They have it, so they flaunt it--ARTICLE

There was a time when TV actors were considered poorer cousins of their big screen counterparts. But that's now a thing of the past. In the course of the last seven years or so, the scenario has changed big time!!

With the onset of daily soaps and the very popular saas - bahu genre (where quantity matters and not quality) TV actors are getting it all- fame, adulation, coverage and most importantly the big bucks.

Smriti Iraani, Rohit -Ronit Roy, Cezzane Khan, Hiten Tejwani, Gauri Pradhan, Ejaaz Khan-you name them and its out in the open that they are all real big today when it comes to money. Apart from their daily wages which is quite big, they also get a chance to earn from shows in India and abroad plus reality shows.

Commanding that kind of money has surely made life easier and more luxurious. And along with minting money comes the mantra - If you got it, flaunt it!! So we have our favorite small screen stars showing off their conquests to their fans and the public in general.

Doesn't the media constantly carry reports of these stars talking about their assets- their new houses, cars, dogs, their shopping sprees, vacations abroad, beauty care regimes, gym sessions, shopping sprees etc etc.

Small time film star (he started out with the disaster 'Oops') turned TV star Vikas Sethi who is currently doing 'Nach Baliye' along with his wife gets almost defensive when queried about the same.

"It's wrong to say that TV stars are making more money but yes compared to past they are. And I really don't think that whatever they are doing is just to show off. It's very wrong to create hype about TV stars like this. Well it's just the media which likes to publicize such stuff.

After all, like films every news paper has separate columns for television and they fill the columns with whatever they want to write. And why can't TV stars lead their life the way they want to'', questions Vikas

Tina Parakh of Kahaani Ghar Ghar ki also thinks on similar lines. "I think TV stars really deserve to get what they are getting. A TV star like me works round the clock just to make life easier. And ultimately your spending habit encourages you to work and earn more. That way you can also spend more.''

She adds, " And if the story of film star who bought a dog can be a story, then why cant my holiday plans be news or another TV star's buying a car, flat or anything be a story?'' Tina clarifies.

Sai Deodhar Anand doesn't think differently either. "I feel whatever the TV stars are doing is right and you can't call it a show off. After all everyone deserves to live their lives the way they want.

If a TV star is working round the clock and giving 10 to 12 scenes in a day then he/she has complete freedom to do anything with his/ her money. Its true that nowadays TV has become more popular.But behind all this success is their hard work and they very much deserve it all," she says

Adds Sai, "Well, I really don't like to spend money just to show off. After all, it's the media who spreads such news. If a film actor visiting a pschyciatrist in London and the medicines he is having makes news, the same should apply for film stars too.''

But then the truth is film stars are hardly caught on camera flaunting it all. Most (especially the biggies) prefer to shun publicity and shield themselves from the media glare. It's a known fact that most want to stay away from such hoopla.

After all, how many big film stars are seen flaunting their stuff in public? Maybe it's because of the simple reason that they must be used to all the adulation and success, whereas for TV stars it's a whole new world.

But there are people like Kiran Karmarkar (Om of Kahaani Ghar Ghar ki) who think in a mature manner. He says, "If you are talking about me then let me make it clear it that I have never spend my money just to show off my stardom.

Well I think whatever is happening now – a –days is just a PR gimmick played by new TV stars that have just started their career in television. A few days back I read an article in a local newspaper about some stars who talked about how much they are spending on their hair, food and blah blah.

I think this is utter foolishness and it could just happen that at a certain stage they might completely vanish from TV just because of their stupid spending habits".

"If you talk about veteran stars like Kanwaljeet, Mangal Dhillon or anyone who worked with me in Junoon, you come to know that they have carried their finances beautifully and thus can enjoy their money in future also.

It's just a few new stars who might have been earning 3-4 lakhs per month and spending the same to live a lavish lifestyle.

If you check the reality you get the correct picture. If they have bought a flat of Rs. 50 lakhs and spent the Rs. 20 lakh on the interiors, you will find that most of the amount has been taken as loan from banks and they don't even think twice about how they are going to pay back'', explains Kiran.

Gaurav Gera seems to agree. "I think the people who spend their money just to show off are not sensible. Only foolish people can do such things. As for me, I don't like to show off. I never had any problem in handling my money.'', he says.

Guess this logic speaks volumes. It's the new inexperienced ones who like the show it all off. That's how Kiran and his onscreen daughter, Tina Parakh (from Kahaani Ghar Ghar Ki) have such diametrically different viewpoints. Maybe one just mellows down with time. Till that happens, it's a lot of flaunting of their royal lives by TV stars!!