Vijay Raaz lauds OTT for giving freedom to artistes, storytellers: 'Hamare cinema mein kahani ko...' | Exclusive

Veteran actor Vijay Raaz opens up about the differences between OTT and films and even remarks that the former has brought much-needed change into the creative field. While promoting his new web series, Murder At Mahim with DNA India, Vijay lauds OTT for giving freedom to actors like him to perform, and writers to write freely. The Run actor calls the digital world a 'story-dominanted' space, and says, "Yehi iski sabse sundar baat hai ki you're free. Jo boundaries cinema mein hai ki 'yeh hona chaiye, aisa chaiye hai', jo dusre log decide karte hai, waha kahani mar jaati hai. Yaha kahani front mein rehti hai (The best part about this platform is that you're free. The boundaries set by others in cinema often kill the story. But here, the story is prioritised)."  

Vijay explains his point further by asserting how stories in films often get subdued or killed due to the overpowering persona of its lead actors. The Raghu Romeo star adds, "Waha they think about the status of the so-called hero. Yaha isse koi farq nahi padta. Yaha kahani aapka hero hai, aur uss kahani mein jitne bhi actors liye jaate hai, woh usse compliment karte hai, overshadow nahi (There, the makers think about the hero, but in OTT, the content isn't star-driven. Also, the characters in OTT compliment the story, not overshadow them)."  

Vijay has done over 90 films and thinks that OTT has made the stories free from the boundaries of the film business. The Delhi Belly actor says, "Hamare cinema mein (characters) overshadow karte hai. Kahani toh hoti nahi. Hero overshadow karta hai kahani ko. And kahaniyaan bhi...it's repeating, again and again, jo yaha nahi hai. Kahaniyaan, jinka kahi dum ghut raha tha, unhe free kiya hai iss platform ne. Kahani khul ke saas le pa rahi hai, jee pa rahi iss platform ki wajah se (In films, the hero and characters overshadow the story. Even the stories are the same. In OTT, the script got a chance to tell a story freely)." 

Asks if he thinks that in the age of OTT, aspiring talents have more opportunities to showcase their talent and earn recognition, and Vijay says, "Of course, because we have no more avenues. Earlier there were only films, then television came in, and people ventured out to TV. Now OTT is here. So it has opened more doors, to new avenues." The Dhamaal actor also adds that since OTT has given the freedom to stories, it has affected other aspects of the creative field for good, "Jab kahani aazad hui toh woh apne saath bahut kuch aur aazad kar gayi. Iski wajah se kalakaar pe farq pada hai, technicians pe farq pada hai (When your stories are narrated with freedom, the performances of actors enhance, and the technicians also get benefitted). This is the age of freedom," Vijay concludes. Murder In Mahim also stars Ashutosh Rana in parallel lead. The series is streaming on JioCinema.

Read: Murder in Mahim trailer: Vijay Raaz, Ashutosh Rana hunt serial killer terrorising Mumbai's streets

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