OTT gave access to audience who were hindered by price point or time constraint
Filmmaker Hansal Mehta has achieved the rare distinction of juggling both films and web shows, with Scam 1992 doing extremely well. While OTT platforms have given newer content and artists a chance, they could have a disadvantage, too.
With a plethora of content on offer, a viewer is spoilt for choice. In such a scenario, they could easily stop a show or film in between and switch to another, thereby not letting any project get due attention or a chance to grab eyeballs. Mehta, however, thinks the situation can’t be assessed in such basic terms. “I don’t think we can quantify it that simply. That’s a very simple way of seeing it. Viewing patterns vary from medium to medium,” says the filmmaker.
Explaining why it’s complex, he continues, “Earlier, watching a film in a theatre was a community experience, we would sit and watch, and buy samosas, etc. It was also about responding to dialogues by the actors. The experience became more sophisticated with expensive multiplexes. It became more comfortable, but also inaccessible to a lot of audience. What OTT has done is [that it has] given access to a larger audience, who are otherwise hindered by price point or the time constraint that goes behind going to cinema halls.”
It was only natural, therefore, that the web emerged so big during the
pandemic, when theatres were
shut down and everyone had to remain home. Mehta’s Scam 1992 and Chhalaang, starring Rajkummar Rao and Nushrrat Bharuccha, were released on streaming platforms.
The director says he has never stuck to one platform or even a type of project. “I have never been a conformist. Even while I am conforming, like you saw me making mainstream films like Chhalaang, I am a non-conformist with my own filmography. Somewhere or the other I try to differ. I have always gone against the grain, you win some, lose some,” he says.