Having started her acting journey with Meri Aashiqui Tum Se Hi on the tube, Radhika Madan is aware of how the medium functions. She also understands the debate about how content on TV needs an upgrade in comparison to what is happening in films and the web.

“The three mediums are different... You can shoot for a film or web show for some days and get done with it, but that’s not so on TV. For daily soaps, you have to shoot every day, and for non-fiction content, two-three days every week need to be devoted. So scripts, cast, timing, etc. are adjusted as required,” she says.

Madan, 25, does agree though that there are certain things that TV needs to work on. “Unlike films and web shows, for which proper scripts, dialogues and scenes are worked upon for months, TV mein toh humein kuch din set pe garam-garam dialogues milte the. Telecast happens daily so there’s no time to work on scripts, dialogues, characters. There is no time to pause or think of something new. Therefore, sometimes the plots of different shows look similar. Every time one track becomes a hit, at least one show on every channel will have a similar narrative… I also feel TV typecasts actors,” she says.

On the subject of stereotyping, when asked if the same thing is applicable to films as well, Madan explains, “Yes, it does. But the thing with TV is that a show goes on for years, so it becomes all the more difficult for an actor to move out of that character.”

Despite these issues, however, Madan feels TV has its own charm. “The fact that the entire family can watch TV together makes it special. I just hope it experiments more with content. I feel the more you offer the audience variety, the more they become accepting,” says Madan, who is open to working on every medium.