Love stories have a special place in our hearts. Ishqiyoun is one such narrative. The web series is being directed and written by Payal Saxena and produced by Himanshoo A Pathak. It features names like Hiten Tejwani, Ankit R Jha, Vijay Verma, Nishi Singh and Ajita Kulkarni. The cast opens up about the project and talks about web series' being in these days. So much so, that even TV, film and stage actors are also trying their luck on OTT. They also share opinions on how OTT provides a wide variety of content for the audience, which in a way is making the latter choosy. Here’s what they said:
Hiten Tejwani
People have watched almost every series or film on OTT during the pandemic. It’s easy now, yeah u have to subscribe, but people subscribe to OTT platforms they like, and the best part is that it’s convenient for them to watch whenever they want to watch something. Also, they have a lot of choices available. The content of the web series is good and the roles are different and challenging. I think for an actor it’s the best time to be in the industry. So it makes sense to do good series and be visible. An actor is an actor, be it on TV, in theatre or any medium. It’s good that OTT caters to everyone. At the end of the day, the makers and the platform get to know what kind of concepts the audience like and accordingly create similar content. Good concepts or good stories having relatable characters and strong performances always work.
Ankit Raj Jha
From an actor’s point of view, web series' give us enough space and time to work on the character and story, which challenges our creativity and pushes us to do better. In my point of view, people just care about good stories and performances. Nowadays it doesn't matter if the story has a big hero in it, but what does matter to them is the story itself must be the big hero.
Vijay Verma
No doubt OTT is the ultimate entertainment of recent times where viewers can decide what to watch sitting in the comforts of their homes. There was a time when audiences used to appreciate dance, drama, music and cinema for which they had to plan in advance to visit the nearest theatre or auditorium or sometimes travel long distances. But with the advent of OTT, the choice is where or when to watch something, sitting at home or while travelling. Besides that, OTT is no less than any movie theatre, it has good content, appropriate sets, outdoor locations, good technicians, and excellent performers as well. Finally, I would like to say that OTT provided the right food for the body in terms of entertainment.
Nishi Singh
It is advantageous on both sides as OTT offers viewers a variety of content to watch. In addition to that, it allows artists to select the projects they are willing to work on. Web series have a lot of growth potential, which as an artist has made me realise that there is a lot of work to be done and art to be produced. I enjoy being a part of this new medium and format and look forward to its expansion.
Ajita Kulkarni
As an actor, we have benefited and are in an advantageous situation at this point of time given the advent of this new medium. Because of OTT, we can fly with our wings of talent and reach millions of people around the world via a particular platform. Actors who were jobless had no opportunities earlier, or were sad because their talent was getting wasted have now got a new lease of life, all thanks to OTT that celebrates talent. And, I totally agree with that. Social awareness is being created due to OTT, which makes the audience choose and differentiate between the good and the bad.
