OTT platforms are gaining acceptance nowadays with increased viewership as well as actor participation. TV actors discuss if the web poses a threat to TV or film viewership.
Rohit Choudhary: OTT has totally revolutionized the entertainment industry. All actors love having multiple platforms to showcase their talents. It’s a great advantage for the industry, I haven’t yet acted on an OTT platform but I would love to. I don’t think it’s a threat to other platforms, every medium has its own market. Every plateform can co-exist
Vijayendra Kumeria: The OTT platform is growing really fast and has a vast range of content. It’s on-demand and people are enjoying binge-watching their favorite shows. It’s great for us actors also that we have more opportunities. Having said that, I personally believe that there might be a little dip in TV viewership due to OTT platforms but eventually, TV viewership will always be good. There is nothing much to worry as people in different parts of the country still like watching shows on television screens and enjoy the content served to them. If we talk about big screens then I must say people love watching films in the theatre and that will never change.
Siddharth Sipani: I am very happy that OTT platforms have come up because I think it gives an artist a chance to explore various channels because TV also becomes saturated at one point of time. With OTT platforms, there is a chance to do something new, something interesting, something unique, something which has not been done before. It also gives us an opportunity to explore various genres that have not been touched before. I don’t think it’s a threat to the small screen as people will always watch TV. As far as the big screen is concerned, yes, it is a slight threat courtesy the lockdown scenarion.
Zaan Khan: It’s an opportunity I feel, not a threat, this is the new change that has come and I feel it’s for the best. And it is serving the industry well. The TV industry is affected by it but both the platforms are different in many ways and the audience of both the platforms is also different.
Ankit Siwach: Since the time the OTT platform has gained a stronghold in the entertainment industry, it is nothing less than a boon for all of us, be it employment, creativity, storytelling or entering experimental zones. Having said that, no platform can “replace” the other. For example, cinema can never replace theatre, TV can never replace cinema, similarly, OTT can not replace the TV. There is an audience for all platforms, and all of them need to be catered to. I have worked in IDiva’s Dulha Wanted which was a Faraz Ansari directorial, it was a different experience for me as the shooting process in television is absolutely different than how we did in Dulha Wanted. I don’t think any platform can be a threat, till the platforms know their audience well. My show Ishq Mein Marjawaan 2 isdonig well on VOOT
Sharad Malhotra: I think the OTT platform is a great thing that has happened to the entertainment industry. Because more the number of platforms more the number of mediums more the ratio for getting jobs for being actors or technicians, people behind the camera, people in front of camera so is a great platform and it is no threat to television, it is no threat to film because the audiences of all three platforms, all the three platforms that is OTT. TV films, they’re totally different. There is a small ratio that watches all three platforms, but the masses, are into TV. There are classes, they watch OTT and films. It depends on the genre, and it depends on the flavor of the film. It depends on the stars. It has got both the audience’s masses and the classes also. So I think it’s a great initiative and it has opened a lot of those for Everyone related to the entertainment industry.
