An age of DOUBLE entendres

Unlike feature films, dual or double roles are rare on the small screen, at least in Kannada. One of the most popular dual roles as a female protagonist was in Akka where Anupama Gowda has been essaying two sisters separated at childhood, and their continuing enmity! In another rare phenomena, the dual role gets full marks in the top-ranked Kannada teleserial Agnisakshi. The small girl’s character Ayushi takes on a double role! Baby Chandana plays the dual role as Kushi. Bengaluru Chronicle reports on this dual take on the small screen.

“Dual roles are a major phenomenon in feature films. In Kannada teleserials, there have been a few instances, and it is hard to recollect the last one. The only one that comes to mind is in Akka, where the dual roles are also the main protagonists. The latest to make an entry is Ayushi’s double character — Kushi in Agnisakshi. All of these have not been deliberately planned. When there’s a dip in TRPs, the makers rack their brains to retain the top spot, and during one such session they could have struck upon the idea of an interesting twist with a dual role but this is only in special circumstances,” explains Sharan, an assistant director.

The other reason might be because films are made within a time frame unlike the small screen that normally runs as long as TRPs are maintained. “If a teleserial starts losing viewership, it is automatically the beginning of its downfall. Many even end abruptly without proper conclusions due to this. When there are several such experiments — the introduction of new characters and sudden twists are needed to further boost popularity ratings,” he adds.

Even technical aspects are a major catch here, says cinematographer Santosh. He adds, “Featuring dual roles involves a lot of technical work during post-production. It demands time and preparation. In cinema, there is a fixed schedule and everything is planned accordingly. But in teleserials which run for months and years on end, scripting such lead roles certainly demands time and energy. This is why not many teleserials are essayed around double acting. Akka is an exception, and the credit should go to the makers and most importantly, to the actress who has been relentlessly portraying it twice over.”

Sushmitha, a regular TV watcher might decide the fate of such shows on a weekly basis (TRP), but she also feels that unless there is an interesting plot, such experiments are shortlived.