Neeraj Bharadwaj, who played the role of Chirag Modi alias Mota Bhai in the popular serial Saath Nibhana Saathiya successfully for six years, had quit the show when for six months there was no track for him. He was in the news not only because of this but also because of his divorce with his actress wife Upasna Singh. Neeraj who has acted in several Bhojpuri films as a leading man has to his credit several serials on Doordarshan as well as the satellite channels for the last several years. Now Neeraj has decided to concentrate all his time and attention only on films. Neeraj is now acting in producer Shobu Pandey’s film Wafa 2, Mehul Kumar’s Shaadi Ke Baad Love Marriage, Cafe Coffee etc. For the first time he is also acting in Mohandas’s Marathi film and Shantiketan’s Malayalam film.
Has Neeraj decided to quit acting in TV serials? When asked, Neeraj Bharadwaj quipped as a matter of fact, “These days, only women are being given importance in serials and men are relegated to the sidelines and made to stand like show pieces and their tracks are seen occasionally and by and large they are reduced top being just space fillers. While the producer lays the blame on the channels, the channels in turn lay the blame on the producers. If they feel that only women can contribute to the serials, why cast actors like us? After all, how can an actor get satisfaction if he does not get to perform meaty roles? Money isn’t everything as you are known only as long as you are seen on TV. Once the snow is over, people forget you but even if you do one good scene in a film, people will remember you forever as an actor. Hence I am now doing more films. If I get a good and challenging role in a TV serial, I am going to do it but I will not do a TV serial only to make money by being a part of it by standing as a show piece and let myself be relegated to the sidelines.”———–Sanjay Sharma Raj(P.R.O.)