‘OTT boom has given people more options’

Optimistic that the book will now reach more people through its audiobook avatar launched on ‘Audible’, he feels that with the rapid pace of the digital revolution, ‘hearing’ a book has become a reality in the last few years…writes Sukant Deepak

Actor Tusshar Kapoor feels that while the OTT boom has given people more options, and provided more opportunities to actors, producers, technicians and directors, it would not eat into any other form of entertainment — cinema will remain cinema and television, that. “But yes, it has increased the size of the ‘entertainment pie’, and will definitely make things harder for a substandard product in another medium, as people have the OTT option to fall back on. We are living in a much more exciting phase,” he tells.

Currently working on multiple projects — a film that is ready and will be shown on an OTT platform soon, he is also producing a horror comedy film for the digital space. “Also, I am in talks for some very challenging out-of-the-box characters that probably will herald me into another zone — something completely away from what I have been associated with,” he shares.

For Kapoor, who has been seen in films including ‘Mujhe Kucch Kehna Hai’, ‘Khakee’, Kyaa Kool Hai’, ‘Hum’, ‘Dhol’ and ‘Shootout at Wadala’, the most important part for him is the script or the story before he signs a project. “And of course, the people I am working with. It is about the general vibe that I get when I hear the story. So, it is a couple of things put together and the entire package that works for me.”

The actor, whose book ‘Bachelor Dad’ is about his journey into fatherhood as a single parent and was written over a period of time in 2019, says, “My experiences as a single parent have been unique and many of my friends exhorted me to write them in form of a book. I had the material and decided to take the plunge. The rest, of course, unfolded in the manner that was not predictable,” says the actor-writer who initially thought of roping in a co-author but decided it would be best to do it himself in order to do justice to a memory that is so personal.

Optimistic that the book will now reach more people through its audiobook avatar launched on ‘Audible’, he feels that with the rapid pace of the digital revolution, ‘hearing’ a book has become a reality in the last few years. “Many people have been waiting for the audio version of my book. Now that it is out on ‘Audible’, I am keeping my fingers crossed.”

For an introvert like him, the Pandemic-induced lockdowns were not really much of a problem. Besides writing the book, he released a film in the lockdown on an OTT platform. “Of course, this period affected the livelihoods of many people, which is something really sad. In my case, I had to accept that my first film as a producer will release on an OTT platform. I am still trying to release my second film (as a producer), and it is challenging,” he says.

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