OTT platforms have given a new lease of life to actors: Athiya Shetty – bollywood

Athiya Shetty believes that the direct-to-digital releases, a move by producers to release their films on OTT platforms, is a good practice for more reasons than one. “So many big films and big actors have taken to these platforms and hence, it kills the stigma attached to them. It’s just another way of taking your films to an audience and it’s amazing,” she says.

She opines that cinema-viewing and content-consuming patterns witnessed a change way before the lockdown. “Cinema viewing experience has been changing and will change in the future as well not only due to the lockdown but also because of the kind of content that OTT platforms are coming up with. But I also believe that going to the theatres is something that can never be replaced. Once we’ve a vaccine, everything will go back to normal,” she shares.

The actor asserts that digital streaming services have given “a new lease of life” to actors like her. She says, “Now that people have time, they’ve been watching my film, Motichoor Chaknachoor (2019) and I’ve received so many positive responses from them on my social media. Sometimes a film might not do well in the theatres but you get appreciated once it starts streaming digitally.”

Does she believe that shoot structures will also change once shooting resumes? “We’ve had so many set ways of shooting and functioning during outdoor schedules or even for an eight-to-eight shift. Things will definitely be different henceforth. There will be a lot of security measures and we’ll have to be way more cautious,” says Shetty.

She confides that she misses working and she can’t wait to go back to a set. “I miss the hustle, my team and being before the camera. I’ve watched so many different movies and shows during the lockdown that I miss shooting even more now. I’m so eager to go out there and read scripts that challenge me as actor. I’m hope that things will get better and I’ll be able to go back to a set very soon,” she signs off.