Raveena feels shoots are an ‘atmanirbhar’ experience now
story is, who the colleagues are and the conviction of the makers. Today, I feel grateful that I have done web shows that are keeping people entertained in these difficult times. So many fans are rediscovering my old works — Sacred Games, Mirzapur and Criminal Justice — and are messaging me their feedback. It feels heartening to see the response. The audience is ready for good content and I reiterate my belief, ‘The universe conspires to ensure good shows meet its audience’. OTT is the future and actors need to warm up to the new normal.”
Social media has both pros and cons, believes Raveena Tandon, who utilises it not just for some fun, but activism too. The actor, who is also a mother of two kids, has strong views on the “misogynistic” and “sexually repulsive” content that recently came into the spotlight, on an app.
The “so-called influencers” should “either be arrested or completely banned” from using these platforms, Tandon avers. “People look up to these ‘influencers’, and even if they influence five minds out of those one million or two million followers they have, I think the harm is done. Whether it is Instagram or Twitter or Tiktok, all have the danger of being exploited. So it is important to educate our children towards the perils of being on social media,” she says, adding that it’s otherwise a “fun, harmless” medium.
Pointing out the positives of social media, the actor, 45, says she was able to drive multiple initiatives — including fundraisers and other campaigns — via her presence across platforms. Giving a peek into her shoot to raise money for the PM Cares Fund, Tandon shares that she had to photo-check her own makeup. “Hosting that show was a new challenge, and I hope it doesn’t become a new normal. It was a skeletal crew of three people and the cameras were 30ft away, and they filmed it through a zoom lens,” she says, adding that shooting in the lockdown is also “a kind of an ‘atmanirbhar’ experience”.