A SERIOUS MAN

Equally feted and talented actor, Nawazuddin Siddiqui on why streaming platforms provide an evolved canvas for both the audiences as well as actors.

- SUHANI SINGH

Nawazuddin Siddiqui was one of the first actors to testdrive the OTT vehicle before it became a sought-after model. Sacred Games (2018), Netflix’s first Indian original, seems like a distant memory but it was to acquaint audiences with long format storytelling. Five years back, Siddiqui saw what his peers couldn’t or didn’t bother to. Streaming platforms gave access to a wider audience compared to theatres, which governed by commercial diktats made it difficult for non-studio, non-star driven films to run long. The stories on the services, he felt, were “made with daring”. Most importantly, it was the opportunity that it provided to the deep pool of talent “who wouldn’t have come to the forefront in [theatrical] films”.