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Abhishek Bachchan: Redefining versatility with his OTT choices
One of the mainstream Hindi film actors to have successfully transitioned in the OTT space is Abhishek Bachchan. He is rightly termed as the Bachchan of OTT in today’s times (pun intended).
The digital revolution has been game changer for many in the Hindi film industry. One of the mainstream Hindi film actors to have successfully transitioned in the OTT space is Abhishek Bachchan. He is rightly termed as the Bachchan of OTT in today’s times (pun intended). He started his digital journey by playing a psychotic character in the second season of Breathe. It proved to be a runaway success for Amazon Prime. Being impressed by the viewership data of the series, the platform put the third season on a fast-track mode.
In today’s time, Breathe 3, is among the most awaited OTT Originals, with the audience awaiting to see how the story proceeds post the cliff hanger. Jr. B moved on to his next venture for the digital world, Ludo on Netflix. He catered to an audience base that was diametrically different from the one that Amazon catered to. The Anurag Basu directed anthology was the big Diwali 2021 attraction, and as expected, grabbed the eyeballs. Of all the stories, the two which stood out include the one with Abhishek and the other being the one spearheaded by Rajkummar Rao. Back in the day, it was the most viewed OTT original for Netflix.
Even today, the conversations around Ludo are incomplete without the competent performance of Jr. B. Bachchan penetrated the mainstream OTT space with The Big Bull on Hotstar, which in today’s time has the widest subscriber base. The premiere span was intertwined with IPL, and the viewership data went above the roof. In-fact, we hear, it’s among the top 5 most viewed films on OTT till date. Abhishek has always come across as a likeable personality for the audience but the connect was somewhere missing due to some below the mark choices. With OTT, he has re-established that connect with the audience. His initial three attempts on streaming platforms, catered to three different segments of audiences, and incidentally, he was appreciated for putting in efforts in all three characters.
He followed it up by exploring another digital platform, ZEE 5, with the Shah Rukh Khan production, Bob Biswas. A spin off to Kahaani, many were initially hesitant about Jr. B’s involvement in the project. But he proved all his critics wrong by undergoing a 360-degree makeover for a rather subdued role. The streaming platforms claim that they were satisfied with the returns on Bob Biswas, and the presence of a credible name like Abhishek helped them escalate their subscriber base.
Cut to present, where his slice of life saga, Dasvi, is winning hearts across the belt. The film has been trending at the top spot-on Netflix in multiple countries across the globe, which is an indication of success and audience appreciation. A glance at his five attempts on the OTT world and one can sense versatility. In a conversation with Pinkvilla, Abhishek Bachchan had opened up about being accepted in a major way among the OTT audience. He was ecstatic and said, “The last two years have been so difficult and as someone who has done sizeable amount of work on this medium, I have learnt that it’s a personal choice. I feel that there is a particular way in which you make a film if you go directly to OTT and it has to be slightly adapted if we are doing it theatrically. But that’s an opinion.” He added, "With Jio Cinemas and Netflix, the last count of subscriber was 400 million for Jio. Just for discussion, if the film is made available for 400 million people, at-least 10 percent might see it. So if 40 million people see our film, and multiply that by Rs 120, we get a collection of about Rs 400 crore. Just divide it by half, and yet we get a collection of Rs 200 crore. My thing is very simple, eventually, it's all about getting your film out to the audience." Must say, that's a valid point!
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