What Manoj Bajpayee – who has played a lawyer in his latest film, a spy in a web series and a sensitive son in a recent OTT film – likes about OTT is that actors like him are getting their fair share of appreciation and space in the entertainment industry. While all his shows and films on OTT consistently rank high on various lists, Manoj says he doesn’t believe in ratings. In a recent conversation, he shared with us why he thinks the top 10 categorization is a false benchmark to judge content on OTT, and how streaming is only evolving for the better.

Manoj says that the feedback he received for his recent release Gulmohar was that families were making plans to watch the film together. He says, “It is a big deal. If they are saying that Gulmohar garnered 10 million views in the first week, that is fine, but how many people were actually watching it? That way, Gulmohar is very different. If you are saying 10 million, then I would say double it or triple it because most of the time people have seen it with family members. So if you go by that, Gulmohar today is the most watched film on OTT. If you are going to watch a film in a cinema hall and three people are going, you will buy three movie tickets, but on OTT, if four or five people are watching the content, it only counts as one view.”

Manoj says, “The parameters of success of a project on OTT and theatres are entirely different. While for theatres it is the number of tickets sold, for OTT it should be genuine likes and praises,” adding, “The OTT business is very different, and what people like on OTT and what they don’t like are very different from films. In theatres, they can make something about metaverse, and suddenly these films are earning thousands of crores, but that doesn’t mean everyone has gone and watched it. And even if they have gone to theatres, it doesn’t mean that they liked it.”

In the last few years, OTT has given space to good actors to shine in a country where only stars ruled supreme. Explaining how OTT has democratized the entertainment scene, Manoj says, “It has happened because of the digital revolution worldwide. US and India both have really lapped it up and used it beautifully. It has only empowered real talents from all departments of filmmaking – be it editors, cinematographers, music directors or writers. If you ask me, it is a writer’s medium first and then the actor’s medium, which is such a beautiful thing that writers are being chased today.”

Manoj shares, “Some online surveys and agencies that say that Manoj shares, “Some online surveys and agencies that say that these are the ‘top’ OTT shows or films I don’t believe in them. these are the ‘top’ OTT shows or films I don’t believe in them. OTT platforms don’t share any such stats. The rankings of most OTT platforms don’t share any such stats. The rankings of most watched content within a platform can still be accurate but not watched content within a platform can still be accurate but not the rankings across multiple platforms. This to me feels like an the rankings across multiple platforms. This to me feels like an attempt to change the democratic nature of OTT content and attempt to change the democratic nature of OTT content and make it also like box office numbers.”

Manoj, who feels that the global reach of OTT will benefit Indian talent, says, “One thing that I see is that the digital revolution is something that has not paused (even after cinemas reopened). It is changing, evolving every day. With it, entertainment will evolve and ways of telling stories will evolve. There are good times ahead for all the people who are working in the industry – global opportunities and more availability of content. The ways of telling stories will also change.”