But how many actors actually get down to treating their unit as family beyond the routine lip-service?
India's highest-paid television actor Ronit Roy has a heart to match his bank balance. One heard he regularly looks after all the co-workers and fellow-actors in the long-running serial Adaalat in which he plays the legal-eagle hero.
One was moved to tears to hear that recently Ronit bought shoes for all the unit hand who couldn't afford formal footwear.
When contacted Ronit seemed embarrassed to talk about his largess. `Please don't make me sound like Billy Gates. It was a very small gesture. And one that we should not even discuss.`
When coaxed Ronit confessed, `It happened quite spontaneously. I had been noticing a lot of the unit workers in rubber slippers. I told them they can't come to work so informally dressed. It was then that I got to know some of them couldn't afford shoes. So I bought shoes for all of them.`
Ronit also lets out that this is not the first occasion when he has played Santa on the Adaalat sets. `When you are working with the same group of people for three and a half years you're bound to feel attached to them. To me the cast and crew of Adaalat are family. Their needs are as important to me as the needs of my family at home.`
It looks like Ronit's Adaalat family is going to be with him for a lot longer.The show's popularity shows no sign of waning.
In fact Ronit reveals that now Adaalat would be telecast three times every week instead of two times a week.
