It was a rather slow start for Vijay Varma who began his film career back in 2012 with smaller roles, but the past couple of years have been quite a turnaround for him. And the actor wants to give a major credit to the OTT projects that he has been a part of, giving the much needed push to his career.
“The OTTs have accepted me and not the other way round, I feel,” shares Varma, who has been a part of projects such as She, Ghost Stories, Bamfaad and second season of Mirzapur.
The actor notes how the web has witnessed a boom amid the pandemic. “We knew the significance was always there but it was only restricted to certain kinds of audiences. With no access to movie theatres (due to the lockdown), which was taking away one key thing from one’s life, OTTs filled that void . I’m very glad that audiences get to see our work form their own comfortable places, maintaining their safety.”
The 34-year-old also feels that the web medium has enabled the whole concept of instant gratification..
“We’re entertainers and actors. We want to be seen and know what people like about our work. Now, because it’s all digital, the entire things is very prompt. Earlier, it was seeti maro audience that gave you the response, now it’s the story on social media or a mention or a comment that tells you about their response,” he elaborates.
The importance of OTT platforms is also being acknowledged by the bigger actors of the film industry, who are now warming up to the medium.
Ask him if this is worrisome for those who’re already doing good work on the platform and Verma says he’ll leave it to figure that out as and when it happens.
“There are two ways to look at it. One is the audience’s point of view that they need to be entertained, and second that it’s a great time to be an artiste. It’s a far more democratic space. People have the choice to what they want to watch and how they want to watch,” he ends.
