Of late, there has been a lot of chatter around star culture taking over OTT, a medium that would only value talent earlier. Ask Amol Parashar, who featured in web projects such as Tripling and Pitchers, about it, and he says, “Yeh hota hai (stars being preferred). I agree that stardom doesn’t necessarily mean talent, but it doesn’t always mean money either. At the end of the day, it is a business of content.”

He adds, “The person working in these platforms is answerable ki kitna paisa banaya tumne. Sometimes, when there’s Rs. 5 crore or Rs. 50 crore riding on a project, what would one prefer — a new person whose work has been praised by four people or an older actor with more fans and Insta following? So, I understand why someone goes with that [and prefers stars].”

But the 37-year-old, who has also explored Bollywood including the 2021 film Sardar Udham, goes on to give examples of people who take a chance on newer people: “You have to be sure when you decide, ‘Main toh yahi karunga’. Like Arunabh Kumar (producer-director). I know there are people like that in the system. Sometimes they are in a position of power, but sometimes their view point is not considered. The platform would rather go with an established name and say, ‘Theek hai, acting karwa lenge, ho jaayegi’.”