TV STARS EMBRACE OTT TO BREAK STEREOTYPES
Experiment with platforms in an attempt to their luck on OTT Small screen actors are trying different roles and characters, to satiate their creative zeal
Considering how web platforms have churned plenty of content in the last one year and audiences have happily lapped it up, it won’t be wrong to say that the OTT space has taken the entertainment industry by storm in India. Be it writers, directors or actors, everyone is thronging to these streaming platforms to showcase their work. And actors from television background are no exception, as they too, seem to have been bitten by the OTT bug and are exploring the medium quite frequently.
Popular names from TV such as Ronit Roy, Mona Singh and Sakshi Tanwar have been part of web shows Kehne Ko Humsafar Hain, Black Widows and Karrle Tu Bhi Mohabbat, respectively. Prominent TV actor Jennifer Winget headlined the series Code M, Krystle D’Souza starred in Fittrat and Karan Tacker in Special Ops. Sidharth Shukla has already got his fans excited with his different avatar in the upcoming web series Broken But Beautiful 3.
So, what is it about the web that’s making already established TV stars, to leave their small screen stardom and dabble with the digital space?
For actor Delnaaz Irani, who’s set to make her web debut with series, Pari Hoon Main, OTT offered her an opportunity to try some different role. “It was very good opportunity. I wanted to play a mum to a kid. I want to do mature kind of roles. I can’t keep playing a friend and bubbly thing around. I wanted to venture out into serious stuff, something more different and more challenging. My image as someone bubbly and comic is so strong that I’m still stuck there only. So, yes, OTT has given me that opportunity to break that in some way for sure,” she shares.
Actor Jay Soni, who was a part of the web series Twisted 3, was a bit fed up with the good boy image that he had acquired because of his roles on TV and OTT helped him breakaway from that. “The web project was a good way for me to tell that, ‘Hey see, I can do much more than what you’ve seen me do on TV so far.’ I also did some intimate scenes on the show and that was totally opposite to what my fans have seen me do till now,” adds the actor known for shows such as Sasural Genda Phool and Sanskaar — Dharohar Apnon Ki.
Akanksha Puri, known for her role in TV show, Vighnaharta Ganesha, will be seen in web series Inspector Avinash opposite Randeep Hooda. She too, agrees that web platforms do provide opportunities to actors to explore more shades of their craft and allow them to experiment and choose the roles that best suit them.
“I myself wanted to experiment with my acting abilities. As an artiste, there was this hunger in me to take up different and challenging roles, and I got that opportunity via web platforms. It’s one of a kind chance and always gets the best out of you,” Puri muses.
Lauding the OTT boom, Shama Sikander, who is known for TV shows such as Yeh Meri Life Hai and Baal Veer, notes how the web has opened up doors for actors like her.
“It’s great for me as I believe in performance-based roles and good characters. OTT gives you that power and an actor is appreciated for their talent...,” says Sikander, adding that unlike films, actors on OTT don’t have to adhere to fixed notions of physical attributes and other such criteria. “OTT has quashed those factors. On the web, I don’t have to worry about how glamorous I’ve to look but only the character I’m going to play,” she concludes.
I wanted to experiment with my acting abilities. As an artiste, there was this hunger in me to take up different and challenging roles, and I got that opportunity via web platforms. AKANKSHA PURI, Actor
It is great for me as I believe in performance-based roles and good characters. OTT gives you that power and an actor is appreciated for their talent.
SHAMA SIKANDER,
Actor
Mohit Raina made his digital debut with Kaafir, alongside Dia Mirza