Exclusive! Harshvardhan Rane: We need not heed this ‘meaningless’ boycott call on Bollywood

Often touted as Bollywood’s lover boy of our generation, Haseen Dillruba actor Harshvardhan Rane doesn’t give two hoots about the boycott call over Bollywood. “If there’s a reason, then we need to correct it.” Otherwise? “Don’t heed,” he shoots, sharply.

At a store launch in New Delhi, where he was the Guest of Honour, Harsh spoke to us exclusively about how OTT is like taking a tour at a massive store—there’s something for everyone!—and talked about his maiden award win for his OTT performance in Haseen Dillruba. 

Excerpts from our conversation with the actor:

Recently, you won the Most Popular Supporting Actor In A Digital Film for your performance in Haseen Dillruba. How does it feel to win an award for your OTT contribution?

There are a total of three people who know this and you are one of them (laughs!) So thank you so much for that. It's one of my initial awards and I am very happy and fortunate. I got it for a film which has absolutely been a surprise for all of us, Haseen Dillruba. None of us were expecting an award for it. But, I am very grateful. 

What do you have to say about the cancel culture—with both Aamir Khan's Laal Singh Chaddha and Akshay Kumar's Raksha Bandhan being asked to boycott on social media—that Bollywood is currently being subjected to?

See, this is happening for the first time. If you go back and read a few books and research on the internet, you will see that this has been happening for many many years in different parts of the world. So, it's just a phase and a momentum that carries for some time and then it just settles on its own. I don't think we need to pay a lot of heed to it. Yes, we need to keep improving ourselves and if there's a genuine complaint (from the audience), then we should definitely work on that. 

Yeh jo bina matlab ka cancel culture hain uske baare mein zyada pareshan hone ki zarurat nahi hai (We need not worry about this meaningless cancel culture). Because when a thing springs up out of nowhere, you can pick your brains all you want but you cannot find a reason. 

Yes, if you see a reason that you can correct or make better, then you should.

The boom of OTT has seen many actors, who were otherwise struggling to find work for one reason or another, shine in this space. What do you have to say about that? And, what's the future of OTT in your opinion? 

Just like how we are here at the store (referring to the store launch he was the Guest of Honour at), on OTT platforms you can take a tour and pick and choose from a plethora of shows and movies and what not. otts have given us the independence to choose what we would like to see. It has also paved the way for all kinds of genres and subgenres, and narratives to make it to the audience from around the world. 

However, having said that, going to the theatres and watching a movie has its own perks. Uska maza hi alag hai!

What are your top five web shows and why?

Oh, that's easy. I really like Breaking Bad, Narcos, Better Call Saul, I just saw Thirteen Lives and... That's it, four (laughs!)