ALI FAZAL FEELS A WEB SHOW IS NO LESS THAN A FILM
The actor says it’s content over screen size these days
From working in American TV show Bollywood Hero, sharing screen space with Oscarwinning actor Judi Dench in the British-American film Victoria & Abdul to becoming a part of successful Bollywood movies and now a web series, Mirzapur, actor Ali Fazal has successfully dabbled in different realms of the entertainment world.
The actor says that the entertainment industry is going through a positive transformation where the lines between web series and feature films are blurring to celebrate good stories over screen size.
“I think this transformation is a natural progression that was bound to happen. Now, a web show is no less than a film. This is the same phase Hollywood underwent five years ago when whether it was OTT (over-the-top) platforms or even television, they offered their audience... great content. That time, cinema faced a challenge,” says Ali.
The Fukrey (2013) actor adds, “Now, globally, the youth is smart enough to consume content on their smartphones, smart TVs, and the demand for content is increasing.” Ali, who did a fleeting cameo in the Hollywood film Furious 7, the seventh instalment in The Fast and the Furious film series, has travelled with his movies to various international film festivals. According to him, though India is a nation that celebrates cinema on the big screen more, the constant demand for good content by the audience has led content makers to invest in quality production to match the international levels.
“That is precisely the reason why, these days, we get to see the extensive promotion and publicity of even web shows, and those are as good as those of a feature film. Perhaps that is why a large audience waits for the digital release of a film, rather than its theatrical release, unless it is an event film that demands to be experienced on the big screen,” feels the Happy Phirr Bhag Jayegi actor.
Answering a question on why content-driven Indian films that get wide recognition internationally hardly survive in Indian theatres, the actor shares, “Well, in Hollywood, superhero films are commercial potboilers but they also give space for films that win awards like Oscar, Golden Globe and travel to film festivals. Abroad, there is room for every film because every story has its audience.”
He adds, “In our country, it is success driven...If a film earns box office numbers, it will be in the theatre — whether it is artistically good or not. The good thing is, that is changing now.”