Exclusive! Tahir Raj Bhasin: It’s a fabulous time to be an actor

Tahir Raj Bhasin is one of the few actors who has not only been blessed in 2022 with back-to-back releases but with all of them releasing on OTT. His latest project to start streaming digitally is Looop Lapeta, which is available on Netflix. While looking back at how blessed he has been, Tahir also feels it is a fabulous time to be an actor, especially when OTT is here to help talent grow.

“OTT is great today because it’s a tremendous opportunity for actors to reach a diverse audience,” he tells OTTplay.

Tahir recalls how back when he was just starting off with Rani Mukerji’s Mardaani, there were only two mediums to explore in order to become famous. The two mediums, as you would have guessed, are cinema and TV.

“There’s also the conventional debate of cinema and how the two intercept. I really believe that – so when I was a part of Mardaani and if it released two years ago, you could only be two things which is a film star or a TV star. There was nothing in between them,” he said.

The actor then spoke about how OTT has combined both the worlds well and beyond. “Now OTT is this beautiful world where you have the same creative teams that work on films. You have the same cinematographer, art director and costume director that might be working on a film and OTT as well,” Tahir shared.

With the boom of OTT and theatres co-existing, Tahir feels it is a blessing to be an actor. “It’s a fabulous time to be an actor because you get to tell stories and reach an audience on big screen and on OTT at the same time. There are some stories which are best told in the two-hour format like an 83, while some others are best told chapter wise like Ranjish Hi Sahi, which lets you explore the character and story just a little bit more,” the Looop Lapeta actor explained.

Tahir also agrees that not having to worry about the Box Office pressure is a huge pro on OTT. “It’s definitely liberating as a creative person. OTT has a longer shelf life. Films are so much about, because they have a limited time in theatre, they have to see how well the audiences will receive it in a week or two,” he said.

Tahir had three back-to-back OTT releases in Ranjish Hi Sahi, Yeh Kaali Kaali Ankhein and Looop Lapeta. Since it would be tough for any person to catch up with it all in one go and stay updated constantly, OTT is the platform where no show or movie has a shelf life. You could even take years to watch a certain project and still feel the same way as you would have if you saw it in the first instance. The benefit here, in fact, is that you figure out a time for yourself and then dive into exploring more content.

The actor agrees with the same as he says, “For OTT, the benefit is that someone could discover your show three months after its release. Someone else could love it a year after its release. Other people might watch it on the same weekend.”

Looop Lapeta started streaming on Netflix from February 4. Starring Taapsee Pannu as the female lead, the movie is helmed by Aakash Bhatia. It is the film where Savi (Taapsee) races against time in order to save her boyfriend (Tahir) from dangers.