Even as Muzammil Ibrahim shoots for Salman Khan’s next, the working title of which is SVC63, there’s another biggie lined up. The actor told mid-day that creator and director Neeraj Pandey is set to take the third season of Special Ops on floors soon.

Ibrahim, who plays undercover agent Avinash in the Kay Kay Menon-led spy thriller, is hopeful that his character will enjoy longer screen space in the next season.

The actor shared, “We will be on Special Ops sets soon. The show introduced me to a wider audience. After season two, Neeraj sir told me that they received feedback that people wanted to see more of me. I hope that the team makes a note of it and I get to see more of [my character].”

The second edition of Special Ops, also starring Karan Tacker and Vinay Pathak, dropped on JioHotstar in July 2025.

Expressing his admiration for Pandey, Ibrahim said, “Working with Neeraj sir is a different experience altogether. The professionalism the man and his team bring to the table is amazing.”

There is no better place than a movie set for an actor, and the set of a Salman Khan film is hard to top. Ask actor Muzammil Ibrahim, who plays a key part in director Vamshi Paidipally’s action film, the working title of which is SVC63. Personally, he is over the moon to be sharing the frame with his childhood idol. 

“I never imagined that I’d get to work with him. When he came on the set, I was like, ‘Wow! I am going to be in the same frame as Salman sir,’” Ibrahim told mid-day over a call from the film’s set.

For him, the first day of working with Khan was filled with awe. With every passing day, his admiration for the superstar has only grown.

He shared, “I am a crazy fan of Salman sir. So much so that I can’t even talk when he is around. I am bursting inside to tell him so many stories — for instance, how I used to tie a bandana just like him, or how I would walk like him.”

Bagging one of the most anticipated films of 2027, also starring Nayanthara, is a win for Ibrahim. The actor believes his work in Special Ops helped him land the project. “I think Special Ops was a big trigger; my work in the show was appreciated and people took notice of it,” he said. 

“I have missed [watching] so many South films. So, I caught up on some of them. Nayanthara is fantastic. You respect the artiste more once you know them personally,” said Muzammil Ibrahim.

Karan Tacker has steadily built a presence in the OTT space. His journey began with Special Ops, followed by Khakee: The Bihar Chapter, and most recently Bhay: The Gaurav Tiwari Mystery.

Talking about what drew him to Bhay, Tacker says, “It is Gaurav Tiwari’s story, all the way. He came to Mumbai to become an actor but couldn’t crack it because he couldn’t do ‘ji huzoori’ and eventually became a trained pilot in the US. After a paranormal incident, he studied metaphysics, returned to India, practised it, and died a mysterious death at 32, within eight years.”

Ask him how he navigated the ‘ji huzoori’ norm often associated with showbiz, and he replies, “I have no complaints about my career. Every industry has its own challenges, and I am happy to embrace the challenges of the industry I am part of.”

Reflecting on his career journey, he says the most difficult part has been navigating the industry’s unpredictable phases.

“The first season of Special Ops, which was meant to be my big entry into the OTT space, released on the day India went into lockdown. As an actor, you expect momentum after a successful release, but instead, I was at home for nearly two years and lost crucial time in my career. When Khakee released, the industry was going through a slowdown, and there was barely any work. Dealing with these circumstances has been my biggest challenge.”

He adds, “I try to choose projects that excite and challenge me as an actor, but long gaps disrupt momentum. Since I don’t come from any kind of backing, phases like these make it even harder to stay visible and understand what works at a given point.”

It has been a busy two months for Karan Tacker, but the actor says the constant running around was worth it. He had a film and web series (Tanvi The Great and Special OPS season 2 respectively) release on the same day this month, all while he shot for his next show.

A lot has happened on the personal front as well. “My sister had a baby, and that took everyone’s attention and time,” shares the actor, who tells us that he will also be launching a brand soon.

Some might find all these professional developments hectic, but not Karan.

