Digital boom has been here for a while now and it’s going to grow further, says Sudhanshu Pandey. The Anupamaa actor opines that OTT is definitely giving a huge opportunity to a lot of actors, who have been around for a while and wanting to do good work, and now they are getting those opportunities.
“OTT is huge, no doubt about that. Having said that, whether OTT actors are becoming stars or not is a very difficult thing to say even though this new medium is definitely giving visibility and a lot of actors are finally getting their due. It’s something that television did for a lot of actors in the past. Slowly television grew so much that today TV stars are actually the stars and are as big as film stars. I think OTT is also a growing platform and sooner or later it is bound to happen that actors who are doing well on OTT will also become huge stars and a lot of good producers and directors will pick them,” he says.
He continues that since there is no censorship on OTT, it is a space where one gets the liberty to be creative when it comes to doing certain scenes they want to, especially bold scenes, and not chop things off like they have to do in films and television.
“If I get an opportunity to do [bold scenes], I might consider only if it’s very necessary. I don’t think I will be doing just for the heck of it as it will depend on what the story demands,” he adds.
Many have objected to over usage of cuss words and topics such as extra marital affairs, sex and drugs being rampant on OTT. Reacting to it, Sudhanshu explains, “The growth of all the mediums have increased the exposure many fold and people have access to almost everything. It is only natural that people are going to pick up and get influenced by what is shown on OTT. There are films that are specially being made for OTT so it is only natural that this is going to happen. People are openly talking about many subjects that they were not open about otherwise, back in the days. People now openly share about their inhibitions, thanks to the entertainment industry as a lot of good things have happened, but it’s always a double edged sword. So you win some, you lose some. Largely, yes people are really influenced by the entertainment industry.”
The younger generation who wants to become actors is so exposed to knowledge and information that makes them too polished even for their age. So, do you feel there is a generation gap in the thought process, behaviour and action among them and the new batch of actors? “Of course, everyone is exposed to a lot of knowledge. I don’t know if I can call them too polished but I can say that the younger generation is way too smart, and I think it’s good to be well informed. But it’s also very harmful to be over-smart and over-confident about things because knowledge has no end. When people tend to feel that they know it all, it becomes a huge problem. There are a lot of good youngsters who are very humble and down-to-earth. They understand so much more than the last generation, they are still very open to learning more, and that’s how it’s always should be,” he adds.
Sudhanshu also watches a lot of content on OTT. Giving recommendations about two projects people must watch, he says, “The two web series’ would Far Go. It’s phenomenal and has a great cast. It’s a very well-made series I must say. The other one is Namaste America on Hotstar. I am a part of this one and here’s hoping everyone will like it.”
