Filmmaker Ekta Kapoor gives her piece of mind on the surge in content creation on varied OTT platforms, and how it has helped filmmakers push their boundaries.
With the Omicron fear finally reducing a bit across the country, the entertainment sector is finally trying to revive itself. However, for the past few years, they’ve been feeling the heat, with films being postponed, stars testing positive, and shoots being halted, it has indeed been a bad time for the entertainment industry. There is a lot at risk now as well, but the entertainment sector, as always, is optimistic, and so in filmmaker Ekta Kapoor.
With so many competing interests and worrying situations, it's difficult to predict when things will return to normal completely. The global dynamics of entertainment consumption have shifted dramatically, with OTT platforms gaining importance. Just in India itself, there have been so many OTT platforms that have become a staple diet for the audiences to consume content.
Talking about this new-age method of content consumption, Ekta Kapoor says, “The Covid-19 pandemic and lockdown has been a great learning experience. The challenging situation reiterated how technology has disrupted the traditional entertainment model of taking content to the consumer. Technology continues to get more cutting-edge. Real stories of real people and relatable characters have taken center stage. OTT platforms are getting more popular with changing lifestyles of people and the increased use of smartphones with affordable internet services. The war between streaming apps and movie theatres has both advantages and disadvantages. Watching a movie in a theatre is a beautiful cinematic experience, whereas OTT platforms let you have a good time in the comfort of your home. Both of them offer great content and viewer experience.”
Ekta Kapoor’s own OTT platform ALTBalaji is producing content round the clock. ‘The Verdict season 2’, ‘Apharan 2’, ‘Bois Locker Room’, ‘Class of 2021- Season 2’, ‘HashtagWarss’, ‘Dhanbaad’ and ‘Code M Season 2’ are some of the shows which are in the making right now.
In the television space, Ekta Kapoor has ‘Naagin 6’ among other releases which are being worked upon. As per reports, she also has joined hands with actress Kangana Ranaut to come up with a reality show on the lines of ‘Bigg Boss’. Talking of films, Ekta Kapoor is ready with ‘Ek Villain Returns’, ‘Freddy’, ‘U Turn’, Hansal Mehta's untitled thriller, ‘Goodbye’, ‘Dobaara 2’ and ‘LSD 2’.
On the personal front, she was conferred with the Padma Shri last year.