Barun Sobti: Watching OTT content from the West was my training ground
He did the web show Tanhaiyan in 2017 when OTT wasn’t big in India. And now, with over 12 web releases, actor Barun Sobti has had three releases this year. “When I did Tanhaiyan, tab OTT ka culture India mein bilkul nahin tha. I didn’t do a lot of work for sometime before 2017, as I didn’t want to do run-of-the-mill projects. That’s when the digital revolution happened in the US and I consumed a lot of terrific content from the West. It was like a training ground for me. It gave me clarity on the kind of work I wanted to do. I was certain that a digital revolution would happen in India too, which did happen and I am glad I got to ride the wave,” says the Asur actor, as he goes on to talk about OTT and the love coming his way.
With back-to-back releases, 2023 has been great for you so far. Did you expect things to be like this?
Over the last two years, I shot five projects. At one point, I was shooting for three shows simultaneously and was shuttling different looks and avatars. So yes, I knew I’d have a flurry of projects coming out one after the other. I also knew that all my releases – Asur 2, Badtameez Dil and Kohrra – would do well.
You’ve had quite diverse roles in your web outings so far. Was there a prep involved?
Yes, a lot! Asur felt like homecoming, because I had already got into the skin of the character in the first season. I did a lot of workshops for Badtameez Dil, as the character was quite layered. The prep for Kohrra was pretty extensive. I did a lot of workshops in Punjab to get into the skin of the character. I also spoke to writer Gunjit Chopra at length to understand Amarpal Garundi (his character in the show) well.
OTT, as a medium, is known for giving a lot of scope for characters to grow. Do you enjoy that?
Aisa nahin hai ki OTT projects ko shoot karne ke liye aapko bahut time milta hai. The first scene that you shoot is not necessarily the first scene of the show. So you have to dive in immediately. The great thing about web is that it gives the time for the characters to be etched out really well in terms of writing. As an actor, if you know how the character is shaped up at the very outset, you put your heart into it.
What do you think about the way OTT has evolved in India?
Abhi bahut kuch hona baaki hai. We have just started understanding the value of the long format. As an actor, you don’t feel any monotony as you get to do five different kinds of projects over two years. Also, the writers get so much time to research and write a character. For instance, in case of Kohrra, Gunjit researched in Punjab for a long time. So, whenever I asked him a question about my character, I got such valid answers that I didn’t have to go back to him with more queries. Gaurav (Shukla; writer-creator of Asur) had the idea for the first season for eight years! Given the kind of time that goes into writing web shows, it takes time to make them, which creates curiosity and excitement among audiences too.
Of late, some actors have expressed concerns about the star culture taking over the web space too. What do you feel about it?
I think if a performance is good, it’s impossible for it to go unnoticed. As far as stars exploring the medium is concerned, besides the money involved, there’s also a lot of pull that long-format storytelling has. The way the audiences embrace a show acts like a huge factor too. For instance, people usually click pictures with me. But ever since the release of Kohrra, people stop me to talk about the show. There’s a different level of appreciation that comes with good OTT projects and perhaps that’s making everyone explore the medium.