Siddhant Chaturvedi on switching mediums - 'I don’t mind doing that, but right now, the focus is just to be out there to entertain people'

Now that people are going back to the theatre to see films, Siddhant Chaturvedi says he wants to strike a balance between OTT and theatrical releases. After making his big-screen debut in 2019 with Gully Boy, Siddhant Chaturvedi went on to star in Phone Bhoot and other theatrical productions, as well as OTT films like Gehraiyaan.

Navigating the evolving landscape of film

For Siddhant, working on both platforms simultaneously is like playing 20/20, and theatrical releases are more like one-day games or test matches. Talking about the same, the actor told the Bombay Times that he would make up for it. He said that one can only choose specific genres and themes for OTT services. It is possible that those films will not do well at the box office. At the moment, his main goals are to simply be visible, to entertain others, and to have a voice, but he is open to altering gears whenever the mood strikes him. All Siddhant cares about is having a dialogue with moviegoers through the medium of film; the medium itself is irrelevant.

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The unorthodox space has been accessible to the actor through digital means of exploration. During the beginning of his career, he appeared in the web series Inside Edge. But the actor thinks the line between mainstream and alternative cinema is becoming more blurry. He noted that because of OTT, there's an influx of content from all over the world. Keeping the audience's attention is becoming more difficult by the day. Reels and videos are now also part of the social media material. The line between mainstream and alternative cinema is blurring, in his opinion. People fundamentally seek out novel, intriguing, alluring, and distinctive things to entertain them. Providing them with top-notch material is the real challenge. On top of facing competition from around the globe, they also boast an unrivalled tradition of conventional Bollywood cinema spanning over a century. Siddhant is making an effort to break away from the norm, test the boundaries, and reimagine the industry's conventional wisdom. He needs a little time, as he is trying.

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Realism over strategy

When asked about his character selection process, he stated that as much as he would like to make it sound like it's branding or a strategy, he just chooses films based on the things that he sees, the life that he has seen, and the life he is living. This applies to all mediums. Siddhant's generation and these times have a narrative to tell. Relationships, love, and social media are ever-changing aspects of their lives. The actor simply wants to be abreast of the present situation and people's mental states because everything is changing. Young people have been his main emphasis for a while now, and because youth is a fleeting commodity, he aspires to portray parts that centre on young people.

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