“Maine realize kiya hai ki actors ki aadat hoti hai to rue packed calendars. As an actor, physically, you are working for only about 180 days. The rest of the time, you are either in the middle of projects, or looking for one,” the 39-year-old says.

“With all the uncertainty the industry has seen in the last few years, main toh kabhi complain nahin karta jab kaam hota hai,” he adds.

Grateful for a packed schedule, the actor muses, “Jab neend kam milti hai, toh lagta hai kuchh sahi chal raha hai life mein. And that hard work pays off. The last two months have been beautiful. It’s been hectic, but a lot of fun too.”

With back-to-back releases, promotions can often get hectic and tiring for actors. Ask Karan about it and he shares, “Earlier, promotions were a prestigious way of putting your product out there. In times where attention spans are shrinking, they are now a necessity.”

“Certain projects like Special OPS already have traction, but you want to buy people’s attention so they know something is coming out next week. Aapne mehnat ki hai, aap logon ko toh bataoge na,” he ends.

Karan Tacker, who skipped his birthday celebrations on May 11 due to the current situation in the country, has come a long way in his career. From his early days as a charming lover boy on television, he went on to do intense roles in web shows such as Special Ops (2020). He feels that is important as an actor should not be confined to any one kind of role.

“We have three platforms [movies, TV, OTT] today, and everyone has their individuality and their own problems. This one problem of slotting of actors tends to happen across all verticals,” says the actor, who recently joined the cast of Anupam Kher’s directorial Tanvi The Great.

He continues, “After Khakee: The Bihar Chapter (2022), I got a lot of cop roles immediately. This still happens, but as an actor, it’s on you how you want to take your career ahead. Sometimes, the industry can behave a little stunted; they look at what you are doing to offer you roles which they feel they can see in you. That’s the basic challenge — you keep manoeuvring.”

Citing his own example, he elaborates, “I came into acting as a romantic hero on TV. Everything I had done had a very strong love-oriented role. Because I started playing all these macho roles in recent times, I don’t get offered romance [roles] anymore. I miss that a bit as an actor. I feel I get very serious, investigative kind of roles; no one is coming to me for a romantic character. It makes you think maybe the makers don’t believe I can’t court a woman!”

Currently, he is rejuvenating after wrapping up the London schedule of his next series.

If Kay Kay Menon features in a project, it features in our watch-list. And if it blends his acting prowess with Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s much-loved work, Sherlock Holmes, it’s a no-brainer. That explains why we’re looking forward to Shekhar Home. The Jio Cinema series reimagines the iconic detective in the setting of 1990s India. Playing the famed detective can be a big draw for any actor, but Menon says it was the story’s adaptation that attracted him deeply.

“I normally don’t go with inhibitions at all. I go with an open mind [when approaching] any script. This story is set in a sleepy town called Lonepur in the 1990s, without telecommunication, mobile phones, or Zoom meetings. It felt so good while reading it that I was transported to that era,” says the actor.

Helmed by Srijit Mukherji and Rohan Sippy, the mystery series also stars Ranvir Shorey, Rasika Dugal and Kirti Kulhari. Over the years, there have been many adaptations of Doyle’s detective series, including the hugely popular Sherlock, fronted by Benedict Cumberbatch, and Robert Downey Jr’s Sherlock Holmes (2009). Didn’t the fear of comparisons cross his mind? Menon says he embraced the challenge without falling into the trap of comparison.

“That is a trap. If I think like that, then I would never be able to perform. Benedict Cumberbatch is not playing Shekhar, right? Nor is Robert [Downey Jr]. I am playing Shekhar. I don’t look at it from the prism of something that has already been done. Otherwise, every love story would seem like Romeo-Juliet and Heer-Ranjha. I go with the principle that this is a unique script and given to me only, and I need to do justice to it.”

Holmes’ biggest strength is his power of deduction. The actor is quick to admit that he doesn’t have his subject’s observation skills. So, he embodied the character by gleaning out his other characteristics from the script, even letting the fictional town’s mood influence the role.

