots it used to be known for, Vivek agreed to it. He also revealed that it is the same reason he took a conscious break from TV. He said, “It’s very difficult, that’s why I’ve taken a sabbatical from TV for the same reason. I didn’t disclose it to the industry or to anyone that ‘oh I’m sitting at home, I’m taking a break from TV.’ I didn’t say that. It’s just that anything that was coming across, sounded regressive. So, I said I’m better off not doing it rather than doing it without passion.”

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The actor added, “Doing a television show, as Divyanka puts it very aptly, she says that when you do a television show it’s like getting married. It kind of got ingrained in my head ever since she made that statement somewhere. I heard it and I said, ‘yeah, that is so true’ because if your heart’s not in it, then you’ll just do a very mediocre job. And I don’t want to do that. I want to do it with all my heart and passion. Of course there are times when you have to do it for the money, that is a separate thing altogether.”

On the business side of the profession…

However, Vivek also understands the practicality of the business, and credited the content to the rule of ‘demand and supply’. He said, “It’s a TRP based model, that’s how it works. For the tier 2 and tier 3 cities, they make shows because that’s where the viewership comes from. So, it’s like demand and supply. TV has tried to experiment and tried to give something different to the audience, but it hasn’t worked. I’ve spoken to so many people from different channels and they say ‘what do we do? We want to give new age content and we want to revive and create fresh perspectives’. But people don’t receive it. They are running a business.”

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He added, “It’s very easy for an actor to diss TV. On a larger perspective, if you were a producer, if I became a TV producer today or if I was to work in a channel, would I be concerned about changing mindsets or would I be concerned about making money? That is a choice. Now, somebody with that vision who wants to change perspectives, somebody really that big who doesn’t care about money, has to come around and say enough is enough. I’m going to now bring in a serious change into content viewership.” 

You can watch the entire chat with Vivek Dahiya here:

Also Read: EXCLUSIVE: Vivek Dahiya reveals being UNSURE about marrying Divyanka Tripathi, reacts to the label of being her husband

Nawaz Kochra

Nawaz Kochra has been an experienced journalist in the entertainment arena for the last 9 years. Worked with the biggest brands in the media fraternity, he now heads the editorial desk at Bollywood Bubble. In addition to that, he even hosts a podcast called, Let’s Talk with Bollywood Bubble. Someone who is calm, yet a firecracker, and holds a balanced opinion about things, Nawaz is strong-headed and determined. He loves films as well as web shows and TV (yes, he is from that generation!), and that’s why writing about them is more of a passion for him than just a job.