With work coming to a sudden halt during the pandemic, many actors had a tough time maintaining their careers. But actor Vijay Varma is grateful that he had a different experience altogether. And the 35-year-old credits OTTs for helping him keep the momentum going.

With projects such as Bamfaad (2020), A Suitable Boy, Mirzapur Season 2, She and OK Computer releasing digitally, Varma tells us, “OTT kept me going. I was a bit scattered in the beginning because She released just at the time of the first lockdown. But after that, I had back-to-back projects coming out.”

Calling the last couple of years a “blessing in disguise”, Varma, who broke into the scene after his performance in Gully Boy (2019), says, “I am happy that I was able to reach out to the audience through my work and I was in their minds, I didn’t go out of sight.”

The actor also feels that OTT platforms have given a fresh lease of life to content that was stuck. “I’m glad we have these streaming services. I know of so many actors whose work relied on theatres, especially big stars who had to wait for theatres to open for [their] work to be seen,” he adds.

Varma, who has an exciting line up for 2022 with Darlings, Fallen, Hurdang and an untitled project, feels this year has been good for him. “I hope Darlings gets a theatrical release. I am looking forward to experience how 200-400 people react to watching me on the big screen again,” he ends.