“I found that there’s a certain pace and rhythm that Shekhar sets, irrespective of the situation that he is in. I also represented Lonepur, that sleepy languid nature of the town seeping into this person. I let myself be; the mannerisms and body language happened. I don’t design as an actor. It’s all slightly transcendental.”

He adds that the production team had to carry out extensive recces before finalizing Bholpur and Haldia in West Bengal as the locations for the fictional town.

What added flavour to the story is that it was helmed by Sippy and Mukherji, each bringing their distinct voice.

“Their voices are very different. Srijit has a stereophonic voice, while Rohan has a softer voice. They are a powerhouse of talent and know how to go about a story. When I was doing Special Ops, I worked with both Neeraj [Pandey] and Shivam [Nair]. I love seeing the jugalbandi. Cinema is the most collaborative art possible.”

Three projects can be quite a handful, but Neeraj Pandey is not complaining. The director recently wrapped up the Georgia schedule of Special Ops 2. His Ajay Devgn-Tabu starrer Auron Mein Kahan Dum Tha is currently in post-production. But for this week, these two projects have taken a backseat as he focuses on The Freelancer: The Conclusion.

While the Mohit Raina-led web series’ first part premièred in September, the second part will drop online on December 15. Asked about the new trend of releasing a show in two volumes, the creator-showrunner says, “That is a call Disney+ Hotstar and we took to maintain the interest around the series for a longer time. The platform tried that with their previous [shows], and those were successful.”

The thriller is based on Shirish Thorat’s book, A Ticket To Syria, which told the story of female protagonist Zahi as she tries to escape from Syria. However, with The Freelancer, Pandey has tweaked the narrative and centred it on Raina’s character Avinash Kamath.

“The idea was to create something that is more franchisable. [We wanted to] tell the story in a way that when this episode in his life gets over, we still have room to continue it as a franchise, if the audiences love it,” he reasons.

Bollywood has seen its fair share of franchises. Filmmakers have now gone a step ahead, creating their own cinematic universes. So, if you have Rohit Shetty building his cop universe, Yash Raj Films is giving Hindi cinema a spy universe. Does Pandey have any plans of creating a spy universe as well? Raina’s character from The Freelancer joining forces with Special Ops’ Himmat Singh, perhaps? “They won’t cross paths,” he says promptly. “Everyone is doing it. So, I don’t have any interest in them [The Freelancer and Special Ops] coming together. It’s a good trend. But it has lost its novelty for me.”

In his 15-year run so far, the director has been the mind behind A Wednesday (2008), Special 26 (2013), and Khakee: The Bihar Chapter (2022). Clearly, thrillers are his forte. But Pandey disagrees. “I’m only chasing good stories. Otherwise, why would I make a sports film? You want to tell a story like [M S Dhoni - The Untold Story]—a person coming from humble beginnings and making it big through hard work and determination. I’m always fascinated by stories, not the genre.”

First time was the charm for Saiyami Kher and filmmaker Neeraj Pandey as they teamed up for the acclaimed web series, Special Ops (2020). Three years on, the duo are reuniting for another project. It’s not surprising that the director, the mind behind thrillers like A Wednesday (2008) and Baby (2015), has cracked an espionage film. While Kher has been roped in as the leading lady, we hear Pandey is in talks with an action star for the male lead.

What drew Kher to the movie, besides its gripping script, is the opportunity to explore action again. A source reveals, “Saiyami takes centrestage in this spy thriller. While she has dabbled in action with Special Ops and Wild Dog [2021], she has never explored a full-fledged action role. The actor will have to undergo special training before she faces the camera.”

The pre-production is underway, with Pandey planning to take the project on floors by the year-end. Sources say the first schedule will be in Prague, followed by stints in Mumbai and north India.

