Dev: The rise of OTT is a very new thing and it has to travel a long way

Tollywood stars have started their Bollywood outings for a while now. Mimi Chakraborty is the latest on the list with rumours of debuting on a web series. Yash’s debut Bollywood film Yaariyan 2 will release next year. Parambrata Chatterjee, Jisshu U Sengupta, Saswata Chattopadhyay, Paoli, Swastika Mukhopadhyay, and Abir Chattopadhyay have already set foot in Bollywood. Rukmini Maitra has also worked in Bollywood opposite Vidyut Jammwal. Now is it a time for Dev?

When questioned, his answer is always, “If everybody goes then who will work here? I am happy where I am.” Dev has been ruling Tollywood for the last 15 years. He has also emerged as a successful producer. But why is he not interested in trying his luck in the Hindi film industry? This question came to many of his fans. Is it true that he did not get any offer? Can that be really possible? 

In a recent interview the TMC MP said, “Yes, I also got many offers. But I did not like any of them. The characters did not suit my taste.” Dev’s last release Kacher Manush with Prosenjit Chatterjee grossed moderately at the box office. According to Dev, if he gets any offer from Bollywood that will extract the best out of him, only then he will say yes. He added, “No such dream role has come to me yet. Therefore I did not do any Hindi films.” 

What about OTT? Can he appear in web series or web films? The producer inside Dev promptly replied, “The rise of OTT is a very new thing and it has to travel a long way. No one knows what will happen in the future. I will surely work in OTT.” 

OTT is affordable and often economically more viable for the audience. It offers the comfort of home and a wide variety of content. It is often argued that OTT has also diminished the star value since the content is the king there. Does Dev have any reservations about OTT? Dev told Calcutta Times, “Not at all. At the end of the day, I am an actor. I want to do good work, whatever the medium. If the remuneration is apt and the character is good, I will surely work on digital platforms.”

Dev said that he has a number of Hindi OTT project offers, but he has no free dates till December. He said, “Once I am free, I will surely think about these projects. Maybe I will appear in some of them if everything goes alright.' 

Dev’s next release at the box office is Projapoti, where Mithun will play his father. The film will be released on Christmas.