Siddharth: OTT has given me exciting things to do with my characters

Actor Siddharth, who has been recently seen in the web series Escaype Live, says that OTT has helped him develop his acting craft to a greater degree than his films. The actor adds that since in a web series, the total screen time is longer, he is able to do a lot more.

 

“OTT has given me exciting things to do with my characters. In a film, you are addressing a two and a half-hour exposure. Here, you are addressing a nine-hour exposure. So, you are creating many more details about the character. It becomes more intimate. It’s almost like you’re reading a book while watching the film. I had received many offers but I chose my work for a very specific reason. Firstly, I need to enjoy watching the content. Secondly, I should see a challenge in playing that character that I have not done so far. And thirdly, I should get something to learn. This is my trifecta of why I do a film,” he says.

 

The actor adds that the world of entertainment has gradually changed and this has helped the audience evolve as well. “There’s just so much content being made. The audience is now spoilt for choice. Between cinema and television, they have a whole gamut of content available to watch. And they can watch it on the move, on a holiday, wherever they are. And it gives them a lot of power to consume whenever, whatever they want to,” he says.

 

For actors, Siddharth says that the medium is no longer a concern. “If you have the skillset and the craft then there’s way more work now than there was earlier. The paycheque is the same. The number of days you need to work is the same. The camera being used is the same. So, the actor doesn’t have to care where his work will be exhibited.

We are really spoiled right now in the sense that we get to have our cake and eat it too. We get not just better work, we get it from different avenues. And now we have work that goes beyond the conventional bandwidth and as craftsmen or artists we have access to different kinds of audience,” he says.