‘ON OTT, EVERY PART IS AN IMPORTANT COG IN STORY’

Kubbra Sait says web allows democratic viewing, breaks the ‘concept of stars’

Starting out as a host, Kubbra Sait was looking for more when acting happened. She started off with Ready (2011) and did a number films before she turned to web. And when, in 2018, the character of Kukoo happened in Sacred Games, it marked a new beginning for Sait.

“I was just trying to run away from stage performances because somewhere I felt saturated. And I was lucky to have been approached for a part that’s going to unravel itself to the OTT platform. Kukoo became Kukoo because of every single person who made Sacred Games happen,” she says, adding the web has broken all story related stereotypes.

“There was this stuck format, a good and a bad guy, a girl. Good guy defeats the bad guy. The story ends. Plus the story will also accommodate a song and dance. While doing that in a two-hour-long film it was getting repetitive. OTT actually focuses on stories, gives freedom for characters to develop,” she adds.

She continues, “You don’t have to be a bankable star to be a part of a bankable story on OTT. The concept of stars has existed for way too long in India, OTT is breaking that and creating stars out of every good performer… Every part is an important cog in a story. And every cog in the story has a personality.”

With popular film actors joining OTT bandwagon, many are pointing out how the monopoly of stars is now creeping into the digital space.

Sait, 37, feels, “It doesn’t matter who you are, there’s equal space for everyone. The viewing experience is not just silver screen, but one can watch it on TV and other devices. So there’s no largerthan-life representation, everything boils down to only performances. Characters aren’t defined by number of minutes spent on screen. This kind of democratic viewing is letting the audience decide on the actors and stories they want to see more of.”

Now there is a bigger responsibility on the part of actors. “Your work on the web is going to be there forever. Anyone can pull out an embarrassing shoddy job done in the past, so you’ve to be careful,” she ends.

It doesn’t matter who you are, there’s equal space for everyone... Characters aren’t defined by number of minutes spent on screen.

KUBBRA SAIT, Actor