He enjoys watching mindless comedies sometimes, but making one is not his cup of tea. Instead, Neeraj Pandey likes to tell gripping thrillers when he goes behind the camera. After Special Ops 1.5: The Himmat Story (2021), the director is ready with another thriller, Khakee: The Bihar Chapter. Inspired by IPS Amit Lodha’s book Bihar Diaries: The True Story of How Bihar’s Most Dangerous Criminal Was Caught, the Netflix offering is a retelling of the conflict between the officer and Samant Pratap, one of Bihar’s most feared ganglords.

Ahead of the show’s release, creator Pandey discusses finding an unexpected hero in Lodha, and how he went beyond the book.

Edited excerpts from the interview.

The journey started with my meeting with Amit [Lodha]. He is an ex-IITian, who chose to become an IPS officer. That acted like a magnet because I had never heard of anything like that. Thereon, [my attraction to the subject] kept on building because he is from Rajasthan, and then was posted in Patna — [he was] like a fish out of water. It made for a great story.

The spirit of the story is sacrosanct. We all take creative liberties [as] the story has to entertain the audience. So, you compress time and space to make it more dynamic, and in the process, some bits are left out, or you choose another route to tell what has happened. We have taken such liberties, but nothing that tinkers with the spirit of the story.

We definitely went beyond the book because Amit could write only so much about the particular case. Bhav [Dhulia, director], and Uma [Umashankar Singh, writer] and I spent a lot of time with Amit trying to get a sense of whatever we missed out on. We came across tons of material, and used it in our narrative. [We skipped] certain characters that didn’t align with our approach to this story. We also added several things that were not mentioned in the book. Amit felt they were not necessary for the book, but we felt it was important for the [visual] medium.

I started work on it in 2017. The pandemic set us back. After the first lockdown, our crew of 180 to 200 people shot in the hinterlands of Jharkhand. It had no basic infrastructure. We had equipment coming from Delhi, Kolkata, and Mumbai, and actors flying in and out. It was a long schedule, moving from one village to the other, but we finished it in one go.

I trust my instinct and take the plunge. Sometimes, you spend a lot of time on [a subject], and then realise that it’s not working. It takes more courage to pull the plug at that point. I have pulled the plug on a lot of projects. Even if the project has not worked out, the journey has taught me more. As for the pressure [of delivering successful shows], I feel blessed and privileged to have an audience waiting in anticipation of my work. I would rather be in this position, than anywhere else.

I have been proud of his work on Special Ops. When it came to this show’s casting, we unanimously thought of casting him again because he fits the bill. Amit is exactly like him. He is an unassuming person who doesn’t look like a cop at all. If he walked into this room, you’d think he is a Netflix executive. That is what we were seeking with Karan.

Karan Tacker is finally getting to do what he aspired for when he quit TV over half a decade ago. In fact, the actor, who is exploring the OTT space, won an award for his stint in Special Ops at the Yellowstone International Film Festival recently. “Looking back it all feels worth it,” Tacker posted on Instagram. He also wrote about the “volley of auditions” he had to go through before landing the role.

The 36-year-old agrees that not all auditions lead to selections, and rejections can be disheartening: “As much as I want to sound like a bigger person and say, ‘Oh, it’s a part and parcel of the industry’, [the truth is that] it really hits you hard. There have been times when I’ve tested for projects, they (the makers) have taken my dates and I have done readings with co-stars, but things didn’t work out. That can be a real heartbreak.”

When the actor quit TV six years ago, he admits that he was turned down multiple times. “There have been a lot of rejections. My biggest grouse is that sometimes, people don’t even want to put you on camera because they are like, ‘Oh, you are from TV, you don’t fall under the category of actors that we want to put in a project’ or ‘Let’s not test him because he is from TV’,” Tacker elaborates.

He adds that it’s imperative for actors to stay strong and not feel dejected when things don’t work: “To put yourself out there again, audition and message people, ‘I would like to meet you’, and go through the whole process (of screen tests and auditions), can be scary. However, you have no option, but to stay strong.”

In an industry where being ‘seen’ is critical, Karan Tacker says he has been an “extremely patient” guy. Three daily soaps later, the actor stopped taking up fiction shows. He focused on hosting and reality shows, and then explored OTT. “That is the one thing I have always gotten as advice. And I have always heard people say that the game is all about the wait,” he says.

