‘FEELING PRIVILEGED’
Actor Anupria Goenka shares her OTT experience
We are progressing at a very good pace in terms of the content and also what we are building upon.
I feel privileged to be a part of this era. I still want to do a lot more as an actor. ANUPRIA GOENKA, Actor
The year 2020 has not been an ideal one for Bollywood, as theatrical releases took a big hit. But during this period, the medium of OTT took a centre stage and offered much needed respite to content creators and actors, something that Anupria Goenka is much thankful about. The actor, who had three web series that came out this year— Asur, Aashram and Criminal Justice 2, says it was rather nice that she was “working slightly at least and people got to see me.” This year too, Goenka, 33, has a bevy of OTT projects lined up as she exudes excitement for experimenting more with her characters. Excerpts from an interview.
Three of your web projects released last year, four if we count the two seasons of Aashram. Despite the pandemic situation, that was quite a silver lining for you?
Thank god for that silver lining. I did a lot of work in 2019 and that kept me relevant in 2020 as well. It is always nice that you still feel that you’re working slightly at least and people are getting to see you. There is some sort of connect I could maintain because I felt the audience is at least responding to my work. The year started well. Even when the lockdown started there was good news pouring in because of Asur. And somewhere mid way, Aashram happened and that again was a huge success. I was busy with promotions and taking in all the appreciation. Then at the end of the year we had Criminal Justice: Behind Closed Doors. The series did very well in its first outing and I’m happy it has repeated its success.
As an actor who embraced the OTT when it was in a very nascent stage in India, how do you see the evolution of OTT?
OTT has come into a new space altogether because of Covid-19. I started doing OTT work way back in 2017 and I never had second thoughts about it. I think it was a right decision on my part to take up OTT back then, especially looking at what it has become today. Now everyone wants to be a part of OTT and that’s a great evolution for the medium.
How do you see the OTT revolution propelling the careers of actors, including yourself, and changing the landscape of entertainment in India?
OTT is now an important new space to consume content. I think it is great because it gives so much liberty to everyone involved in art. Not just actors but also directors, writers , costume people, designers… everybody. People have been consuming content online more than ever before now and even films have transcended there. In the coming days, a lot of films will be released on OTT. Now there will be a mechanism and differentiation about what kind of films would be released theatrically and what would go directly to OTTs. As we saw happen many times this year.
Many have applauded the OTTs for giving a muchneeded liberty to every creative person, your thoughts?
We are progressing at a very good pace in terms of the content and also what we are building upon. I feel very privileged to be a part of this era. I still want to do a lot more in terms of content as an actor. I want to do comedy, even dark characters and period drama. We are seeing a change that’s happening both in the films space and the OTT space. So I think both film and OTT are exploding in terms of content, which is making it more meaningful. It is great time to be in the entertainment industry.
How would you look back at the last year?
It has been a very different year, both good and difficult.
Good because we did a lot of things which we would not have done otherwise. I think that kind of pause was required for us in life, to just take a break and reflect. There was a lot of reflection that took place. I’m thankful for the privilege and feel responsible towards those who don’t have it. A kind of understanding and gratitude is there. It was an important year that way.
And how does the year 2021 look for you?
Covid or no Covid, we’ve to move on with our lives. In 2021, a movie is slated to come out and I’ve to shoot Asur 2 and Aashram season 3. I also have another series. I hope to do different types of content. I want to do much much more challenging roles. I want to do roles which have a lot of meat in terms of a huge graph of different emotions and characterisations.