Sidharth Malhotra is riding high on the success of Shershaah, which opted for a direct-to-OTT release amid an uncertain scenario for theatres. And it sure paid off, as the film drew appreciation from all quarters, changing the game for him. Acknowledging the positives of the web medium, the actor agrees that before theatres shut down amid the pandemic, things had become too much about box-office numbers — even audiences started judging a film by the many crore clubs.

“To give them full credit, OTT platforms have removed the burden of numbers to judge a film. Pehle kya hota tha, even good numbers could override bad stories. It was like, ‘Paisa toh banaya na eventually’. There is nothing wrong with that. [But] once you negate that, you’re looking at a film bare, what it makes you feel and not getting influenced by what it did at the box office,” elaborates the 36-year-old.

He again asserts that the box office benchmark is nothing wrong, but it did distract the audience at times. “Now, there is no distraction (with OTT releases), you have the option of watching it for half an hour, rewinding it, rewatching it... If creatively, your intention is in the right place, you can capture the audience, make them feel certain things,” he says.

Malhotra admits that he was “pleasantly surprised” by the response to his latest release. And life after the film has been “happier, calmer, relaxed” for him. “It’s an amazing feeling to get this kind of love and respect for your performance, which is unlike my past films. I’m geared up for future work,” shares Malhotra, who hopes that he can get such a response for every film of his.