The 35-year-old continues, “It is the projects you say no to that really end up shaping your career. Somewhere I realised that the way I have dealt with my career, had I said yes to a whole lot of things back then, maybe I wouldn’t have been in the place that I am today.”

This is why he didn’t take up just about any TV or film offer that came his way. “I am very patient for my next projects. Fortunately, I have shot for the most aspirational project I have been a part of. As long as I can do quality work, the quantum of it doesn’t matter. Agar quantum kaam hi karna hai, toh phir TV pe bhi kar sakte hain,” adds Tacker, who was seen in Special OPS and Special OPS 1.5.

Before his statement is misconstrued, the actor is quick to clarify, “Obviously, it can be misconstrued that ‘you are not giving respect to TV’, but the thing is, it is a choice you make as an actor for your career. It just somehow stems from that.”

Actor Aishwarya Sushmita believes “war is not the solution” with regard to the Russia-Ukraine crisis, and hopes that both the countries can “sit and talk it out”. She shot in Ukraine last year for her debut web project Special Ops 1.5, and feels quite affected by the current events.

“It is sad to see what is happening there. I hope the leaders communicate and end this conflict. The world’s economy, neighbouring countries — the crisis is affecting everyone around the world. Fuel prices will rise due to this and it will lead to other issues,” she says.

The actor vividly remembers the warmth of the people of Ukraine and the great experience of shooting there. “We shot in Ukraine for almost a fortnight in July 2021, and we stayed in its capital, Kyiv,” she recalls.

In the break between shoots, she explored the city and came away impressed. She adds, “We visited many churches, and the architecture was marvellous. The food was fabulous, too. The only problem was the language, as many people there couldn’t speak English. And we had to rely on apps that helped us translate. I must say, the people there were quite warm and welcoming. In fact, Kyiv was not very expensive, so I shopped a lot and even told my parents to plan a trip there soon.”

Aishwarya Sushmita shooting for Special Ops 1.5 in Ukraine

In recent years, a number of Indian films and series including RRR, 99 Songs, Dev, Winner and Special Ops 1.5 were filmed in various locations in Ukraine. Location managers and production assistants say that in the last few years Ukraine was becoming a popular film shooting destination for Indian projects because it offers picturesque locations at lower costs, and shooting there used to be 20-30% cheaper than other Eastern European countries.

Natarajan Ramji, a location manager, who arranges shoots abroad for Tamil, Telugu and Hindi films, says, “For Indian filmmakers, Ukraine was the most suitable location in Europe from a financial perspective and also in terms of filmmaking, with good local crew and actors.”

Natarajan Ramji says, “The locations there can be matched with the settings of other places, like Paris, London, the US and even some Indian locales. The people, too, were friendly. While January to April is peak winter there, we had a few shoots planned there from May.”

He was also part of the shoot of an untitled Tamil film starring Saravanan Arul and Urvashi Rautela, which was shot in Ukraine in December. He was in Kiev in the first week of February this year as well to organise permissions for the shoot of an upcoming film. “Obviously, it is not going to be considered as a probable location for some time now,” Ramji adds.

Satish Sharma, director of Indo-Soviet Films that coordinates for shoots in Ukraine, says, “Almost a decade back I coordinated the shoot of a series Raja Vaska in Ukraine, India and Russia. Since then we have been doing a lot of projects in Ukraine. In fact, my next project Marshall, directed by Ganesh Acharya, was to be filmed in Ukraine in May. We had planned the shoot in summer and winter, but now it doesn’t seem possible. My last project in Ukraine was Neeraj Pandey’s Special Ops. We were also planning to shoot Shivaay in Ukraine, but at that time also there was news of some disturbances so we changed the location to Bulgaria. A number of songs from south films have been shot in Kiev, Lviv and the Carpathian mountains”

Satish adds that Ukraine was becoming a popular location among Indian filmmakers when Coronavirus hit. “My partner in Ukraine was planning to organise an event in India in January to promote Ukraine’s film shooting locations, but due to Omicron he couldn’t come. My friends from Ukraine have been showing me the situation on video calls and sending videos of the place where they are hiding. It doesn’t look like we will be able to film in the country anytime soon,” he says.

