Naga Chaitanya opens up about his OTT debut with Dhootha and what the show's success means to him.
Naga Chaitanya made his streaming debut with the Prime Video show Dhootha recently. The actor, who has worked in Telugu cinema, apart from the brief stint in Bollywood with Laal Singh Chaddha, went against type to play a character with gray shades, something Tollywood heroes don’t often do. As the show is being praised, Chay sits down with DNA to talk about the success and why he chose to experiment with the genre.
Heroes in Telugu film industry command sizable fan armies, which are used to a certain image of their favourite star. That is why many a times, stars in the industry don’t experiment with different roles. But Chaitanya did here in Dhootha as he played a corrupt journalist with flexible morals. Explaining his choice, he says, “Because it was for OTT, I didn’t even think twice. If I want to try something drastically different or really explore my alter ego, then OTT is the space for it. I feel the audience, when consuming content on OTT, are doing it from a neutral space.”
The actor admits that the expectations of the audience is different when it comes to theatrical releases. “When you go to watch a film in theatres, you buy the ticket, make an effort and time to be entertained. So the expectation is very different when you come to a theatre. But when it’s OTT, you are in your comfort zone and you have so many options. You are a lot more accepting of what you are going to watch,” says Chay.
Post the success of Dhootha, Naga Chaitanya says he would want to do more on the streaming platforms. He says, “I think going forward both will coexist, both will be respected equally. Audience is very clear as to what they want to consume in the theatre and what they want to stay at home and watch. For me, as an actor, I want to get maximum exposure. The OTT space does give you that because language is not a barrier and people world over are watching you. So, I definitely want to balance out both the spaces going forward.”
Dhootha, which also stars Parvathy Thiruvothu, Prachi Desai, Priya Bhavani Shankar, and Ravindra Vijay, is currently streaming on Prime Video.
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 "Naga Chaitanya on Dhootha")
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