Here is how Bollywood superstars are reinventing themselves on the OTT space
Updated:
Mar 27, 2023, 02:31 PM IST
OTT platforms have been redefining the Indian entertainment industry, especially in the last few years and especially post the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic. The fathomless expanse of borderless content and thematic diversity has been attracting even big-screen veterans to long-format stories they could not possibly have explored in cinema. Here is our pick of stars whose foray into OTT narratives got us all excited.
Ajay Devgn
It is not hard to see why Ajay Devgn would be attracted to the British psychological crime thriller Luther. The series starring Idris Elba as DCI John Luther is about a detective who doggedly goes after criminals while trying to deal with his demons and won Elba, a Critics' Choice Television Award, a Golden Globe Award, and a Screen Actors Guild Award. A Hindi adaptation seemed the next logical step and Devgn who has been busy directing and acting on the big screen for over three decades post his debut in Phool Aur Kaante (1991), decided to finally appear on the small screen as DCP Rudra. The first season of Rudra: The Edge of Darknessis directed by the national award-winning director, Rajesh Mapuskar and was released on Disney+Hotstar in 2022 March. Produced by Applause Entertainment and BBC Studios India, 'Rudra' also stars Atul Kulkarni, Esha Deol, and Rashi Khanna.
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Suniel Shetty
Suniel Shetty made his debut in the action thriller Balwaanopposite Divya Bharti in 1992, and has since then served us one character after another in over100 films. He made his long impending OTT debut with Thalaivan. He will next be seen in anOTT thriller produced by Yoodlee Films. The suspense-laced series titled Hunter Tootega Nahi Todega will see Shetty as a cop, ACP Vikram Sinha who is trying to heal his past and earn some redemption. Things however get complicated when he gets implicated in the murder of an old woman. Shetty is paired opposite Esha Deol in this much-awaited series helmed by Prince Dhiman and Alok Batra. This also happens to be Yoodlees debut in the web series space and also stars Barkha Bisht, Rahul Dev, and Chahat Tewani among others. The action-packed whodunnit is released on March 22 on Amazon mini TV.
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Saif Ali Khan
Who would have thought that a disinterested actor who made a forgettable debut in the 1993 dud Parampara would one day emerge as one of the Hindi film industry's biggest risk-takers? Be it as a producer or as an actor, Saif Ali Khan today plays by his own rules and made a splash in the OTT space as a Sikh cop Sartaj Singh in the Netflix series, Sacred Games (2019) much before his peers had realised the potential of streamers. The series based on Vikram Chandras eponymous novel depicts the battle of wills between Saif's Sartaj and the gangster Ganesh Gaitonde (Nawazuddin Siddiqui). This was the first ever Indian Netflix original series and went on to be nominated for the Emmys. The two seasons produced by Phantom Films were jointly directed by Anurag Kashyap, Vikramaditya Motwane, and Neeraj Ghaywan. Saif also appeared recently in Tandav.
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Abhishek Bachchan
It would not be wrong to say that Abhishek Bachchan has been able to break out of a pattern of rather mundane roles in films thanks to the varied opportunities that OTT seems to offer to actors. His role as a psychotic killer whose alter ego leads a perfectly normal life as a family man and a doctor in the second season of the Breatheseries (2020) on Amazon Prime, paved the way for an interesting cameo in Netflix's black comedy, Ludoand in ZEE5's original thriller movie, Bob Viswas. The biopic The Big Bull,was also digitally released on 8 April 2021 on Disney+ Hotstar. Breathe: Into the Shadowshowever, was Abhishek's first brush with the long format. The series was directed by Mayank Sharma and produced by Abundantia Entertainment. Amit Sadh and Nithya Menen played pivotal roles.
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Monday, March 27, 2023 at 6:41 am