— With inputs from Niharika Lal and M Suganth

He has been the perfect embodiment of the boy-next-door all his career, but when Neeraj Pandey cast Aftab Shivadasni as a RAW agent in Disney+ Hotstar’s Special Ops 1.5, the world sat up and took notice. While he played a pivotal role in the four-episode series, his character Vijay Kumar was killed off to a face-off with the mastermind. But the actor has “no regrets” about his early death in the series. “I knew exactly what I was getting into. I am happy that the show got massive appreciation and enough people took notice of me in a new light,” says the actor, who is nominated in the Best Supporting Actor (Male) Series for the Kay Kay Menon-starrer at mid-day and Radio City Hitlist OTT Awards.

For someone who began acting at 14 months—a commercial ad as a baby—and his subsequent years in the industry, Shivdasani found it challenging to not improvise on set. “I had to memorise a lot, especially since I had to narrate information at the RAW office to Himmat Singh’s character, which could not be improvised. It was a challenge to ensure I don’t get any facts or numbers wrong,” says the actor, adding that it was also difficult to reign in his reaction when Gautami Kapoor’s character who plays his wife in the series announced her pregnancy.

“Since I am a RAW officer, [my reaction] had to be underplayed at the same time to still look genuine because that is the biggest news for any man. So, it had to be subtle, yet endearing and honest.” 

Shivadasani is currently in talks for a few movies and web shows that will help broaden his horizon as an actor. “[I am experimenting with] genres I have never done before,” he concludes.

Cast your vote for the Hitlist OTT Awards

Aftab Shivdasani has been nominated in the Best Supporting Actor (Male): Series category for Special Ops 1.5.

The other nominees in the category are:

- Amit Sial (Maharani)

- Dino Morea (The Empire)

- Gajraj Rao (Hungama Hai Kyon Barpa, Ray)

- Pavan Malhotra (Grahan)

- Sharib Hashmi (The Family Man S02)

- Sunil Grover (Tandav) 

- Vaibhav Raj Gupta (Gullak S02)

Log on to www.radiocity.in/hitlistawards to cast your vote.

You can also vote via SMS. Send HITLIST <space> category name <space> your choice (a/b/c as on the website) to 57575.

Voting lines close on March 18.

“I work without expectation so everything seems rewarding,” says actor Sajjad Delafrooz. Known for the role of Abu Usman in Salman Khan-led Tiger Zinda Hai (2017), the actor was later seen in the OTT show, Special Ops.

Recalling his journey, he reveals he started his acting career in 2011, but faced a big problem. “I didn’t know Hindi and the dream to work in Hindi films seemed like a joke back then. I didn’t have any contacts or idea on how to go about it either. So, for seven years, I kept contacting people, did modelling and music videos in Dubai. People would advise me to give up and their words started to affect me. Then I decided to give myself a month and for 10 hours every day I would email all possible production houses.” Finally, the film Tiger Zinda Hai happened, but he had to work hard for three months before he bagged the part of the antagonist.

The actor, who wrapped up the shoot for actor Kartik Aaryan-starrer Freddy, says high competition in Bollywood was a huge obstacle for him. “Bollywood is welcoming, but you have to be ready for the challenge and competition is the biggest one. One shouldn’t think that after one project, some fame, things are sorted - no! You have to try and work hard for each role,” he says.

The actor believes that the industry keeps changing every year with regards to content or presentation. “And we have seen how the two years of the pandemic have been tough for everyone. I live alone so being strong is important. To reach your goal you have to be strong. It doesn’t mean being selfish. Many of my friends went through anxiety during the pandemic and I could help them by giving them strength and support,” says the actor.

