Barun Sobti entered the digital world with Tanhaiyan in 2017, when “OTT ka culture India mein nahin tha”. Cut to today, the actor has already had three web releases in the year so far, including the recent web series Kohrra. The 38-year-old, who was a known face on television around 2011 and had two cinematic releases, didn’t take much work until Tanhaiyan to prepare for the anticipated OTT boom.

“I didn’t do much work for some time before 2017. When the digital revolution happened in the US, I consumed a lot of content from the West. It was like a training ground for me, as I was certain that a digital revolution would happen in India too,” says the actor. In a chat with us, he opens up about his journey on the digital medium so far. Excerpts:

I shot for five projects in two years. At one point, I was shooting for three shows simultaneously. So yes, I knew I’d have a flurry of projects coming out one after the other. I also knew that Asur 2, Badtameez Dil and Kohrra would do well.

Asur 2 felt like homecoming because I had already got into the skin of the character in the first season. Whereas, for Badtameez Dil, I did workshops, as the character was quite layered. But the preparation for Kohrra was most extensive. I did a lot of workshops in Punjab to get into the skin of my character [a cop], Amarpal Garundi.

Aisa nahin hai ki OTT projects ko shoot karne ke liye aapko bahut time milta hai. The first scene that you shoot may not be the first scene of the show. So you have to dive in immediately. The great thing about web is that it gives the characters time to be etched out well in terms of writing. As an actor, if you know how the character is shaping up at the very outset, you put your heart into it.

We have just started understanding the value of the long format content. As an actor, you don’t feel the monotony as you get to do five different kinds of projects over two years. Also, the writers get so much time to write. For instance, writer Gunjit Chopra researched for Kohrra in Punjab for so long that whenever I asked him a question about my character, I got such valid answers that I didn’t have to go back to him with more queries.

If a performance is good, it’s impossible for it to go unnoticed. As far as stars exploring the medium is concerned, the way audiences embrace a show plays a huge role. Like in my case, ever since the release of Kohrra, people who usually [just] clicked pictures with me, have started talking to me about the show. I feel this kind of appreciation makes everyone want to explore the medium.