“My experience of working in 200, my first OTT project, has been amazing. It was surreal to say it in one word. To play one of the deadliest serial killers and to actually be able to break so many stereotypes that ‘oh he is a funny guy, he is a YouTuber, don’t think he is going to be a great actor’ and getting 8/10 reviews made me content. I would not have asked for more,” says Sahil, who plays the role of Akku Yadav in 200.
The OTT boom is here to stay. And he feels the medium will take on a lot of other industries as well.
“The kind of content and concepts coming out is becoming a rage. People who have just delivered one web series as a hit, their careers are made. Earlier it used to happen when one has worked on big films but now we can only imagine what kind of penetration OTT has achieved. Thanks to all these networks and data packs, everything is now on OTT. OTT is not going to eat into any other industries be it TV, radio or big screen. All four of them will co-exist,” he adds.
OTT has exposed many to global content. “There are more performances to look at, more stories to connect to. There are beautiful things to learn and understand from foreign as well as Indian cinema. To be able to watch films which you had never seen before but now you know are readily available in just a click makes you feel so powerful and happy. Watching different kinds of work, sensibilities creating content in different parts of the world only opens our horizons, thought process and broadens your mind,” he explains.
There has been constant talk around the censorship on OTT. Many platforms usually self censor their content to make sure viewers’ discretion is maintained.
“If you think you can’t watch it with your family then you can stop it or pause it. Digital is always a medium of choice. I think ‘OTT cannot be watched with family’ is a wrong viewpoint. There is family content too,” he says.
Sahil himself enjoys all kinds of genres. He loves to explore everything and learn.
“Succession season 3 is one of the best family dramas ever. It has won so many awards. Ishq is a beautiful Malayalam film that I loved watching. There is a film called ‘All the Freckles in the World’ that is about a boy who puts up a football team together. It is also a nice film. Then there is also Game Over, Man! which is one of the funniest films I have watched,” he shares his latest watchlist on OTT.
Sahil’s film 83 will soon be released on OTT. “Omicron spoiled our party and it will make our after party awesome as people who couldn’t go and watch the film in theatres can now watch it at the comfort of their homes. I am proud to be a part of this film. Thanks to Kabir Khan and Ranveer Singh for making me a part of this journey. Once it releases on OTT you will enjoy it especially the scene that got viral where I (as Syed Kirmani) come out and tell Kapil Dev (played by Ranveer), ‘hum marenge ya mar jayenge, aise aj nahi jayenge capsi, tu maar, mai khada hu na. The film is expected to release on February 18, both on Netflix and Hotstar,” he reveals.