Special Ops 1.5: The Himmat Story may be centred on Kay Kay Menon’s character, but Aftab Shivdasani stood shoulder-to-shoulder with him, shining bright as R&AW officer Vijay Kumar. The actor, who is winning appreciation for his act, says the Disney+ Hotstar series has only strengthened his belief that all he needs is a powerful script to showcase his talent. “I have been here for 22 years, and seen so much. I have come to a point where neither criticism nor praise affects me,” he says, adding that the credit for the series’ success goes to the entire team.

The espionage thriller, a prequel to Special Ops that dropped online last year, has helped Shivdasani bounce back in the game. Will he be more cautious now on, especially after the forgettable outings of the past few years? “I have never been cautious. I need to be offered projects that excite me. Even after 22 years, I feel I haven’t done [much]. It’s not like I didn’t have Vijay in me; it just took an opportunity for people to see that Vijay does exist in my repertoire. Sometimes, opportunities don’t find an actor. I hope after Special Ops, people realise that there is a lot more I can do.”

With the Neeraj Pandey creation, the actor has ticked one item off his wish list. “I always wanted to play an intelligence officer. When Neeraj offered me this part, I was overjoyed. I messaged him last year after watching Special Ops, saying that I would love to work with him in the future. Little did I know that I would [end up working] on this show.”

With the growing popularity of OTT platforms in the country, the content being churned out for the medium has also multiplied, starting a conversation whether quality is being sacrificed in the race to be ahead in quantity. But actor Kay Kay Menon doesn’t see any red flag at the moment. Rather, he feels that the digital medium is full of exciting opportunities and has given actors like him their due.

“It (the good and bad content) is a part and parcel of anything that we do, be it any medium,” says Menon, whose career has found a new lease of life through his work on web, especially the character of Himmat Singh from the Special Ops universe.

He believes that any medium can be misused, but that as long as OTT makers are conscious of the content, then there’s nothing we should be afraid of. Here, the actor brings up the role the audience plays in maintaining the sanctity of the medium, calling them intelligent.

“You can’t bluff them by giving them a few dances here and there. You have to be very sure of the content that you are providing. That’s also because mass psychology doesn’t work here, which works for mainstream cinema. As a result, you will always find more good content on OTT,” adds the 55-year-old, who described how OTT viewing is synonymous to reading a novel individually.

However, that doesn’t mean there won’t be any adulteration. “But (in case there is adulteration) people will reject them immediately. The audience has the button in their hands. More good content will be available at any point in time. On OTT, one can’t survive by producing less quality content,” he stresses.

It has been almost three decades since Menon embarked on a journey to make a name in Indian showbiz, and has received recognition for performances in films like Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi (2005), Black Friday (2007), Gulaal (2009), Shaurya (2008), Life in a Metro (2007), Haider (2014), and Baby (2015) — but he feels he is just starting to get his due — all thanks to the OTT.

On the web medium, he has proved his mettle with The Great Indian Dysfunctional Family, The Last Chapter, Ray and Special Ops, with fans calling him ‘desi Bond’ for his avatar as an agent, Himmat Singh. “I have been in the industry for the last 26-27 years, and people who were four or five when my initial work was released, are adults. They are watching my past work now. And it is quite a revelation for them that an actor can perform like this,” he says with amusement.

Further, he adds, “They go back and watch your work in retrospective. Even youngsters are watching shows, like Special Ops 1.5: The Himmat Story, and getting to know about your journey, and complimenting you, that ‘this actor has potential’,” he adds with a laugh.

And these are some of the instances through which he derives motivation. “The web platform has revived the interest of the audiences in actors like me and Manoj Bajpayee. And that’s such a good thing,” says the actor, who is enjoying exploring the digital world.

He has a lot of projects he is working on. “But I am not allowed to talk about them, I will talk about it once I get an official go ahead,” he wraps up.

What’s the first day collection?’

‘Will the film reach the coveted Rs 300-crore club?’ 

