Satyajit Sharma, who has worked on a variety of platforms, believes that OTT and TV are two parallel media with the space between them narrowing.
“What we see on OTT is essentially a continuation of what we see on TV.” We used to have 30-odd episodes on TV in the 1980s and early 1990s with lovely plots, and now on OTT we get 8-9 episodes that run in different seasons. I’m not sure what the economic strategy is, but digital shows include a lot of content and are shot in a controlled atmosphere. I can’t predict if they will bridge, but they will continue to lend and borrow among themselves, bringing both mediums closer together.”
Changes, according to Sharma, have begun to take place. “Like OTT series and films, we shot for a month on actual places in Lucknow for our TV show, and many shows are doing so now.” Another plus is that we have a year’s worth of storylines to work with, which gives us hope that we won’t get bogged down. Otherwise, we just have two or three storylines, and then it goes in whatever direction based on TRP and feedback.”
“A film’s destiny is decided on the first three opening days,” he argues, blaming it on the TRP game. “On TV, the TRP ratings are released every week and a judgement is passed.” This puts a lot of strain on the creators. As a result, rather than acting on conviction, decision-makers are sometimes taken away by perception and lose track. Historically, popular series have been created by creators who were able to withstand TRP pressure and had faith in their material. We must recognise that cheezen pakne main samay lagta hai… so acchi baat nahi hai jaldibaazi!”
In his current programme, Sharma’s character will experience a range of emotions. “In Sab Satrangi, I portray a local don with grey colours who is nice at heart.” Another pleasant shift on television is that characters are being developed in colours other than black and white. I’ll attribute the script to writer-director Saurabh (Tewari) because that’s how it should be.”
Since 1989, when he was mostly engaged with theatre, the versatile actor has visited Lucknow. “We performed the play Raktbeej, which Door darshan also shot with a multi-camera setup.” After then, I performed a lot more plays, but this was the first time I had the opportunity to remain for this long and film something.”
Sharma is now enjoying the cool weather in Lucknow. “I’m from Delhi, so I’m used to the cold in the winter, but I’ve been missing it in Mumbai.” During my latest visit, I went for lengthy walks, sampling local food and gaining a sense for the place. Because I am a vegetarian, I am unable to sample popular non-vegetarian dishes, but there is plenty to offer us as well, particularly sweet delights.”
