B-Town Biggies Who Struck Gold In Television

By Girija Narayan

Updated: Thursday, August 1, 2013, 12:44 [IST]

When Amitabh Bachchan hosted Kaun Banega Crorepati, people, including biggest of Bollywood stars, saw it as a huge step down in his career. But the success the show saw made everyone sit back and take television seriously.

The scenario today, as we can see, has changed drastically. Television is no longer the backup career for Bollywood actors, but a very profitable alternative to doing films and endorsements. Talking about endorsements, there were times when actors considered acting for advertisements an insult to their status too, but that has changed, what with actors making nothing less than a crore for a 30-second commercial.

Coming back to actors hosting television shows, the recent buzz in the industry about Salman Khan making Rs 5 Crore for each Bigg Boss episode shows the extent to which television has grown today and the demand it has for Bollywood actors.

Following Amitabh Bachchan, many actors who were in the peak of their career started doing television shows and not just the ones who wanted to start afresh. Shahrukh Khan, Salman Khan, Aamir Khan, Farhan Akhtar, Abhay Deol, Akshay Kumar, Karan Johar and many more tried their hands in hosting shows on TV, and many attained spectacular success from each of them.

Here are some of the Bollywood actors who "tried" their hand in television.