Ranaksh Rana on his OTT debut Ballia Kaand!

“I believe that more than expectations, it’s the outcome of hard work that drives us because that’s rooted in reality. And, the reality is that there’s an amazingly talented team of hard working people who worked on Ballia Kaand. Right from actors, the production team, director to the producer, everyone was high spirited and committed to bringing out a quality product. The screenplay highlights a unique interesting angle in a gangster story. I am looking forward to this novelty release soon. Not to forget this marks my foray into and I must admit that the experience has been a great exploration as far as my acting preparation is concerned. It gave me a chance to portray all that I have learnt and understood in front of the camera,” he says.

Ekansh Bachchan is the producer of the project under his banner Eksha Entertainment. “He is one of the most humble producers I have ever had the opportunity to work with. He took genuine interest in all the artists and how the project was shaping. Ekansh is a great human being and was on the set motivating us all the time. I appreciated the fact that he was very approachable,” he adds.

Ranaksh also praises the director Neel Pandey. “I think I am lucky to have got this opportunity to debut with him. The way he patiently explained every shot and ensured his vision comes on the screen is commendable. An actor grows with not just appreciation but also constructive feedback and he did just that,” he shares.

Once an OTT debut happens, many feel the chances of getting work in Bollywood increase. The actor however looks at it in a different way.

“My answer would be both ‘yes’ and ‘no’. Yes because every step is a step forward and with every work your profile becomes stronger, you feel more confident and more than that, the team will find confidence in you more easily. With time and opportunities your work also gets better, you’ll know the technicalities of the job and the fact that time saved is money well spent etc well. But I also feel that every role is a new preparation in itself. We are actors, we are good at imitating, and every imitation is different. So with every new project, you have to start fresh and you have to audition. Every acting job is new in that way. Getting into Bollywood can have multiple routes and yes OTT can be one of them, but if you are a good actor and you are sincere about your craft, you’ll get work,” he adds.

OTT, according to Ranaksh, has revolutionized realistic and quality content. “It’s all about diversity of mind and perspectives. The more novelty in the minds of people in any field, the better ideas are born. I strongly believe that your life has to be enriched with experiences for you to bring out a creative output. Not only actors but a variety of writers, producers and directors are getting a chance to showcase their talent through OTT. Different minds bring different and new ideas to the table. Suddenly with OTT you see a plethora of themes emerging in the content space and it’s not just one central theme that takes over the projects. There is freedom to explore different concepts and if there is a quality product, there will be value for it,” he explains.