Now it’s a ‘level’ playing field The success of shows such as
Nakul Mehta, TV actor who made his OTT debut with ZEE5’s Never Kiss Your Best Friend, identifies the OTT space as a mix between films and TV. “You could have the sensibility of a film and yet it has a mass impact as it can be viewed by someone on a mobile phone. It allows you to tell stories which films and TV may not. It gets me an opportunity to do short-format content. There is a lot of growth, different crew and co-actors, so you are learning. The positive part being there is no pressure to carry the success of the project on your shoulders. If you perform well, irrespective of how the show does, you will be appreciated,” he points out.
Suchitra Pillai has earned herself a huge fan following after her chilled-out acting in Ekta Kapoor’s web series, Kehne Ko Humsafar Hain. She has also been appreciated for her role in Masaba Masaba, where she plays Neena Gupta’s close friend. “There are so many more opportunities with the wide number of channels today. I had four releases during the lockdown. Two on Netflix and two on Alt Balaji. Right now, Bebakee is on Alt Balaji and the SRK-produced Betaal on Netflix. Each role is completely different, which is interesting, unlike the clichéd TV serial roles. These are real stories, not fluffy sagas. The A-listers want to be on OTT now due to the current situation,” she says.
NO BOX OFFICE PRESSURE
The biggest bonus of this medium is the absence of box-office pressure. Director Sonam Nair has found her calling with the
much-acclaimed Netflix series, Masaba Masaba. Sonam had directed the critically acclaimed but not commercially successful Dharma production Gippi in 2013.
“My first film was not a box office hit. I only managed to get a small segment of people to watch in the theatres as it didn’t have stars. Today there is no box office pressure to recover your costs. My voice is suited to this medium and now I have found my space. It is a more relatable, intimate and sliceof-life thing. I didn’t have to look at a reference for Masaba Masaba, it worked. Neil Bhoopalam has been around for so many years but this medium has given him recognition. Even Rytasha who plays Gia, was typecast. We gave her depth. There is time to write
different characters. Everybody doesn’t look a certain way. Masaba had to crush her dreams of becoming an actor but she is so good,” Sonam shares.
The success of shows such as Bandish Bandits, Masaba Masaba and the Anushka Sharma production Bulbbul, in contrast with much hyped films such as Sadak 2, prove that the script is the ruling factor now. And it probably helps that the yardstick of measure has lost focus from the box-office numbers. “The web has a more discerning audience and they are more open to stories that won’t ever get made as feature films for several reasons, ranging from the subject to commercial viability and budget, to and the Anushka Sharma production Bulbbul, in contrast with much hyped films such as Sadak prove that the script is the ruling factor now
unavailability of actors,” says Sarita Tanwar. “In Anushka’s case, the production house is picking unique and interesting stories to tell, for sure, and her shows get a lot of press for obvious reasons, but whether they work cannot be measured. As in, we don’t know how the numbers of the brilliant Pataal Lok compares to that of Sacred Games. The success of a film is evident from box-office figures. However, there is no tool or mechanism (yet) to measure the success of a web series.”
Nakul, however, believes that word of mouth works best. “In my opinion, a Delhi Crime on Netflix got a lot of critical acclaim although it may not have been as commercially successful as an Alt Balaji series. But the best way to gauge success would be to see if the channels want to go ahead with a sequel to the show. If this happens, it implies that they are willing to put their money on this project,” he points out.
BandishBandits, Masaba Masaba