Article by: Plabita Chakraborty, The North-Eastern Chronicle
Visual by: Kunal Kaustav Duwarah
Over-The-Top or OTT, this word has been more familiar to us since we were all facing the lockdown period due to the great pandemic. In one hand where, our normal life had come into a standstill and we couldn’t go out, not even to watch our favorite movies even! The OTT has emerged as a helping hand and helped us a lot to pave our way with the time.
What are exactly OTT platforms? OTT is exactly a generic term where services are offered all over internet at the request and to suit the requirements of individual consumer.
OTT platforms emerging as a game changer?
Although production has been halted, but streaming haven’t stooped via the OTT platforms across the country. It has made our life a lot less easy, and we can enjoy content sitting from any corner of the world using just phone or laptop with an internet connectivity.
It has become our new normal; it has also become the silver lining of the world. It will definitely dominate the world as it progressing in such a positive manner. Work from home, online classes and learning, online shopping and various other factors have contributed vastly in the growing world.
How OTT have helped actors in career building?
OTT platforms have given a major positive boost to the careers of the actors who are working hard for giving their life a major push. It has given fresh faces a platform to showcase their talents and there are immense opportunities in this medium.
There were some people whose carrier was dying out, but OTT has emerged as a great source of light and opportunity, especially in the time of the pandemic, where people were losing their income and livelihood due to lockdown.
Now let’s take a look at some example of actors whose carrier was greatly revived due to the emergence of the OTT platforms:
• Radhika Apte: Radhika Apte is known as the queen of OTT platforms for the irreplaceable work and her outstanding performance in the web shows. At the moment digital platform is giving women more exposure and limelight.
She has given back to back major hits in the web series and also she has got her major break from her outstanding work at Netflix. OTT can definitely act as a great source, if used correctly.
• Sharib Hashmi: With the OTT conquering our life, Sharib Hashmi has become a literal household name and favourite of many. With his irreplaceable and memorable performance in ‘The family man’, ‘Scam 1992′ and many more, he has become a face of the web series and people just love to watch him in any character or role.
It has definitely gave his life and career a great turning point which has really made him very renowned and successful.
• Sushmita Sen: The actress was last seen in 2015, in a Bengali movie, but she made a major comeback through her web series ‘Aarya’. This has definitely given a major boost to her career and OTT has definitely helped in the long run.
• Pankaj Tripathi: how can we not take the name of Pankaj Tripathi when we are talking about how OTT has helped revive actor’s carrier! He is a phenomenon talent, and has given major hits across platforms.
OTT has opened doors and his gangster appearance is definitely making him more loveable in the eyes of audience.
The advent has not only been a boon for fresh talents but also seeing a fresh lease of life of senior actors in the world of digital domain. It has been a major game changer and has majorly disrupted the entertainment sector.
It has greatly made movie watching convenient, accessible and affordable. The average time that on average spent by each Indian subscriber has gone up from around 20 to 50 minutes to at least one hour during the recent times. However, film industry market will definitely reach new levels, leading to new jobs over time and users will get access to good contents very early.
