Exclusive! Actor Arjan Bajwa says OTT too, like cinemas, is about that 'One Friday'

Actor Arjan Bajwa is now gearing up for the release of the web series Bestseller, which also stars Shruti Haasan, Mithun Chakraborty and Sonalee Kulkarni, among others. The thriller is all set to release on Amazon Prime Video on February 18. 

The actor, who made his OTT debut with the show State of Siege 26/11, which is based on the 2008 Mumbai attacks, believes OTT is a great platform to tell long and elaborate stories. In a recent conversation with OTTplay, Bajwa also talked about how he finds OTT, not very different from cinemas, as both their fates are decided on 'That Friday'. 

Though many artists believe the commercial aspect and success of the OTT shows and film do not depend on the opening weekend unlike cinemas where there is a pressure of box office collections, actor Bajwa thinks otherwise. The actor says OTT is not very different from cinemas, it is also about 'that Friday' and there is no difference when it comes to its making, as well. 

He says, "What used to happen was that people would go and buy tickets, and you would determine the success of the film on the basis of how many tickets have been sold when it plays in the theatres. Well, unfortunately now, for the last two years, that has not been the case because theatres have been shut due to the pandemic. And on OTT, the series or the film also go through the same parameters. That one friday decides whether it has done well or not. People look forward to the series, they mark the calendar to catch its release on the weekend," he says adding that be it any good project, a web series or a film, it does make a difference to one's career as well.

He adds that it is about how much love the project (OTT or theatrical) gets on a Friday when it releases. "If a film is brilliant, a blockbuster, then it continues to run in theatres for many Fridays. Similarly for a series too, when it releases and if it is good, the reviews and word of mouth of people spread and it is continued to be watched. We watch some series, which was probably released 7 to 8 years back on different platforms. We still watch it because they are so good," he says.