--- title: 'Rohit Roy Calls TV a “Dustbin Medium” and Praises Film-Star Style' type: 'blog post' section: 'Away From Set' format: 'Editorial feature' standfirst: 'The actor’s blunt split between television and cinema has reopened an old hierarchy in Indian entertainment—then put his own television career right in the blast zone. His comments came during a Kindle Cast YouTube conversation reported on September 12, 2026.' author: 'Dorothy Kwan' published: '2026-09-14' updated: '2026-09-14' about_people: - 'Mukesh Chhabra' - 'Rohit Roy' tags: - 'Rohit Roy television dustbin medium comments' - 'Rohit Roy film actors style and class' - 'Kindle Cast Rohit Roy interview September 2026' - 'television versus Bollywood actor hierarchy' - 'Mukesh Chhabra supports TV actors Rohit Roy' sources: - 'https://www.msn.com/en-in/news/other/mukesh-chhabra-supports-tv-actors-after-rohit-roys-dustbin-medium-remark-calls-them-extremely-professional/ar-AA2c7Ljp' - 'https://www.bollywoodhungama.com/news/features/rohit-roy-calls-television-dustbin-medium-also-says-there-is-a-certain-amount-of-style-class-in-film-actors/' - 'https://www.iwmbuzz.com/television/news/rohit-roy-calls-television-a-dustbin-medium-says-tv-actors-lack-grace-and-dignity/2026/09/12' - 'https://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/bollywood/rohit-roy-calls-television-dustbin-medium-film-tv-actor-class-divide-10873655/' canonical: 'https://cinepixo.com/blog/rohit-roy-calls-tv-a-dustbin-medium-and-praises-film-star-style' publisher: 'CinePixo' --- # Rohit Roy Calls TV a “Dustbin Medium” and Praises Film-Star Style *The actor’s blunt split between television and cinema has reopened an old hierarchy in Indian entertainment—then put his own television career right in the blast zone. His comments came during a Kindle Cast YouTube conversation reported on September 12, 2026.* By Dorothy Kwan, 2026-09-14 · Away From Set Rohit Roy has called television a “dustbin medium” and said film actors carry more “style” and “class” in public. He made the remarks during a conversation on the Kindle Cast YouTube channel, reported by Bollywood Hungama and IWMbuzz on September 12, 2026. For film readers, the point is not that an actor has discovered television’s expiry date. It is that Roy, who became known through the 1990s Doordarshan series *Swabhimaan*, has described the film industry’s class divide in terms of posture, clothes and paparazzi manners—and then dismissed the medium that made him famous. ## Rohit Roy draws the line between cinema and television Roy was asked about the “caste system” in entertainment, where television actors can be treated as inferior to film actors. His answer focused on public appearances. Film stars, he said, arrive with a “graceful, dignified, stylish, cool” front. Television actors, he argued, do not show the same “carriage.” Then came the cleanest insult: “Cinema is cinema. It is for posterity. Television is a dustbin medium.” In a separate account, IWMbuzz reported that Roy described television as something viewers consume today and forget tomorrow, like yesterday’s newspaper. He also complained about the volume of Indian television content and the repetition of similar material, saying there is “hardly any creativity.” The reporting does not establish whether he was talking about every television production or the dominant commercial format. Roy did not draw that line. That missing line matters. “Television” can mean a daily soap, a limited series, a news broadcast or a prestige drama. Roy’s statement sweeps them into one bin, which gives it punch and takes away its precision. ## His argument is about behavior before it is about scripts Roy returned to conduct several times. He said actors must maintain grace and dignity in front of paparazzi, and should not make “stupid comments” or create “hoo-haa” because cameras are present. He contrasted that with gatherings of television actors, telling viewers to look at how they behave and decide for themselves. This is a strange standard for an argument about artistic value. Roy began with television’s content and longevity, then shifted to manners at a public appearance. A film actor’s “front,” he acknowledged, is still a front. The difference, in his telling, is that the performance looks polished. That is less a theory of cinema than a dress code with a box-office vocabulary. The film actor gets “carriage.” The television actor gets a warning about volume control. ## The clothes example turns the hierarchy personal Roy also discussed clothing. He acknowledged that film stars wear revealing outfits, but said there is a particular style in how those clothes are presented. He mentioned an unnamed woman who, in his words, “hardly wears anything,” and questioned why people would treat her badly. The reports do not identify the woman. They also do not provide more detail about the incident Roy had in mind. That is where the comment stops being a general comparison and becomes a vague public example aimed at someone the audience is expected to recognize. Roy’s larger claim remains clear: film actors know how to package provocation, while television actors can appear careless or undisciplined. It is a sharp distinction, but it depends on a highly selective view of what counts as professionalism. Clothes become evidence. A red-carpet entrance becomes a résumé. ## A television veteran attacks the medium that built him The contradiction is sitting in Roy’s own biography. Bollywood Hungama noted that he rose to prominence with *Swabhimaan*, while IWMbuzz listed later television successes including *Des Mein Niklla Hoga Chand* and *Sanjivani*. He has also appeared in films such as *Fashion* and *Lokhandwala*. So this is not an outsider sneering at television from a film-only career. Roy worked in both industries and used that experience to rank them. That gives his comments a sharper edge, but it does not make them neutral. He is speaking from inside the hierarchy he describes. The question about television’s status also produced a response from elsewhere. MSN reported that actor Mukesh Chhabra supported television actors after Roy’s “dustbin medium” remark, calling them “extremely professional.” The available reporting does not include a longer exchange between the two men, so there is no basis to call this a feud. It is a disagreement over what professionalism looks like—and who gets credit for it. Roy has offered film readers a blunt little hierarchy: cinema lasts, television disappears; film stars know how to enter a room, television actors do not. The first claim is sweeping. The second is a judgment about performance off camera. Together they reveal what he thinks the film industry is selling when it sells “class”: not silence, not restraint, but a better-managed public pose. ## How this piece was made **Format:** Editorial feature ## In this piece - [Mukesh Chhabra](https://cinepixo.com/people/mukesh-chhabra) - [Rohit Roy](https://cinepixo.com/people/rohit-roy) ## Sources - https://www.msn.com/en-in/news/other/mukesh-chhabra-supports-tv-actors-after-rohit-roys-dustbin-medium-remark-calls-them-extremely-professional/ar-AA2c7Ljp - https://www.bollywoodhungama.com/news/features/rohit-roy-calls-television-dustbin-medium-also-says-there-is-a-certain-amount-of-style-class-in-film-actors/ - https://www.iwmbuzz.com/television/news/rohit-roy-calls-television-a-dustbin-medium-says-tv-actors-lack-grace-and-dignity/2026/09/12 - https://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/bollywood/rohit-roy-calls-television-dustbin-medium-film-tv-actor-class-divide-10873655/ Every factual claim above is drawn from these. The reading of them is ours. Source: https://cinepixo.com/blog/rohit-roy-calls-tv-a-dustbin-medium-and-praises-film-star-style Written for CinePixo. Nothing on this page is imported prose.