Vidya Balan: OTT has been a life saver for a lot of us

The realm of entertainment changed in the last 10 months with OTTs coming to the fore with a ,lot of force in the event of shutdown of theatres owing to the pandemic. Something that has now made a lot of actors, who have so far stayed away from dabbling with the digital platforms, re-think their career options. Vidya Balan admits that this has indeed brought about a change in the mindset of many actors including herself.

“We were watching a lot of content globally. A lot of the actors were feeling that the content here was not up to the mark, and therefore we were shying away from doing any direct to OTT stuff. But I don’t know whether it is the pandemic or not… Actually I don’t think it is the pandemic. I think it has taken it’s time to come into a place to become itself and we have actually enjoyed the fruits of that during the pandemic,” shares Balan.

The actor says that she is now sure that she would be open to be a part of an original OTT project, a series, something that she thinks is the right time to venture into now.

“Now I think we are definitely sure of (doing original OTT series). I was always sure that I wanted to do something on the OTT space. I was looking for the right thing. The long format is something that does interest me because I have never done it. Even though it is scary at some level because it is a long term commitment. But I was always interested but I was waiting for the right thing. And hopefully I will find the right thing soon,” says the 42-year-old.

The actor, whose film Shakuntala Devi, which was originally slated to release in theatres, made its way online because of the situation last year, says that the OTT platforms have been a boon in more ways than one.

“Not just actors but everyone is looking at and considering OTTs positively. Plus, the variety of content that is being made, curated, produced and consumed, means there is something for everyone. It has generated employment because there is that much work for people in the industry,” shares Balan.

She further goes on to add, “I think OTT been a life saver for a lot of us, who could not have afforded to keep our ready films on hold. We had an avenue to release our films and they were widely watched. We don’t know when things are going to normalise with people going back to theatres. Let’s hope it is sooner, But OTT has opened up a completely a horizon and that can only mean good news.”