No sooner would a Khan- or Kumar-starrer hit the screens than all eyes would be on its opening collections, with trade analysts keenly following its daily performance to see whether the film sets a new box-office record. With theatres shut down since March 2020 and films trading the big screen for an OTT release, box-office became a thing of the past. But did our ‘kitna banaya’ obsession end? Not really. The conversation merely shifted, thanks to Ormax Media.

Founded in 2008, the media research and tracking firm recognised the need-gap in the industry and launched Ormax Stream Track last March, evolving from a B2B company to the new-age OTT box-office in one swift move. “When studios started announcing their films for the web and there was [substantial] growth in the OTT-viewing audience, we decided to focus all our attention on [this product]. We were already engaging in [tracking] for some studios or platforms, but the lockdown gave us momentum to build on new ideas to measure [the reach of] OTT,” begins Shailesh Kapoor, CEO, Ormax Media.

With Stream Track, Kapoor — a product of IIT Delhi and IIM Calcutta — brought about two significant changes. First, not only films, but also web series became a part of the rat race as Stream Track shared its listings of top 10 originals (films/series), week on week. Secondly, it added a new dimension by focusing on viewership patterns rather than viewership measurement. 

“Our job is to analyse what is happening around, and how people can use the data to make better content. For instance, we collected data from audiences for Scam 1992: The Harshad Mehta Story. Basis our research, we figured that around 23 million in India have watched the show, but Sony LIV’s official subscriber base is only around two million. So, even if the two million subscribers and their families watched the series, the total figure comes to about six-to-seven million. There is a gap of 16 million, which means that a lot of people have watched it via piracy through apps like Telegram. That is how we gathered the insight that piracy is much bigger than what it was in films,” he explains.

Most OTT platforms refuse to share viewership figures, but Kapoor says they depend on online and telephonic consumer surveys to understand the offerings that viewers are aware of, and have watched through the week. “We have an analytics algorithm in the back-end, which converts all that data to give us an estimate. Listed companies like Netflix in the US, as per protocol, have to release the number of subscribers in their quarterly report. In India, ZEE5 is one of the companies that publishes its subscriber figures.”

So, which film fared the best in 2020? “Sushant Singh Rajput’s Dil Bechara was the top movie, but that was largely because it was free and due to its timing. Akshay Kumar’s Laxmii got great viewership, owing to the actor’s popularity. Among web series, Scam 1992 and Special Ops had high viewership. This year, The Family Man 2 has been a huge success, and Pagglait did well among films.”

Pick any Hindi film directed by Priyadarshan, and chances are Paresh Rawal plays a pivotal role in it. The duo has collaborated on over 10 films together, including Hera Pheri (2000) and Bhool Bhulaiyaa (2007). So, when the director developed Hungama 2, the second instalment in the franchise, Rawal was an obvious choice.

The senior actor says, “Priyadarshan’s comedies have innocence; there is nothing vulgar about them. Also, he has a keen sense of economics and will never overshoot [the budget]. He knows how much leeway to give to his actors. As a result of these factors, the experience of working with him becomes unmatchable.”

True to the filmmaker’s style of situational comedies, Hungama 2 revolves around the confusion that ensues when Rawal’s character believes that his wife — essayed by Shilpa Shetty Kundra — is having an affair. “If you have a wife looking like Shilpa Shetty, any husband would be insecure. What I like the most about her is that she is so passionate about her work.”

The senior actor adds that the film — also featuring Meezaan and Pranitha Subhash — is the perfect example of a well-written laugh riot, which does justice to every character. “One should not sacrifice a character for the sake of laughter. As an actor, if you go in believing that you’ll make everyone laugh, that’s not the right approach. The comedy has to be situational and spontaneous.”

Originally designed for a theatrical outing, the movie will drop on Disney+ Hotstar. While he has had his share of movie premieres online, Rawal has yet to try his hand at a web series. “I want to do a show that gives you an opportunity to develop your character, like Kay Kay Menon’s in Special Ops or Manoj Bajpayee’s in The Family Man.”