Rajkummar Rao on the rise of streaming media: It’s definitely a powerful industry

By: Mohnish Singh

While theatres remained shuttered for the most part of 2020, Rajkummar Rao has had a wonderful year as far as the performance of his films is concerned. The actor saw the release of his two films – Chhalaang and Ludo – in 2020. While Chhalaang premiered on Amazon Prime Video, Ludo had its premiere on Netflix and both films received a positive response from critics and managed to impress audiences as well.

When asked why the makers of Chhalaang and Ludo decided to release both films on streaming media platforms instead of waiting for theatres to resume operations, Rao said, “We make films so that people should watch it. We want as many people as possible, and now the circumstances are such, it will take some time for normalcy to return. OTT platforms have such great reach.”

Streaming media has turned out to be a boon for many actors and filmmakers in the times of the pandemic. But the medium had established its strong presence even before the pandemic hit everyone hard. Rao himself enjoyed great success with his digital show Bose Dead/Alive (2017).

“It is definitely a powerful industry, there are some great series coming out. It is generating so much employment, there are so many actors who are talented but for some reasons are not getting work. There are now so many opportunities for makers and writers. It is a very good thing, they are churning out great content,” said the National Film Award-winning actor.

On the work front, Rajkummar Rao has his plate full with several high-profile projects. He is presently waiting for the release of his much-awaited horror-comedy Roohi-Afzana with Janhvi Kapoor. He is also preparing for his next comic-caper Badhaai Do alongside Bhumi Pednekar. The actor also headlines Netflix’s English film The White Tiger, co-starring Priyanka Chopra. It premieres on 22^nd January, 2021.

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